Dean Elgar Recounts Controversial Encounter with Virat Kohli During 2015 India Tour

Former South African cricket captain Dean Elgar recently stirred up controversy with revelations about an intense exchange with former Indian skipper Virat Kohli during a test match in 2015.

Elgar, who retired from international cricket earlier this month, disclosed the incident during a podcast, shedding light on a heated moment that occurred during South Africa’s tour of India nine years ago.

The incident in question transpired during the first Test of the four-match series at the IS Bindra Stadium in Mohali. Elgar recounted facing Indian spinners Ravi Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja on what he described as challenging wickets.

It was during this match that Kohli allegedly spat at Elgar, prompting a fiery response from the South African batsman.

When questioned by the host about any fights on cricket field, Elgar recollected a picture of tension and aggression on the field and said, “Those wickets were jokes. Like playing on that… that surface there. And I came into bat and I was actually like holding my own against Ashwin and what’s his name Jeja, Jeja, Jeja (Ravindra Jadeja) (smiles) and Kohli, he like spat at me.”

“I said to him if you do that, I’ll f*****g*****you with this bat,” he added later spelling out a regional profanity.

Interestingly, Elgar indicated that Kohli’s understanding of the language used in the exchange was facilitated by his association with South African player AB de Villiers, who was Kohli’s teammate at Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) in the Indian Premier League (IPL).

“Yes, he did because de Villiers was his teammate at RCB, so he understood. And I said if you do that, I’ll … on this field, I’ll knock you out. And then [he said] ‘Hey F*** you, F*** you’ (mimicking the Indian) but barking up the wrong tree yeah. Anyways, we are in India so you got to be a little bit cautious,” Elgar added.

According to Dean Elgar, later Virat Kohli apologized to him over a few Drinks when India toured South Africa in 2018. “Virat Kohli calls me aside and said can we go to have a drink I want to apologise for my actions and we drank till 3 in the morning,” Elgar concluded.

Recently when Dean Elgar retired from international cricket, Virat Kohli signed a jersey and gave it to him as a memorabilia.