The genesis of the problem lies in a mid-pitch crash between the two players who have held each other accountable for the quarrel. Soon after Gambhir hit Shahid Afridi for a boundary, the two got engaged in a verbal battle.

Even after Gambhir changed end after a single, the duel continued. The issue nearly got out of hand when Gambhir walked up to the Pakistani player to vent his feelings. Tension sparked as they came closer, but the matter was brought under control by umpire Ian Gould. Sounding a warning, the umpire told both the players to retain their cool and mind their own businesses.

A frustrated Afridi was seen banging the ball hard on the ground without any reason. This is considered against the rules of the game as Afridi had nothing to do with the ball. He had neither taken a catch, missed one, or frustrated owing to an unsuccessful appeal. Umpire Ian Gould immediately drew the attention of Pakistan captain Shoaib Malik towards the misdemeanor. Earlier, Gambhir also had a tiff with Pakistani Sohail Tanvir when the bowler teased the left-handed Indian after he missed a shot.

While both the captains did their best to play down the incident during the media briefing after the match, Afridi later confessed his mistake and said that his actions were responsible for the distasteful verbal duel with Gautam Gambhir on the field and he also made an apology to the Indian batsman. Afridi said that the entire episode was a fall-out of his anger and frustration at not being able to perform as per his expectations.

Meanwhile, informed sources said that Afridi could be in real problem if the Sri Lankan match referee Roshan Mahanama takes up the matter seriously and draws the attention of the ICC towards the two unpleasant incidents that occurred on the field during the third ODI.

It may be mentioned here that during India’s Pakistan tour in November 2005, Afridi was banned for a Test and two ODIs for intentionally queering the pitch and he was again caught scraping his boots on the pitch when play was held up for a while. in a match against England. This incident took place just before India arrived in Pakistan that year. 

Comments (7)

3. 15-11-2007 03:33

 
 
Shahid has to take retirement ! if he dont know how to play !!! 
 
Bye

5. 15-11-2007 05:54

 
In order to stop such frequent fights on the ground ICC should take strict action against the players immediately so that it ets an example for the rest and they won't dare do it again

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