Virat Kohli-Sourav Ganguly rift deepens: Why the cricketing heroes have unfollowed each other on Instagram

The gentleman's game has gone for a toss in this no-handshake-stare-down controversy between Indian cricket heroes Virat Kohli and Sourav Ganguly. And 'social media sleuths' are only fanning the flames by focusing on events that seem to be leaving a far more lasting impression than the match between Royal Challengers Bangalore and Delhi Capitals itself.

It is unlikely any Indian cricket fan would be unaware that 'all is not well' between the two former captains; Kohli's alleged feud with the former BCCI president has been widely reported. Now, the duo's rift is in the news again after their teams' last IPL 2023 clash on Saturday.

After RCB's 23-run victory over Delhi Capitals on Saturday, three videos became the match's highlight and went viral on social media. One showed Kohli staring Ganguly down, while the latter was sitting in the DC dugout, two overs before RCB's triumph. The second video captured the DC director of cricket bypassing coach Ricky Ponting to greet the RCB players — and in the process, skipping a handshake with Kohli.

The next day, a new video surfaced from the same game, where Ganguly appeared to ignore Kohli as he sat ready to open for the match. The footage showed Ganguly blatantly ignoring Kohli, whereas other DC players and support staff greeted the batter. A menacing stare from the former RCB skipper followed towards the DC director.

What transpired next between the two cricketing heroes is a tale for posterity. Kohli went on to solidify the 'possible rift' rumour by unfollowing Ganguly on Instagram. Ganguly, who until Sunday was following the RCB player, was not willing to be left behind in the game — and on Monday, he too unfollowed Kohli on the social media platform.

The fallout — which goes all the way back to the November 2021 incident and started with Kohli's removal from ODI captaincy — is evidently still raw between the two, and neither appears to have moved on.