Indian cricketer Virat Kohli has been fined for the second time following his IPL post match altercation with former national teammate Gautam Gambhir.

According to the Indian Premier League, both players lost their entire match fee, and Naveen-ul-Haq was fined 50% of his for violating the league’s code of conduct.

During a tense match between Kohli’s Royal Challengers Bangalore and Lucknow Super Giants on Monday, it was observed that Kohli and Afghan bowler Naveen were exchanging pointed remarks on the pitch.

During the game, opposition batsman Amit Mishra had to restrain Kohli, who frequently causes trouble due to his overbearing demeanour. Bangalore ultimately prevailed by 18 runs.

After that, other players unsuccessfully attempted to dissuade a visibly enraged Gambhir, Lucknow’s team mentor, from confronting Kohli after Kyle Mayers had to be led away from a confrontation with him.

On Tuesday, Kohli posted a cryptic message on Instagram that quoted a well-known Roman emperor and philosopher: “Everything we hear is an opinion, not a fact. Everything we see is a perspective, not the truth. – Marcus Aurelius.”

The shouting match between Gambhir and Kohli, who were teammates when India won the 2011 World Cup, was broken up by Bangalore captain Faf du Plessis.

In a 2013 IPL match, the ex-national team teammates got into a nasty on-field argument.

After quitting cricket in 2018, the 41-year-old Gambhir joined India’s Hindu-nationalist BJP party, which is currently in power.

This was Kohli’s second infraction of the year; his behaviour during Bangalore’s loss to Chennai Super Kings last month resulted in a fine of 10% of his match fee.

“King Kohli” and Bangalore have never won the Indian Premier League, despite Kohli being one of the best batsmen in the modern era.

At the conclusion of the 2021 season, he resigned as the RCB captain.

In 2021 and 2022, he experienced a protracted batting slump and lost the Indian captaincy, one of the most demanding positions in all of sport.

The 34-year-old Kohli has discussed his struggles with mental health while going through his dry phase, including how he was “snappy” to his Bollywood actress wife Anushka Sharma.

He has clashed with opposing players many times, and once received a warning for hitting a plastic chair with a bat after being dismissed from an IPL game.

Photo by EPA/DAVE HUNT