Sreesanth has responded to Gautam Gambhir's social media post© X (formerly Twitter)
Former Indian cricket team stars Gautam Gambhir and S Sreesanth were involved in a massive on-field altercation during the ongoing Legends League Cricket (LLC) tournament on Thursday. Both cricketers were engaged in a war of words on the field and Sreesanth later claimed that Gambhir called him a 'fixer' during the fight. Following the incident, Gambhir took to social media to post an old picture of himself along with the caption - "Smile when the world is all about attention!". While he found support from some of his old teammates, Sreesanth has replied with his own view in the post's comments.
"You have exceeded the boundaries of a sportsman and a brother, and above all, you represent the people. Yet, you continue to engage in conflicts with every cricketer. What is the matter with you? All I did was smile and observe, and you labeled me a fixer? Seriously? Are you above the Supreme Court? You have no authority to speak in such a manner and say whatever you please. You even verbally abused the umpires, and yet you speak of smiling? You are an arrogant and utterly classless individual who lacks any form of respect for those who supported you. Until yesterday, I always held respect for you and your family. However, you used the derogatory term "fixer" not just once, but seven or eight times. You even resorted to using the F-word towards the umpires and myself, persistently trying to provoke me. Anyone who has experienced what I have endured would never forgive you. Deep down, you know that what you said and did was wrong. Im sure even God wont forgive you. You didn't even come to the field aftwr that. Come on, God is watching everything," Sreesanth commented on Gambhir's post.
LLC also issued a statement regarding the argument between the two players and said they will conduct an internal investigation on the violation of the code of conduct.
"The incident that has been the talk in the cricketing world violates the code of conduct and necessary action will be taken against all that have violated the very clear rules stated by the league's Code of Conduct and Ethics Committee," LLC said in an official statement.
"Legends League Cricket strives to uphold the spirit of cricket and sportsmanship and will conduct an internal investigation on the violation of the code of conduct. Any misconduct that has occurred both on and off the field including on social media platforms will be dealt with strictly. The code of conduct has clearly states that necessary action will be taken against players that bring disrepute to the league, the spirit of the game and the teams that they are representing. We make our stand very clear and continue to work towards sharing the game with millions of cricketing lovers across the nation and world," Syed Kirmani, Head of Code of Conduct & Ethics Committee, Legends League Cricket said in an official statement.
"All players contracted in the Legends League Cricket are bound by certain terms related to misconduct and necessary action will be taken as per the codes of conduct laid down by the Code of Conduct & Ethics Committee. We are taking appropriate action against the breach of contract." Raman Raheja, CEO of Legends League Cricket said.
"Unfortunately, this incident that is making the rounds on social media pulls focus if only for a short time away from what has so far been an extremely exciting season so far with national and international legends playing together for their respective teams. Legends League Cricket aims to continue to be focused on the league itself and let the ASCU and Code of Conduct & Ethics Committee handle the internal investigation and subsequent action with respect to the involved individual/s that will be held in violation of the code of conduct for their comments including ones made on social media," LLC further stated in an official release.
Sreesanth also accused former India opener Gambhir of behaving badly with other players as well. Notably, Sreesanth was involved in the spot-fixing scandal in 2013 when he used to play for Rajasthan Royals in the Indian Premier League. He along with Ajit Chandila and Ankeet Chavan were arrested by Delhi Police for their involvement in the scandal.
Upon investigation, the 36-year-old bowler was found guilty by the BCCI and the board imposed a life ban on the cricketer. The cricketer challenged the BCCI's decision in the Kerala High Court which upheld the life ban. The Supreme Court in March 2019 set aside the life ban imposed on cricketer S Sreesanth by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) and asked the cricket body to reconsider his plea within three months.
(With ANI inputs)
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