Former India Test cricketers S Sreesanth and Gautam Gambhir got into a heated argument and exchanged words during a Legends League match between Gujarat Giants and India Capitals.
While players and umpires intervened to ensure the on-field spat did not escalate, after the match Sreesanth posted a video on Instagram alleging that Gambhir had called him ‘something very rude.”
“Just wanted to clear the air with what happened with Mr fighter. One who always fights with all his colleagues. For no reason whatsoever. He does not even respect his senior players, including Viru bhai. That’s exactly what happened today. Without any provocation, he just kept on calling me something which was very rude which shouldn’t have been said by Mr Gautam Gambhir,” the former India bowler said.
“I am not at all at fault here. I just wanted to clear the air straightaway. What Mr Gauti has done, sooner or later all of you will get to know. The words which he used and the things he said on a cricket field, live, is not acceptable. My family, my state, everybody has gone through so much. I fought that battle with all your support. Now people want to down me for no reason. He said things he shouldn’t have said. I will surely let you know what he said,” he reiterated.
The 40-year-old also brought up Gambhir’s spats with Virat Kohli in the past, saying, “What’s the point of representing people if you don’t respect your own colleagues. Even in broadcasting when he is asked about Virat, he never speaks about him. He speaks about something else. I don’t want to go further in detail. Just want to say I am very hurt and my family is hurt and my dear ones are hurt. And the way he said things…. I haven’t used a single bad word or a single abuse. He just kept on saying words which he always does.”
The Delhi police alleged that Sreesanth and two other players were involved in spot-fixing during the 2013 IPL, but the charges were dropped by a Delhi court.
The issue between Gambhir and Sreesanth flared up in the second over of the LLC match when the former hit the latter for a four and a six in back-to-back deliveries. Gambhir would then hit the next ball to a fielder, which was followed by some words from Sreesanth.
6… 4… Showdown! Watch till the end for Gambhir 👀 Sreesanth.
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.#LegendsOnFanCode @llct20 pic.twitter.com/SDaIw1LXZP— FanCode (@FanCode) December 6, 2023
Ultimately, Gambhir’s Capitals won the Eliminator match by 12 runs as Sreesanth’s Gujarat Giants were knocked out of the tournament. The Capitals will next face Manipal Tigers in the second qualifier to book a place in the final against Urbanrisers Hyderabad.
Both Gambhir and Sreesanth are known to have a short fuse and have had their share of on-field spats.
Gambhir’s on-field spat with Pakistan’s Shahid Afridi is well documented while the Sreesanth-Andre Nel face off is an instant recall for fans even today.
Gambhir and Afridi had collided mid-pitch when the Indian batsmen went for a run during an ODI in Kanpur in 2007.
Sreesanth was the man of the match in the 2006 Wanderers Test and helped India to their first-ever Test win in South Africa with his 8-wicket haul, including a fifer in the first innings. But the Test is also remembered because of the exchange between two fast bowlers — Sreesanth and South Africa’s Andre Nel.
On the third day of the Test, Nel had tried to get under the skin of Sreesanth, even saying ‘you are not good enough, as revealed by the Indian fast bowler in an interview. Sreesanth would give it back when he smashed Nel over his head for a huge six and proceeded to do a little dance.