'No enmity, bullets haven't been fired either,' Praveen Kumar plays down Gambhir-Sreesanth feud in LLC

Surat, December 8 (IANS) Former Indian cricketer Praveen Kumar believes that fans and social media have unnecessarily blown out of proportion the on-field altercation between Gautam Gambhir and S Sreesanth during an Eliminator match between Indian Capitals and Gujarat Giants in the ongoing Legends League Cricket (LLC) 2023.

Gambhir and Sreesanth on Wednesday got into a furious disagreement during the match here at the Lalbhai Contractor Stadium, and the umpires had to step in to keep things civil.

Praveen Kumar, who played 68 ODIs and six Tests for India, urged everyone not to escalate the issue further, emphasizing that such incidents are part and parcel of the game. In an exclusive interview with IANS, he stressed the need for keeping such matters confined to the field without sensationalizing them on social media

"These are part and parcels of the game, there is no need for creating hype around these types of incidents. This should remain in the ground only and shouldn't be carried beyond that. People have made a fuss for no reason on social media but if you see both (Gambhir and Sreesanth) of them will forget it after a few days," Praveen Kumar told IANS.

"Everything becomes fine once players step outside (Ground par ho jaati hai tu tu main main, bahar jakr sab thik). There is no enmity, bullets haven't been fired either (Koi dushmani thodi hai, goliyan thodi chali hain), social media shouldn't hype this," he added.

After the heated altercation between Gambhir and Sreesanth, the bowler on Thursday posted two videos on social media, accusing Gambhir of the misconduct. The left-handed batter responded with a cryptic tweet.

Following the spat, the Legends League Cricket (LLC) said that it will conduct an internal investigation into the violation of the code of conduct in the incident involving the two players.

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.

Meanwhile, the Manipal Tigers on Thursday defeated India Capitals by six wickets to reach the finals of ongoing Legends League Cricket (LLC). The side will now face Urbanrisers Hyderabad in the summit clash on Saturday here.

Praveen Kumar, who plays for Manipal Tigers, feels the level of the game here is at par with international cricket and players cannot avoid practice and net sessions before coming out to compete.

"There is no difference in the level of competition (in LLC), same bowling, same batting, and even more runs are being scored here in an innings compared to the International level. Yes age factor comes into the picture but the players are the same and so is their game. It requires practice and we do practice before our game here," Praveen Kumar told IANS following Manipal Tigers' win over India Capitals.