In a candid revelation on the “Banter with The Boys” podcast, recently-retired South African cricketer Dean Elgar shared details of a heated encounter with Indian cricket captain Virat Kohli during a Test series in 2015. Elgar claimed that Kohli spat at him during the series in India, and tensions escalated with strong words exchanged between them.
Recalling the incident, Dean Elgar stated, “I came into bat, and I was actually holding my own against Ashwin and … Jajeja, ja-ja-jajeja, (Ravindra Jadeja) and Kohli, he like spat at me. I said to him: ‘if you do that, I’ll f*****g ***** you with this bat.’”
Elgar continued, noting that Kohli responded with expletives, and the confrontation reached a point where Elgar threatened physical consequences. AB de Villiers, a mutual friend and teammate of both players at IPL franchise Royal Challengers Bangalore, intervened to defuse the situation.
“De Villiers found out what he did and went up to him and said: ‘Bud, why are you spitting at my teammate, bud? That’s not on,'” Elgar recounted.
Remarkably, two years later, during a series in South Africa, Kohli approached Elgar to apologize for his actions. Elgar described the reconciliation, stating, “Two years later in South Africa, he (Kohli) calls me aside playing (in) South Africa and said: ‘Can we go have a drink at the end of the series? I want to just apologize for my actions.’” Elgar added that the meeting extended into the early hours of the morning.
Despite their past clash, Kohli’s gesture of goodwill and the exchange of pleasantries during Elgar’s farewell Test in 2024 marked a more amicable chapter in their relationship.
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