Former India all-rounder Yusuf Pathan appears to have landed in a muddle in the ongoing Legends League Cricket 2022. Yusuf was involved in a fight with former Australia pacer Mitchell Johnson during an LLC 2022 Qualifier 1 between India Capitals and Bhilwara Kings.
Johnson was subsequently fined 50 per cent of his match fees for getting involved in the fight with Yusuf. However, Australian media has now claimed that Yusuf Pathan threw an ugly sledge at female umpire Kim Cotton which led to the incident with Johnson.
Johnson and Yusuf Pathan, who played 57 ODIs and 27 T20s for India, needed to be separated late in the first innings of their Legends League Cricket qualifier on Sunday (October 2). Pathan was furious when Johnson’s final ball of his third over was not deemed a wide.
The right-hander, who had belted 31 from 18, ducked under a short-pitched delivery, before angrily demanding an explanation from umpire Cotton. Pathan screamed towards the umpire, then walked towards his partner in the middle of the pitch before continuing on in Cotton’s direction.
At that point, Pathan met Johnson at the bowling crease, who took exception to the sledging, standing over his opponent and pushing his body into Johnson before the Australian pushed the batter away from him. The duo continued to exchange a torrid of words, before Cotton managed to assist Johnson away.
One player, who was involved in the game but wanted to remain anonymous, said “Johnson did nothing” and added Pathan “was sledging the female umpires”.
#ICYMI: Things got really heated in @llct20 between Yusuf Pathan and Mitchell Johnson. pic.twitter.com/4EnwxlOg5P
— Nikhil (@CricCrazyNIKS) October 2, 2022
Following a detailed investigation of the incident, a disciplinary committee, headed by Legends League Cricket Commissioner Ravi Shastri, decided to punish the bowler and also send him an official warning.
“We are here to promote serious and competitive cricket through this league. What happened yesterday on the ground during the qualifier match shouldn’t have happened. We have closely gone through the video multiple times before coming to any conclusion. I hope everyone gets a clear message that the spirit of the game is of prime importance and such things won’t get repeated in this league,” said Raman Raheja, CEO and Co-Founder of Legends League Cricket.
The two sides will face off again in the LLC 2022 final at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur on Wednesday (October 5).
