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Virat Kohli's comment about PBKS debutant Musheer Khan during Qualifier 1 ignited online backlash. Kohli's remark, implying Musheer was a water boy, was criticized as disrespectful to the young player.
Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) star batter Virat Kohli is facing the heat of the netizens for his remark on Punjab Kings (PBKS) debutant Musheer Khan in the IPL 2025 Qualifier 1 at the Maharaja Yadavindra Singh International Cricket Stadium in Chandigarh’s Mullanpur on Thursday, May 29.
Royal Challengers Bengaluru qualified for their fourth IPL final after nine years with 8-wicket win over Punjab Kings. With a mere 102-run target, RCB chased it down with 60 balls to spare. Phil Salt led the team’s run chase with a brilliant unbeaten knock of 56 off 27 balls, including six fours and three sixes, at an impressive strike rate of 207.41. Apart from Salt, Mayank Agarwal (19) and skipper Rajat Patidar (15*) made vital contributions to the RCB’s run chase.
Earlier, Josh Hazlewood (3/21) and Suyash Sharma (3/17) dismantled the Punjab Kings’ batting line-up, reducing them to just 101 runs as PBKS’ ultra-aggressive batting approach backfired, with Marcus Stonis (26) being the only player for the side to cross the 20-run mark.
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Virat Kohli’s controversy
Amid the discussion on RCB securing the berth for the final, Virat Kohli sparked the controversy for his distasteful remark toward PBKS batter Musheer Khan. The incident took place in the ninth over of the Punjab Kings innings when Musheer walked in to bat after the side collapsed to 60/6 in 8.2 overs following Shashank Singh’s dismissal.
In a video that went viral on social media, Musheer can be seen taking his strike, and in the background, Virat Kohli, who was positioned at slip, was spotted remarking to Musheer without the batter's knowledge. Kohli was seen telling his teammates, ‘ye paani pilaata hai’, mocking Musheer, implying that the batter used to carry drinks for his Punjab Kings teammates before making his IPL debut in the Qualifier 1.
Musheer Khan was warming the bench throughout the league stage of the ongoing IPL season before getting his first break in the IPL in the recently concluded Qualifier 1 against Royal Challengers Bengaluru. However, the 20-year-old did not have an ideal outing in his debut IPL match as he was dismissed for a three-ball duck by Suyash Sharma. Musheer was bought by the Punjab Kings franchise for INR 30 lakh at the IPL 2025 Auction in November last year.
Virat Kohli received backlash from netizens
As soon as the video went viral on social media, Virat Kohli faced wrath and criticism from the netizens for making insulting comments toward Musheer Khan. Many took to their X handle (formerly Twitter) and slammed the RCB star batter for his ‘distasteful’ and ‘disgusting’ comments toward the young batter, who made his IPL debut. While others called him ‘shameless’ and urged Kohli to show more respect to emerging players.
Meanwhile, Virat Kohli did not have an ideal outing in the Qualifier 1 against Punjab Kings as he was dismissed by Kyle Jamieson for just 12 off 12 balls. However, Virat Kohli is currently the fifth leading run-getter in the ongoing IPL season, amassing 614 runs, including eight fifties, at an average of 55.81 and a strike rate of 146.53 in 14 matches.
Virat Kohli is currently in contention to win the Orange Cap, alongside Gujarat Titans openers Sai Sudharsan (679) and Shubman Gill (649), and Mumbai Indians’ Suryakumar Yadav (640).
