Tiwary claims Gambhir made comments on Ganguly

NEW DELHI: A day after Bengal skipper Manoj Tiwary and his Delhi counterpart Gautam Gambhir had an altercation during their Group A Ranji Trophy match at the Ferozeshah Kotla, the former alleged that he was upset because the home skipper had made remarks about Sourav Ganguly, the new Cricket Association of Bengal president.

Gambhir was fined 70 % of his match fee and Tiwary was docked 40 % of his fee on Saturday for the mid-pitch altercation following a hearing held by the match referee.

On Sunday, Tiwary told reporters: “I spoke to Ganguly yesterday and told him about the incident. He was upset because his name was also raised, and that is why I was very upset. I felt bad,” said Tiwary.

“Sledging and competitiveness is good to an extent. But players should not cross the line. As a community, you do not want to get hurt,” added Tiwary.

The Bengal skipper said the Delhi team was trying to put pressure on him when he walked into bat. “They were trying to put pressure on me but it does not mean he (Gambhir) has the right to abuse me. Sledging in a competitive way is good but you don’t have to sledge taking your father or mother’s name. You don’t have to cross the line,” he added. Tiwary said the video footage of the incident is being sent to the BCCI.

Gambhir, in a media release, dismissed Tiwary’s allegations and said he had the highest regard for Ganguly, his former India team mate. He had on Saturday said in a release that Tiwary was lying and claimed it was the Bengal skipper who had pushed Delhi player Pradeep Sangwan and abused some others. Tiwary countered on Sunday evening, after their match had ended in a draw, that Gambhir was not telling the truth.

BCCI Secretary Anurag Thakur said incidents like these should not take place and promised corrective measures.