Reason Behind Mitchell Johnson-Yusuf Pathan Spat Revealed: Australian Media Claims "Yusuf Pathan Sledged Female Umpire, Mitchell Did Nothing"

Australian news reports indicate that Yusuf Pathan’s disruptive behaviour toward the match’s female umpire, Kim Cotton, is what caused the confrontation between Mitchell Johnson and Pathan.

The Legends League Cricket took an unexpected turn when Yusuf Pathan and Mitchell Johnson got into a fight during a match between Bhilwara Kings and India Capitals. After an ugly argument, the former Australia pacer shoved the former India all-rounder.

Everything appeared to be working as planned during one of the Qualifiers until the cameras moved to Yusuf retaliating violently to Johnson on the other end. As Yusuf and Johnson approached one another, things immediately became heated. After exchanging words, the left-arm quick shoved Pathan aside. Had the authorities and the players not separated the two, things might have gone further out of control.

There was no new information regarding what specifically happened between Johnson and Yusuf to cause the two to lose their cool until yesterday. However, recent information from Australia claims that Yusuf’s disruptive behaviour toward the match’s female umpire Kim Cotton was the cause of the altercation.

Yusuf reportedly criticised Cotton for her decision to not call wide on Johnson’s third over’s penultimate delivery, which prompted former Australia quick to object to it.

“Mitch [Johnson] did nothing. [Pathan] was sledging the female umpires,” Fox Cricket Australia quoted a player as saying, who decided to keep his identity anonymous.

Mitchell Johnson was fined 50 per cent of his match fee:

Johnson suffered consequences for his behaviour in the form of a punishment equal to half of his match fee and a formal warning from Legends League Cricket commissioner Ravi Shastri. Meanwhile, Yusuf managed to go away without being scolded.

“We are here to promote serious and competitive cricket through this league. What happened yesterday on the ground during the qualifier match shouldn’t have happened,” Raman Raheja said.

“We have closely gone through the video multiple times before coming to any conclusion. I hope everyone gets a clear message that the spirit of the game is of prime importance and such things won’t get repeated in this league,” said Raman Raheja, CEO and Co-Founder of Legends League Cricket.

However, the close call between Yusuf and Johnson did not take the shine off their captivating competition. Yusuf hit Johnson for 6, 4, and 6 in an over while smashing 48 off of just 28 balls.

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