Just as it has evolved in other aspects, the game of cricket has changed from a slow, good-natured game to a fast, fierce and ever-changing sport. With passion mixing with aggression, sparks fly and temper reaches flashpoint. The game has seen quite a few fights amongst opponents, but there are a few occasions when teammates got into disagreements and spats. Here’s a list of ten incidents where players from the same country had an altercation:
Virat Kohli and Gautam Gambhir
Things got ugly during the IPL 2013 match between KKR and RCB, when a verbal duel between Gautam Gambhir and Virat Kohli took place right in the middle.
Virat Kohli holed out to sweeper cover in the tenth over and Gambhir, as well as the other players converged in the middle to celebrate. After an apparent exchange of remarks between the two, Gambhir started angrily approaching Kohli, who had stayed put at short cover instead of walking back.
Rajat Bhatia intervened and pushed the two before they could get into a scuffle, even as the fielders and umpires came to cool the simmering tension.
Both of them downplayed the event after the end of the match.
Ravindra Jadeja and Suresh Raina
Always a live-wire on the field, Suresh Raina had misjudged a couple of catches against West Indies in a tri-series match in 2013-14. The incident took place when a riled up Jadeja, after dismissing Sunil Narine, walked up to Raina and had a cold exchange of words.
Reports suggest that Jadeja took a jibe at Raina losing the captaincy to Virat Kohli, and made remarks at his failed fielding attempts.
The tension died down by the time the match got over, and the two walked off the field together.
Ahmad Shahzad and Wahab Riaz
On the occasion of Valentine’s Day this year, there was no love lost between Ahmad Shahzad and Wahab Riaz, after the latter dismissed him during a PSL match between Quetta Gladiators and Peshawar Zalmi.
After sending his stumps packing with a slower one, Riaz approached Shahzad and said a few words. Teammates and umpires came running even as Riaz pushed Shahzad and kept exchanging words. This was in follow-up to Shahzad raising his bat at Riaz after hitting a six off the previous ball.
Both of them were heavily fined by the Pakistan Cricket Board.
Matthew Hayden and Glenn McGrath
The year was 1994, and both were still finding their feet in international cricket. A strong Australia-A side locked horns with the Australian first XI in the Benson and Hedges World Series, and two of the country’s future stars got into a fight mid-match.
Hayden blasted a ball to the cover fence, and while crossing over for a run, exchanged words with Glenn McGrath. The bowler, not impressed by what he heard, gave Hayden a earful and shoved him aside.
Hayden later recalled that he had thought that McGrath intentionally stuck his arm out when Hayden was trying to cross, hence the verbal spat. The ICC Match Refree, John Reid, met Hayden later, but since Reid wasn’t sanctioned for the match, there was no jurisdiction.
Mohammad Asif and Shoaib Akhtar
Shoaib Akhtar, in a chequered career for the Pakistan team, was never away from controversies. One such incident, which threatened to end his career prematurely, was in the lead-up to the 2007 World T20.
Akhtar got into a disagreement with fellow-pacer Mohammad Asif and struck him with a bat on his left thigh, leaving the latter bruised. This dressing room incident led to Akhtar’s withdrawal from the tournament’s inaugural edition, and a fine as well as a ban of three matches.
Akhtar lated apologized to Asif for the incident, but opened another can of worms by saying that Afridi was the one who provoked him to take the extreme step.
Michael Clarke and Simon Katich
After triumphing over a strong South African outfit in 2009, Katich wanted to celebrate the moment with his teammates by singing the Australian victory song, ‘Under the Southern Cross I Stand’.
Michael Clarke, however, was keen on catching up with his model-fiancée, and was in disagreement with the timing of the song. Even as stunned teammates watched, Katich allegedly caught Michael Clarke by the throat.
The incident had serious implications on Katich’s career, and led to his early exit after Clarke was made captain in late 2009. Katich later said that the incident was a moment of ‘passion’ and can be attributed to his ‘bubbling Croatian bloodline’.
Gerry Alexander and Roy Gilchrist
Roy Gilchrist, the hot-headed fast bowler of the the 1950s, had his career cut-short due to various altercations with opponents, and ultimately culminated into a fight with his own skipper, Gerry Alexander.
During a match at Amritsar against the North Zone, Gilchrist started bowling beamers at the batsman, Swaranjit Singh. Alexander immediately confronted Gilchrist, and told him to put an end to the barrage, but to no avail.
Things got dark during lunch, when, on being told that he has been substituted, Gilchrist reportedly pulled a knife on his captain. And that was the end of his Test career.
Doug Bracewell and Jesse Ryder
This one took place outside the cricket field, and turned into a proper physical altercation, post an India-New Zealand test in 2014.
Jesse Ryder, known for his temperamental behaviour and alcohol-induced misdeeds, got into a brawl with teammate Doug Bracewell at a pub in Auckland. The two got injured from the fight, with Bracewell suffering a broken foot and Ryder injuring his hand.
They were suspended from the next match of the Test series.
In 2012, the duo had been axed from the ODI team for breaking the code of conduct.
Harbhajan Singh and Sreesanth
Perhaps one of the most discussed of them all, Harbhajan and Sreesanth’s on-field altercation garnered a lot of media limelight, even though the actual incident was never shown on live TV.
After his team’s win over the Mumbai Indians, the cameras caught Sreesanth crying inconsolably, with teammates around trying to calm him. Reports started coming out that Harbhajan had slapped Sreesanth with the back of his hand, the reason for which is still not clear.
After a disciplinary hearing, Harbhajan was suspended for the rest of the tournament and handed a fine. Years later, Sreesanth gave a new twist to the saga by saying that the incident was planned, and that Harbhajan had elbowed him, the truth of which, he said, was not released by the IPL.
Harbhajan Singh and Ambati Rayudu
The latest incident took place during Mumbai Indians’ encounter against the Rising Pune Supergiants. Batting for Pune, Saurabh Tiwary pulled a delivery from Harbhajan Singh towards the midwicket fence. Rayudu, coming in from deep midwicket, put in a dive, and tried to scoop the ball towards a running Tim Southee. The ball however, made its way to the boundary.
Harbhajan was visibly annoyed by Rayudu for his effort. Rayudu, however, was in no mood to listen, and yelled back at his senior teammate. Both of them started speed-walking at each other. Harbhajan, seeing reason, put his arms over Rayudu and tried to calm him. Rayudu didn’t acknowledge the gesture, and still seething from the anger, pulled away.
Both of them calmed down and made peace by the end of the innings.
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