Gautam Gambhir, Manoj Tiwary almost exchange punches during Ranji Trophy match

Both Gambhir and Tiwary are part of the national cricket setup

The Feroz Shah Kotla ground saw some ugly scenes during a Ranji Trophy round four game between Delhi and Bengal as captains Gautam Gambhir and Manoj Tiwary almost exchanged blows, post an altercation.

In an attempt to stop the fight, umpire K Srikanth had to come in between, however, he was also pushed away from the scene by Gambhir. A Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) official said, “I can only describe Gautam Gambhir as mentally unstable. This is not the first time he has done this and this won’t be the last. We are just waiting for the match to get over. It is Gambhir who began the war of words.”

The incident occurred in the eighth over of Bengal’s second innings, when Partha Sarathi Chatterjee was dismissed by Manan Sharma and Tiwary came in at number four. He came on with a cap. As the bowler began to his run-up, Tiwary stopped the pacer and requested a helmet from the Bengal dressing room. Delhi players led by Gautam Gambhir thought it was an attempt to waste time.

Manan asked Tiwary to stop wasting and time, to which he retorted. Gambhir, then jumped in from front slip and started abusing Tiwary. Gambhir said, “Shaam ko mil tujhe maroonga (Meet me in the evening, I will hit you). And Tiwary replied: “Shaam kya abhi bahar chal’ (Why wait till evening, let’s go out and settle it now”). Gambhir raised his fist directed towards Tiwary and the latter didn’t back down.

The umpire came in between, but he was pushed away by Gambhir. Manoj then shouted at Gambhir saying, “Did I tell you anything, why did you come in between.” Both players have been summoned by Match Referee Valmick Buch, and could face a serious ban for touching the Umpire.