The Ravi Shastri –Sourav Ganguly saga which has unfolded over the course of the past few days has left nearly everyone in the cricketing fraternity and beyond in shock. It all began when Shastri went about expressing his disappointment over not being chosen for the Indian head coach role and accusing Ganguly for disrespecting him by walking out during his interview.
The CAB President, who is known not to take things lying down, responded to the 54-year old’s comments by saying that the latter is living in a fool’s world to think that Ganguly is the reason behind him not being made the coach. This incident is another addition to the long list of verbal tussles between former cricketers.
Here are 5 instances when this has happened in the past:
5. Rameez Raja – Mohammad Yousuf
Former Pakistani cricketers Rameez Raja and Mohammad Yousuf were involved in an ugly verbal spat which was witnessed on the country’s national television just last year. Both Raja and Yousuf were part of a debate centred around Mohammad Amir’s highly publicized return to international cricket after a 5-year ban.
A comment made by Yousuf on the issue did not go down too well with the cricketer-turned-commentator and he asked the former not to lie after having grown a beard. An infuriated Mohammad Yousuf proceeded to refer to Rameez as a school teacher and questioned his contribution as a cricketer.
As the anchor tried to stop them from having a go at each other, Rameez Raja requested not to bring in shameless people like Yousuf when he is around.
4. Andrew Flintoff – Daryll Cullinan
Former England all-rounder Andrew Flintoff used to be quite a notorious character during his playing days and this trait has stuck with him even post retirement. During a conversation with BBC about how sledging has changed over the years, Flintoff took a dig at former South African cricketer Daryll Cullinan and referred to him as the worst sledger he has come across.
“He was horrible. I was only young ... the words he called me, I didn't even know what they meant. He just went at me and I don't think there's any place for that in any sport or any society,” the former Ashes hero had said about Cullinan’s ‘sledging’ skills. The Proteas cricketer was not at all impressed and responded to the comments in the best way he could.
He said, “I think he has embellished the story a bit too much. I think he's typical of a has-been at the moment. He's trying to stay in the limelight, travelling around the world and I think someone should just sit him down and just say to him he's being quite a cricket comic quite frankly.”
3. Sachin Tendulkar – Ian Chappell
Although the verbal tussle between Sachin Tendulkar and Ian Chappell was not direct in nature, one could actually make out that the two of them were indeed taking a dig at each other. It all started off when the outspoken Aussie made negative comments about the All Stars tournament organized in the USA by Sachin and Shane Warne last year.
“I've always thought that the reason for retiring is that you wanted to stop playing. The other thing I don't understand is why people want to watch older cricketers,” Chappell had said. Tendulkar is not generally known to get back at people but on this occasion, he responded quite candidly to the remarks.
“The reason for stopping cricket is because you cannot be competitive at that level but that does not mean you stop enjoying cricket. This is what we are doing, we are enjoying cricket. Once you retire it does not mean you never pick up a cricket bat again. People will always have opinions, it does not mean it is the right opinion,” the legendary batsman was quoted saying.
2. Matthew Hayden – Ravi Shastri
The pitches during South Africa’s tour to India last year drew the ire of several members of the cricketing fraternity. One of them was former Australian batsman Matthew Hayden and he used his Twitter account to express his disgust about the pitches being tampered to suit the home team.
Ravi Shastri was not too pleased about Hayden’s opinion and slammed him and his other countrymen who were complaining about the conditions. He said, “Let them sit in Australia and talk about their pitches. Tell them not to waste their time about Indian tracks. Come and play here.”
Matthew Hayden was also not one to back down and he gave Shastri a fitting response by stating, “After a 103 Test matches, I deserve a voice and I will have that voice for the betterment of cricket. And there are some terrific reactions. For example, Ravi Shastri just said the popular view ‘Go back home and worry about your own pitches.”
1. Shane Warne – Steve Waugh
Both Steve Waugh and Shane Warne are legendary figures in the history of Australian cricket. Even during their playing days, they were never known to be the best of friends. Back in the year 1999, Waugh had dropped Warne for a Test match against West Indies and defended his decision by saying that he was only doing his job as captain.
The iconic leg-spinner does not seem to have forgotten this incident from 17 years ago and vented out his frustration at the former Aussie skipper during a reality show earlier this year. Warne proceeded to dub Steve Waugh as’ the most selfish cricketer he has ever played with’.
Waugh’s response to his former team-mate was not too dramatic but showed that the remarks had not gone down too well with him. “I'm not justifying his comments with an answer,” he replied.
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