Cricket Scandals: The Explosive Gambhir-Sreesanth Confrontation That Went Too Far

One such incident took place between two of India’s legendary stars, Gautam Gambhir and S Sreesanth. Gambhir, who is currently the coach of the Indian cricket team, has been known for his aggressive behaviour on the field, while on the other hand, Sreesanth has also not been away from controversies. But a serious escalation took place when these two fierce cricketers went against each other in the Legends League Cricket.

The Incident: Clash on the Field

Legends League Cricket, launched just a few years ago, has been a great initiative, where the former Indian players go against each other in a T20 league. But fans never thought that even the legendary players could get involved in a heated clash against each other, which took place between Gambhir and Sreesanth in 2023.

India Capitals and the Gujarat Giants went against each other in the Eliminator match of the tournament, and that was another time when Gautam Gambhir and Sreesanth’s team went against each other. But since the stakes were high this time, fans knew that something would happen in this match.

Sreesanth, being the primary bowler of his team, was given the second over, where he was about to bowl to the India Capitals captain, Gautam Gambhir. He was not able to give a good start to the over, as Gambhir smashed a six and a four on the first two deliveries. Just the very next ball, it went for a dot, and Gambhir rotated the strike over the next few deliveries.

Watch last 10 seconds of this video, It was shreesanth who started and Gambhir just gave it back so full support to Gambhir sirpic.twitter.com/PisjDoAtZv

— Abhishek (@be_mewadi) December 7, 2023

When Gambhir stood at the non-striker’s end, he and Sreesanth had a prolonged stare at each other, which was noticed by the commentators and spectators. This further led to a verbal exchange between these two players, and eventually, the umpires had to step in to ensure that things remained in place. The situation calmed instantly, but fans wanted to know exactly what had happened between them, which led to an altercation.

Allegations & Words Used

After the match, Sreesanth started a live stream on his Instagram account to inform the fans about exactly what had happened between him and Gambhir during the game. He said that Gautam Gambhir, the current Indian team Head Coach, repeatedly called him a fixer, digging into the previous controversies which had involved him.

Sreesanth VS Gautam Gambhir pic.twitter.com/vr0TdQVhxa

— Sushant Mehta (@SushantNMehta) December 7, 2023

Sreesanth said that Gambhir called him by saying, “Fixer, fixer, you’re a fixer… you f— off, fixer!” What hurt Sreesanth even more was that such things were being said to him on a live broadcast, when the other players and umpires also stood in the middle of the crease. He also said that Gautam Gambhir is the Mr Fighter of the team, that he doesn’t respect the senior players of the Indian team either.

This was given in reference to the incident which took place between Gambhir and Sehwag, where the former criticised the commentary style of Sehwag. He also said that Gambhir’s calling him a fixer didn’t just hurt him; it also hurt his family, as the former Indian opener had reopened his wounds. Sreesanth continued by saying that he would soon tell about everything Gambhir said, and the 2013 IPL incident was a tough one for him and his family.

Gambhir’s Response

After the incident between Gautam Gambhir and Sreesanth took place, Sreesanth made it to Instagram to explain his side of the story. However, it should be noted that Gautam Gambhir’s side of the story has not yet been heard by anyone. He didn’t react to the clash which took place between them directly, but some indirect ways were definitely used.

Smile when the world is all about attention! pic.twitter.com/GCvbl7dpnX

— Gautam Gambhir (@GautamGambhir) December 7, 2023

Gautam Gambhir posted an image on his Twitter handle, saying that one should smile when the world is all about attention. Fans still think that he had given a taunt to Sreesanth that he clashed with him to receive some attention, which was visible in the statements he gave during his Instagram live stream.

A few weeks later, after the clash between him and Sreesanth, Gambhir participated in a public event during which he was asked about what exactly happened between the two players at that time. He said that he doesn’t want to react to the same, and is willing to focus more on the public event that he had visited.

Escalation & Fallout

Following the post by Gautam Gambhir on his Twitter account, Sreesanth reacted to the same by saying that it was arrogant and classless of the former Indian player. He even questioned Gambhir by asking whether he considers himself the Supreme Court, and continued by telling the fans that Gambhir has lost his respect.

Adding more to the scenario, Sreesanth said that Gambhir called him a fixer more than 7 times and even used abusive words on the umpires. Thus, the Legends League Cricket had to set up an internal committee to look forward to the incident which took place between them. The LLC Code of Conduct & Ethics Committee established an internal committee, which was led by Syed Kirmani.

The committee said that any breach which takes place both on and off the field will be dealt with according to the rules of the Legends League Cricket. Eventually, a legal notice was issued to Sreesanth by the Legends League Cricket management, saying that he breached the contract, and also demanded that he remove the videos from his social media handles.

The umpires also did not report any abusive words being used by Gautam Gambhir towards them, proving another allegation by Sreesanth as wrong. Various media outlets started to cover the incident between Sreesanth and Gautam Gambhir. They focused on how triggered Sreesanth became due to the clash, and how Gambhir didn’t react to the same.

Some news reports also said that Gautam Gambhir was being more combative against Sreesanth by calling him a fixer. This might also be the reason why Sreesanth called Gautam Gambhir Mr Fighter during his live stream, which took place immediately after the match. Although legal notices were issued to Sreesanth, no players were fined or banned from the Legends League Cricket.

Why This Clash Mattered

Sreesanth was given a life ban by the BCCI and other governing bodies for his involvement in the 2013 IPL fixing scandal. This was one of his darkest phases of his career, yet he fought his way back and regained his place in the team before he could retire. At this time, Gautam Gambhir calling him a fixer was just reopening the wounds which have already been healed by Sreesanth.

Gautam Gambhir has already been known for his aggressive nature on the field, whether it comes against his own teammates or the opposition. In the same year, he also had a controversy against Virat Kohli, which took place in the IPL 2023 match between Lucknow SuperGiants and Royal Challengers Bangalore. When his incident with Sreesanth took place, it put Gambhir’s aggressive nature under scrutiny.

Sreesanth also went on to criticise Gautam Gambhir, saying that he doesn’t respect his teammates or even his seniors. The views given by the former Indian pacer even aligned with the fans who saw Gautam Gambhir as more confrontational rather than being competitive. This incident also highlighted how even retired players use social media to express their emotions and views.

Sreesanth immediately went to his social media and started a stream, where he talked about the incident which took place between him and Gautam Gambhir. On the other hand, Gambhir didn’t directly react to this incident, but instead he used some posts with targeted captions on his social media accounts.

Aftermath & Longer-Term Impacts

There were no such immediate impacts of the clash between Gautam Gambhir and Sreesanth. None of the players were officially given a ban or fine by the Legends League Cricket management, saying that they would hand them bans if any violation was noted on the field. However, Sreesanth removed the videos from his social media handles, which was demanded by the LLC.

This incident had mixed reactions on social media, as some fans supported Gautam Gambhir, while others supported Sreesanth. They called Gautam Gambhir toxic, disrespectful, and even insecure, while the others said that it was a bit dramatic of Sreesanth to get involved in a drama which is related to his past.