5 most controversial dressing room showdowns in recent memory

Any professional sport can be trying at times as it puts people of different personalities and from widely different backgrounds together in the dressing room. It is not unlikely therefore that there will always be the odd occasion when things will get heated up and sparks will fly.Over the years, there have been quite a few incidences of heated exchanges and boisterous fights breaking out in the dressing room. Here are the five most controversial dressing room showdowns in recent memory.

#5 Wasim Akram and Waqar Younis

Wasim Akram and Waqar Younis’ feud adversely affected the Pakistan dressing roo

The initial disagreement between Wasim and Waqar took place before the Asian Test championship in Kolkata in 1999. But things got ugly in the dressing room as Pakistan lost the Delhi Test and rumours started doing the rounds that Waqar would be sent back home.

In his autobiography Controversially Yours, Shoaib Akhtar claims that the constant feud in the dressing room between Waqar and Wasim heated up the dressing room and affected the spirit in the dressing room.

Akhtar writes: "Inside the dressing room, things got uglier. I do not remember it but ever being as tense as it was then. The two seniors were at war and we were a young and fresh team. Everyone was stressed out and amidst all this, it was decided that I would play."

#4 Mathew Hayden and Damien Martyn

Damien Martyn announced his international retirement as a result of an ungly dressing room blow-up

Egged on by Damien Martyn, James Anderson had reportedly attacked Michael Clarke with a batsman's pad inside the dressing room at the Adelaide Oval after Australia's six-wicket victory during the 2006/07 Ashes series. Anderson who had attacked Clarke because he could not withstand Clarke's arrogance later recounted the incidence and wrote about it in his autobiography Jimmy: My Story.

Martyn's role in the attack was not taken well by his teammates and he had an instant clash with Hayden because of the incidence. Hayden later called Martyn "the biggest wanker on the planet". Martyn had reportedly stormed out of the dressing room after the incident and announced his retirement a couple of days later.

#3 Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid

The two quintessential gentlemen of Indian cricket once came at loggerheads as well

Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid are remembered as the perfect gentlemen of cricket. But they did have a serious disagreement in the dressing room following the strange declaration of the innings by Dravid while Tendulkar was batting on 194 in the Multan Test against Pakistan in 2004.

Tendulkar later said that he was fuming inside as he made his way to the dressing room. Rahul Dravid came up to him instantly in the dressing room and said that he had declared the innings for the good of the team as they were running out of time. Tendulkar however was having none of it as he reminded Dravid that he had also scored the 194 runs for the sake of the team.

Ganguly and John Wright subsequently came up to him and apologised for what had happened. But Tendulkar quickly dismissed them saying that though he was not someone to throw his batting gear around, he was extremely unhappy with the incident and would love to be left alone. Tendulkar's relationship with Dravid however did not turn sour after the incident and they continue to remain the best of friends.

#2 Michael Clarke and Simon Katich

Michael Clarke’s aloofness from team events did not go down well with everybody

One of the most infamous incidents of dressing room bust-up was between Michael Clarke and Simon Katich during the Sydney Test in 2009. After the end of the day's play, Clarke had reportedly wanted the team song to be sung early so that he could leave early to be with his girlfriend Lara Bingle.

After Mike Hussey began the song, Katich and Clarke exchanged heated words following which Katich grabbed Clarke by his collar and the pair had to be separated by stunned teammates. Katich later went on to blame Clarke and said he had played an instrumental role in ending his career. Commenting on the incident years later, Ponting said that many of the players in the dressing room at that time were unhappy with Clarke's behaviour in the dressing room because of his relationship with his girlfriend. Ponting even hinted that Clarke lost his way in cricket because of his relationship with Lara Bingle.

Ponting wrote: "It never worried me if a bloke didn't want a drink in the dressing room, but I did wonder about blokes who didn't see the value in sticking around for a chat and a laugh and a post-mortem of the day's play. Pup hardly bought into this for a couple of years and the team noticed".

#1 Virat Kohli and Shikhar Dhawan

Two of India’s shining stars came to a head on the recent tour of Australia

Virat Kohli and Shikhar Dhawan had a go at each other in the dressing room during the fourth day of the Brisbane Test in India's last tour of Australia. Dhawan who was unbeaten overnight informed the team that he would be unable to go out to bat as he had injured his elbow during the practise session. Kohli who was sent out to bat in his place reportedly had only seven minutes to prepare himself mentally. After Kohli got out, he stormed into the dressing room blaming Dhawan for faking an injury and things got quite heated up.

After the Test match, things came out into the open that there was a growing tension in the dressing room because of the flare up between Kohli and Dhawan. Dhoni however tried to make light of the situation by joking that Kohli had attacked Dhawan with a knife.

He further added: "Marvel maybe, Warner Bros, somebody should pick up from this and make a nice movie out of this. I don't know where it comes from. If someone from the team has actually told you this... his imagination is really brilliant and he should be working for one of the movie companies. He doesn't deserve to be in our dressing room because he's created something was not really there."