Five Players Who Love to Fight on The Cricket Field

For decades now, cricket has always been termed as a ‘gentleman’s’ game. And even today, the cricketing fraternity hold on to outdated expectations about the men playing the game.

So, one of the genuine reason behind the game getting this status was because, in its earlier days, the game was dominated by the educated elite ascendancy.

But as much as the game is regarded as gentlemen’s, there is no denying that cricket’s history is filled with incidents that tarnished its image from time-to-time. And it is safe to say that those incidents have increased in modern-day cricket.

Interestingly, players these days rarely think even once before letting their emotions get the better of them. And the results are not very pleasing to the eyes for them who still consider cricket being gentlemen’s game in nutshell.

So, here we take a look at five players who just love to fight on a cricket field:

5. Mitchell Johnson:

Pacers and aggression go hand in hand and the former Australian speedster Mitchell Johnson was not an exception either. He just loved to take on the opposition with his extreme pace bowling as well as his mouth.

Every now and then, he used to get under the skin of the opposition players with his verbal volleys.

In an interview, he had also revealed how he once wanted to punch former England batsman Kevin Pietersen.

Moreover, who can forget the incident when he intentionally threw the ball at Virat Kohli during the series of 2014. Well, the tearaway pacer just loved to keep things animated on the field.

4. Ben Stokes:

One of England’s best talents in recent years often hits the headlines not only for the cricketing reasons but also for his behaviour off the field. His duel with Windies’ Marlon Samuels which began in Grenada in April 2015 was a well-documented one. It had begun after Samuels gave Stokes a salute after dismissing him.

Well, the two ended up at loggerheads throughout the innings and remain fierce rivals to this date.

He also had run-ins with Kohli during the series in 2016. Sabbir Rahman of Bangladesh had also got a taste of Stokes’ hot-headedness. Not only these, the all-rounder is also controversy’s favourite child for his off the field antics. He has landed in trouble several times for his drinking habits.

3. Kagiso Rabada:

The South Africa star Kagiso Rabada is arguably the best pacer in the world at the moment.

However, he hogs the limelight not only for his performances but also for his controversial conducts on the field. From giving an animated send-off to batters, swearing at them as well as making physical contacts, Rabada has done it all in the recent past.

In March, this year, he was banned for two Tests after being found guilty of deliberately making contact with Australia captain Steven Smith.

2. Gautam Gambhir:

When it comes to playing the hardball, Gambhir is second to none. He loves to give his all on the field not only with the bat but also with his attitude. And the several controversial incidents involving him pretty much prove it.

Who can forget his infamous verbal altercation with Shahid Afridi in 2007? A year later, when Shane Watson went overboard while sledging.

Gambhir decided to take matters into his own hands while completing the second run before he stuck out his left elbow to hit Watson in his midriff.

In 2013, he had a fiery altercation with Virat Kohli. And there are several such incidents which prove that Gambhir just loves to fight on the field.

1. Virat Kohli:

The list is just incomplete without this name, so as cricket.

Kohli loves to show his emotions on the field which was eventually evident from the time. He showed his arrogant demeanour after he led the Indian side to the Under-19 World Cup title in 2008.

The incident during the tour of Australia in 2011-12 when he flashed the middle finger at a hostile crowd at the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG), is still fresh in everyone’s memories.

The current India leader Kohli just loves to express himself on the field and the results have not been pretty more often than not.