'There was definitely some fire in Virat's belly' - Shane Watson on Virat Kohli-Sourav Ganguly 'no handshake' incident

The match between Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) and Delhi Capitals (DC) on April 15 sparked controversy due to some on-field moments between Virat Kohli and Sourav Ganguly. In the match, RCB registered a 23-run victory at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru as DC registered their fifth straight loss in the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL).

Following RCB’s win, Kohli greeted DC coach and former Australia cricketer Ricky Ponting. However, he ignored Ganguly before the DC head coach stopped him for a quick conversation. Ganguly, too, ignored the RCB batter and continued to greet the rest of the RCB players. Notably, the former RCB skipper was believed to have unfollowed the former Indian captain on Instagram after the incident. Furthermore, Ganguly also did the same on the social media platform. 

Meanwhile, former Australia all-rounder Shane Watson, who is now the DC team's assistant coach, was asked on the 'The Grade Cricketer' podcast to clarify the situation between the two cricketers. Watson hesitated to go into detail, but admitted that Kohli appeared to have "fire in his belly." He also stated that he is unsure of the exact cause of the incident that occurred following the contest. 

“It could be rumour-mongering, but I'm not sure. So, it's not something I want to get involved in. But there was definitely some fire in Virat's belly, that's for sure. From an opposition point of view, that's the last thing you need as well. Virat, when he's like that, that's when he's at his absolute best. Whatever reason that was, I'm not exactly sure,” Watson said.

Notably, the seeming tension between the two Indian cricketers dates back to when Kohli was captain of the Indian team and Ganguly was President of the BCCI. Ganguly and then-chief selector Chetan Sharma appeared to be dissatisfied with Kohli's decision to step down as India's T20I captain. However, the 34-year-old hitter was then removed as ODI captain, and a month later, he also stepped down from the Test captaincy.