IPL 2020: 5 Ugliest Fights In The History Of The Cash-Rich League
Published - 29 Oct 2020, 03:36 PM | Updated - 23 Aug 2024, 12:36 AM
Table of Contents
The Indian Premier League (IPL) is the most competitive T20 tournament in the world. Players from several nations participate in it and often are pitted against each other.
The IPL is a high-intensity tournament, and at times the tension boils over to the point where it becomes more than just friendly banter. Since there are players who play together around the year, and then play against each other in the IPL, altercations are bound to happen. Sometimes it leads to ugly fights as well.
IPL: 5 Ugliest Fights In The History Of The Cash-Rich League
Kieron Pollard and Shane Watson, IPL 2013
Kieron Pollard hogs the limelight in the IPL, sometimes for not his batting as well. On this occasion, he was in the news for the spat he had with Rajasthan Royals‘ all-rounder Shane Watson. This incident dates back to MI’s maiden title-winning season, which is 2013.
When Shane Watson came in to bat, Pollard was constantly in the ears of the Aussie. While looked bemused with that, Pollard was seen laughing. The umpires had a chat with skipper Rohit Sharma and Pollard about it. And then Watson was caught laughing.
Later on, Watson got out to Pragyan Ojha, and it was none other than Kieron Pollard who took the catch. This ensued wild celebrations from the West Indian. Watson hurled down plenty of expletives sitting in his dugout.
Harbhajan Singh and Sreesanth, IPL 2008
This incident between Harbhajan Singh and S Sreesanth involved physical contact between them. This incident shook the entire cricketing world, as it was not just an argument or a verbal fight between two cricketers. Harbhajan Singh slapped his own national teammate Sreesanth in the 2008 IPL.
Kings XI Punjab defeated Mumbai Indians, which was captained by Harbhajan in the absence of Sachin Tendulkar. After the game, Sreesanth was about to shake hands when Harbhajan takes a swing at the pacer. Sreesanth was seen crying, in tears, with teammates VRV Singh and Kumar Sangakkara trying to console him.
Bhajji was banned for the rest of the tournament, and Sreesanth was given a warning. But with time, both Indian players made peace as they were part of the World Cup-winning team in 2011.
Kieron Pollard and Mitchel Starc, IPL 2014
One of the ugliest incidents in IPL history involved two giants of international cricket. Mitchell Starc and Kieron Pollard were up against each other at the Wankhede in IPL 2014. On the fourth ball of the 17th over, when Pollard fails to connect a hook shot to a bouncer, Starc sends some verbal sledges towards Pollard.
The West Indian doesn’t want to get into any altercation and signals the bowler with his hand to just go back on his bowling mark.
Moments later is when mayhem ensued. As Starc is about to deliver his next ball, Pollard moves away from the pitch. However, already frustrated, Starc sends down the ball towards the batter anyway. Pollard furiously throws his bat in Starc’s direction. Luckily the bat slipped out of his hands and is thrown into the ground.
Rohit tries to calm down Pollard, Chris Gayle comes and has a chat with his him. In the strategic break, Virat Kohli too has a heated exchange with the MI batsman. In the aftermath of this, Pollard scores a boundary of Starc, but later the bowler runs him out.
Virat Kohli and Gautam Gambhir, IPL 2012
When two behemoths of Indian cricket collided it sparked heavy controversies. On 11 April 2013, RCB were chasing 155 against KKR. On the first delivery of the 10th over Virat Kohli was dismissed by Lakshmipathy Balaji. Gambhir ran in to celebrate with the bowler from the point position in the circle.
That’s when Kohli, who was walking towards the dugout, heard something, said to him and replied back with words of his own. In no time, the two Delhi players were charging at each other. Thankfully, Rajat Bhatia and umpire Anil Chaudhary were quick to intervene and separated the two.
Hardik Pandya and Chris Morris, IPL 2020
Hardik Pandya and Chris Morris were involved in a heated exchange of words in the Mumbai-Bangalore game in Abu Dhabi. Mumbai was on course of a successful chase as Hardik, and Surya Kumar Yadav were on the crease.
On the fourth ball of the 19th over, Hardik smashed Morris for a six over long-on and words were said from either all-rounder. The next ball, the batsman chips a catch to the cover fielder and Morris gives out a huge roar after taking the wicket. And Hardik is not one to shy away from a duel. While walking slowly back towards the dugout, both the players take a dig at each other. Hardik also points to someone during his way back.
Also Read: “There Needs To Be A Statement”: Virender Sehwag On Rohit Sharma’s Injury Status
