Mitchell Johnson in fiery confrontation after Indian cricketer allegedly sledged the female umpires
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Australian cricket great Mitchell Johnson was involved in a fiery altercation with Yusuf Pathan after the Indian cricketer allegedly sledged the female umpires.
Johnson was in action in the Indian T20 league for the India Capitals against Bhilwara Kings.
He was bowling to Yusuf Pathan when the batsman became incredibly agitated and began screaming towards Johnson at the end of the over.
Yahoo Sport reports that an anonymous player involved in the game claimed that ‘Johnson did nothing’ and that he had taken offence to Pathan ‘sledding 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
The Aussie bowler confronted Pathan as teammates had to intervene.
Umpire Kim Cotton can be seen leading Johnson away from the altercation.
The pace bowler was subsequently fined 50 per cent of his match fee as a result of the confrontation, according to Yahoo Sport.
Pathan appeared to be questioning Cotton over her decision to not award a wide for Johnson’s final ball of his third over.
The Indian batter had words with the umpire before Johnson stepped in and sparked the confrontation.
The 39-year-old batsman pushed his chest toward Pathan before Johnson retaliated with a shove back on the Kings player.
Teammates from both sides stepped in to ensure the quarrel didn’t go any further.
Johnson did get the apparent last laugh against his rival, however, as he went on to dismiss Patahn just two runs short of his half-century.
Fellow Australian Shane Watson led the way for Pathan’s side, scoring 65 runs off 39 balls.
But it wasn’t enough to topple Johnson’s Capitals who secured the win with 3 balls left of the final over, winning the game by four wickets.
It is the second major controversy involving Johnson in the last few months.
The Australian was forced to quit his radio commentary job with ABC in August due to his association with betting agency Bet Nation.
The relationship broke the national broadcaster’s strict rules.
Johnson told Fox Sports following his resignation: “I have really enjoyed working with the ABC team over recent seasons and was looking forward to doing it again.
“There seems to be a lot of hypocrisy that goes with this rule. I don’t understand and you start to wonder about what you can and can’t say if you are calling for them.
“It’s blown me away a little bit: do we have to make sure we have to align with the ABC’s moral compass?
"There’s nothing I can do about it … that’s the rule and I guess I’m not going to work with them.”
