From the first Test series ever played by India in 1932, disagreements between players have been quite frequent. These clashes have even involved some of the most renowned cricketers in the history of Indian cricket team, with five of the biggest feuds outlined below.
5. Maharaja of Vizianagaram and Lala Amarnath, 1936
During a tour game, Vizzy asked Amarnath to prepare to bat but did not send him in. Unfortunately, due to an existing finger injury, Amarnath could not tend to it, and when he got to bat, he fared poorly. Upon returning to the dressing room, he let fly with his feelings on the matter, and Vizzy took this as a personal insult. As a result, Amarnath was sent back to India ahead of the first Test, and the two men never resolved their differences.
4. MS Dhoni and Sehwag
It all began during the 2012 tri-series in Australia when Dhoni made the decision to rest one of the three top-order batsman – Sehwag, Sachin, and Gambhir – due to their slower movements in the field than what was needed. Sehwag took an incredible catch in the next game and retorted, “Did you see my catch? We are the same for the past 10 years. Nothing has changed.”
3. Sachin and Rahul Dravid
Under the captaincy of Rahul Dravid, who stepped up to fill in for the injured Sourav Ganguly, a controversial declaration was made during the first Test match against Pakistan in Multan. Sachin Tendulkar was stranded at 194 not out when the declaration came two overs earlier than had been anticipated, although Tendulkar himself has insisted that he had received multiple warnings.
2. S. Gavaskar and Kapil Dev
Gavaskar and Kapil Dev’s tumultuous relationship began when the captaincy was traded between them in the mid-1980s. Things only worsened on the field, culminating in Kapil’s controversial drop during a Test match against England at Delhi in 1984; the dismissal from an attacking shot he had played cost India the game. This event further soured their already rocky relations.
1. M. Azharuddin and Sachin Tendulkar
After their shocking exit from the 1996 World Cup and a dismal tour of England, Tendulkar took over the captaincy from Azharuddin. However, tensions between the two were evident as Tendulkar had begun to suspect Azhar of not giving his total effort on the field. The captaincy remained exchanged between the two until 1999 when Indian cricket team crashed out of the World Cup, which saw Tendulkar regain the captaincy. But soon after, a match-fixing scandal unfolded, leading to a CBI investigation in which Sachin Tendulkar gave testimony that he believed Azhar was in cahoots with bookies and lacked the commitment to provide his all. Subsequently, Azharuddin was banned by the BCCI and never played for India again.
