Top 5 fights between cricketers in IPL history

Cricket is a gentleman's game but with the game changing with the unfailing volatility, the pressure of performance often accentuates player egos. This leads to an exchange of verbal volleys which more often than not cross the line of what's acceptable.

The IPL is no exception; a plethora of ugly fights between cricketers over the course of its ten-year journey testify the aforementioned fact, often shifting the focus away from cricket. Over a period of ten years that have been several instances when the IPL has made it to the front pages of newspapers for all the bad reasons.

With IPL 2018 just around the corner, here's a look at the five ugliest fights between players in the lucrative T20 league.

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#5 Kieron Pollard and Shane Watson, IPL 2013

Pollard mocking Watson

The altercation

The hot-headed Mumbai Indians all-rounder seems to have a special place in his heart for the Aussies; his repeated altercations with them prove this very fact.

The case in point here is Kieron Pollard's altercation with Aussie all-rounder Shane Watson in the sixth edition of the IPL. Pollard had been in Watson's ear ever since the latter came out to bat.

While laughingly mocking Watson, who looked visibly furious, the on-field umpires called in Mumbai Indians captain Rohit Sharma to voice their objection. The talks ensued with Pollard too who momentarily stopped but now Watson had started laughing too.

The fallout

Watson eventually fell after mistiming a long-hop off Pragyan Ojha straight to Pollard sparking off wild celebrations from the West Indian. Watson was not amused as he offered a mouthful to Pollard while sitting in the dugout close to where the West Indian was fielding and left the place in disgust.

#4 Shane Warne and Sourav Ganguly, IPL 2008

Things went a bit affray between Warne and Ganguly during IPL 2008

The altercation

Indian and Australian cricketers have shared fiery on-field moments over the years and the very first edition of the IPL saw two legends of the game write a new chapter in Indo-Aussie altercations.

The protagonists of the altercation were two legends in Sourav Ganguly and vile leg-spinner Shane Warne. KKR were up against Rajasthan Royals when Ganguly was thought to have been caught by Graeme Smith at deep mid-wicket.

However, Ganguly was not fully convinced about the conclusiveness of the catch and illegitimately asked the umpires to refer to the third umpire and when Asad Rauf could not make a decision, an infuriated Shane Warne lost his cool.

The fallout

Ganguly eventually departed but Warne carried the spat off the field when he expressed his disappointment toward Ganguly in the post-match press conference. Along with Ganguly and Warne, who were sanctioned 10 percent of their match fees, Pratap Kumar, the on-field umpire was slapped with a one-match suspension on grounds of referring a decision without conclusive reason.

#3 Harbhajan Singh and Sreesanth, IPL 2008

The Slapgate saga

The altercation

An incident that actually involved physical contact took centre stage in the 2008 edition of the IPL. The protagonists in the story are faces who have had a history of ugly sledges and altercations, Harbhajan Singh and Sreesanth.

The incident took place after Kings XI Punjab had won their league encounter against the Mumbai Indians. It is believed that Sreesanth allegedly took a jibe at Harbhajan about the loss that Mumbai Indians had suffered, to which the off-spinner responded with a slap across the face of the fast bowler.

The fallout

Though the actual footage was never aired on screen, the incident created a ruckus within the cricketing fraternity with the media staging prime-time debates on the issue and newspapers carrying front-page stories about all the conspiracies surrounding the altercation.

Eventually, a judicial probe ensued, and Harbhajan was banned for the rest of tournament while Sreesanth was let off with a warning.

#2 Kieron Pollard and Mitchel Starc, IPL 2014

An ugly altercation

The altercation

That Kieron Pollard has a genetic dislike towards the Australians was testified when an ugly altercation escalated to disastrous proportions between Mitchell Starc and the West Indian batsman.

It was the 17th over of the Mumbai Indians innings when Starc bowled a vicious bouncer that flew over the West Indian. The Aussie let out his tongue to mock Pollard to which the West Indian responded with a send-off.

The matter escalated in the very next ball when Starc continued with his delivery despite Pollard having swayed out of the way. A visibly infuriated Pollard ran towards Starc and threw his bat towards the bowler.

Eventually, Chris Gayle, his compatriot had to get involved to cool down a visibly snapped Pollard. Pollard romped towards the umpire about Starc's conduct that led to such antics.

The fallout

Under IPL's code of conduct, both players were charged guilty of committing a Level 2 Offence. Pollard was fined 75 percent of his match fee while Starc was made to forego 50 percent of his.

#1 Virat Kohli and Gautam Gambhir, IPL 2012

An ugly verbal spat between two former India and Delhi teammates

The altercation

Virat Kohli and Gautam Gambhir are temperamental personalities and both don't shy away from articulating their emotions on the field. Both of the protagonists have been involved in various on-field spats with the opposition number over the year.

Nevertheless, it escalated to monstrous proportions when the former Delhi and India teammates got involved in a heated argument in the 2012 edition of the IPL.

Virat Kohli had just hit Pradeep Sangwan for two consecutive sixes and in an attempt to make it three in a row, he perished. KKR were elated to see the back of Kohli.

However, the exuberant celebrations didn't bode well with the RCB skipper as he stormed into the KKR team with a barrage of verbal volleys to which KKR captain Gambhir responded with gusto even and the cricketers almost went to blows when Manoj Tiwari and others.

The fallout

Both the players were charged with Level 1 Offence for using obscene language and inappropriate gestures.