Why did Gautam Gambhir stick Middle Finger up at Fans?

Gautam Gambhir recently found himself at the centre of a viral storm on social media, and let’s just say things got heated during the Asia Cup match between India and Pakistan.

Gambhir, who’s currently part of the Asia Cup broadcasting team, seemed to lose his cool amidst relentless chants of Virat Kohli’s name from the crowd.

The former Indian batsmen didn’t respond in the most gentlemanly way.

The video appears to have been taken during a rain break in the match.

Both teams were huddled away in their respective dugouts, and there was Gambhir, casually strolling near the sight screen.

The video shows fans chanting “Kohli, Kohli” which appears to startle Gambhir who is on the phone. 

He suddenly stops, sticks his middle finger up at the fans, and then proceeds to walk off. 

Back when the duo were sharing the dressing room for India between 2008 and 2011, things were, well, a bit intense.

It all came to a head during an IPL match in 2012 when Gambhir sent Kohli off with some fiery words.

Young Kohli wasn’t having any of it and fired back. Despite claims that they’ve patched things up, there’s always been this underlying tension.

At first, there was speculation that Gautam Gambhir was rattled by the Kohli chants. But, new footage has claimed that the original video was edited.

Instead, there are now reports that the Gambhir was actually responding to jeers from Pakistan fans.

Speaking after the incident, the former cricketer said: 

“The crowd that was made up of Pakistani fans were shouting anti-India slogans were also passing comments on Kashmir.

“As an Indian, I can’t take anyone saying this about my country hence reacted this way.

“What you see on social media isn’t always the correct picture.”

Here Is REAL Video #GautamGambhir pic.twitter.com/klgDE2rsMi

— Narendra Modi fan (@narendramodi177) September 4, 2023

Social media is in a frenzy over the circulating footage and trying to decipher what was actually said.

With so many versions of the footage, it’s hard to picture what angered Gambhir so much. 

A lot of people have had their say on the matter and the public is split over how the cricketer reacted. MP Choudhary said on X (Twitter): 

“My humble advice to the most honourable cricketer@GautamGambhir is that if you once entangled in this cheap trolling,  you will hardly be able to get out of this.

“Please learn to ignore trolls, whatever they say let them say.

“Their trolling will only increase if you reply.”