LLC announces internal inquiry into Sreeshanth-Gambhir row

Surat: After a brawl between former Indian cricketers and World Cup-winning teammates Gautam Gambhir and S Sreesanth amidst a match of The Legends League Cricket (LLC), the tournament authorities announced an internal investigation on the violation of the code of conduct, IANS reported.

The incident that has been the talk of 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 & Ethics Committee, the Legends League Cricket (LLC) said in a statement on Thursday.

Gambhir and Sreesanth got into a furious disagreement during the LLC Season 2 Eliminator match between India Capitals and Gujarat Giants at the Lalbhai Contractor Stadium, and the umpires had to step in to keep things civil.

Sreesanth chastised Gambhir for provoking him needlessly after the Capitals won by a score of 12 runs. Sreesanth attacked him for showing no regard for his coworkers and expressed how offended he was by Gambhir's remarks.

"Just wanted to clear some air on what happened with Mr Fighter, who always fights with all his colleagues for no reason whatsoever. He doesn't even respect his own senior players, including Viru bhai and a lot of people. That's exactly what happened today. Without any provocation, he just kept on calling me, something which is very rude and something which should not have been said by Mr. Gautam Gambhir," Sreesanth said after the match.

"So, I just want to tell you all that I am not at fault. I just wanted to clear the air straight away. Sooner or later, you'll get to know what Gauti has done. The words which he used and the things he said on a cricket field live are not acceptable," he added.

However, on Thursday morning, Sreesanth went live on the social media platform Instagram and accused Gambhir of using the 'F' word. The Kerala pacer also said that Gambhir called him a 'fixer', referring to the 2013 Indian Premier League (IPL) spot-fixing scandal.

After Sreesanth took the matter to social media, the LLC clarified its stand on the matter in a statement issued on Thursday.

"With respect to an incident that occurred on the field during the match between Gujarat Giants and India Capitals on 6th December 2023 at Lalbhai Contractor Stadium, Surat, and subsequent interactions on social media, Legends League Cricket makes their official stand very clear to uphold the spirit of the game both on and off the field," the League said on Thursday.

"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 stated 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 cricket lovers across the nation and world," said Syed Kirmani, Head of Code of Conduct & Ethics Committee, Legends League Cricket.

Raman Raheja, CEO of Legends League Cricket, said they are taking appropriate action against the breach of conduct.

"All players contracted in the Legends League Cricket are bound by certain terms related to misconduct, and necessary action will be taken per the codes of conduct laid down by the Code of Conduct & Ethics Committee. We are taking appropriate action against the breach of contract." Said Raman Raheja, CEO of Legends League Cricket.

LLC said that the incident has taken the focus away from the extremely exciting season so far.

"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," it said.

"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," the League said.

As it happened, on Thursday morning, Gambhir posted an enigmatic note on social media, perhaps downplaying the issue sparked by Sreesanth.

"Smile when the world is all about attention," Gambhir said on social media platform X.