Bengal team-mates Pragyan Ojha and Ashok Dinda were almost involved in a brawl on the eve of their Ranji Trophy encounter in Rajkot, according to the Press Trust of India.

The duo, who have both played for India in the past, were involved in an ugly confrontation during a game of football. It is normally a practice that there are no tackles during a football game between cricketers, but Dinda seemed to have ignored that.

“The provocation did not come from Ojha who is a very cool fellow. It was Dinda who took a powerful shot that whizzed past Ojha’s ears. He could have got hurt and he was annoyed as he shouted at Dinda. He then charged at Ojha wanting to settle scores and Ojha just pushed him. He fell to the ground but by then the other members had come between them,” a source is said to have told PTI.

Ojha, originally from Odisha, moved from Hyderabad to Bengal in 2015 as he wanted to play in the elite groups (A and B) of the Ranji Trophy. Dinda is said to have taken a dig at the left-arm spinner, by referring to him as an “outsider” during their altercation.

Ojha last played a Test for India in November 2013, which was incidentally Sachin Tendulkar’s farewell international match. He has since had problems with his bowling action and hasn’t been in the reckoning for a re-call to the Indian team lately.

Dinda, on the other hand, has played 13 ODIs and nine T20Is for the Men in Blue, with his last appearance coming in January 2013.

Both players were included in Bengal’s XI for their match against Tamil Nadu on Sunday.