Top Five Biggest Controversies About Indian Cricket Players

In India, cricket is much bigger than any other sport with the people looking forward to witness their respective favourite players perform well. On the other hand, the cricket fans in India have a natural habit of scrutinizing every single cricketing decision to a great extent. The cricketing history has witnessed a lot of controversies involving both the overseas and the Indian players that have rocked the sport and been a big talking point amongst the millions of cricket fans. However, the Indian cricketers are the ones who are the most watched and scrutinized players across the globe, which is the major reason why they look to avoid being involved in these type of awkward situations. In this blog piece, we take a look at the top five biggest controversies about Indian cricket players. 

Top Five Biggest Controversies about Indian Cricket Players

1. Virat Kohli pointing middle finger at the Australian crowd

Former India captain Virat Kohli is considered as one of the biggest role models from the sporting world at this moment and has the most runs in IPL history. However, it is very much surprising that India's legendary batsman was involved in one of biggest controversies in 2012. The Indian cricket team were playing a four-match Test series in Australia and the controversial incident took place during the Australia vs India 2nd Test hosted at the Sydney Cricket Ground in Sydney. Following a poor performance with the bat where he scored just 23 runs in the first innings, Kohli was fielding near the boundary line when the Australian crowd present at that part of the ground started abusing him. 

However, in reply, Virat Kohli was seen showing his middle finger to the local Australian crowd who were earlier abusing him. One of the most famous cricket players at this moment faced a lot of criticism from the media for his controversial gesture towards the Australian fans. He was levelled with two charges by the match referee Ranjan Madugalle that included a fine of 50% of his match fee. 

2. Harbhajan Singh slaps Sreesanth in IPL 2008

Besides the pure entertainment by the batters and bowlers, the maiden edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) witnessed one of the biggest controversial incidents surrounding the Indian players. Harbhajan Singh and S Sreesanth, who were both part of the Indian team winning the 2007 T20 World Cup and 2011 ODI World Cup, were involved in an altercation following an IPL 2008 match between the Mumbai Indians and Kings XI Punjab. The Mumbai Indians ended up losing that group-stage fixture against Kings XI Punjab after which Harbhajan slapped Sreesanth just when both the teams were heading back to their respective dugouts. 

Harbhajan Singh was handed a one-match ban by the officials due to that controversial incident. However, the legendary Indian off-spinner has time and again mentioned that he always regrets his actions admitted in the past. Also, Sreesanth has stated that he has no more hard feelings against his fellow Indian teammate. This was one of the biggest Indian cricket players fight in the history of the game. 

3. Murder charges against Navjot Sidhu

One of the famous cricketers of his playing days, Navjot Singh Sidhu, was part of a huge controversy off the cricketing field as he was charged with a murder case in 1998. A 65-year-old person named Gurnam Singh was allegedly beaten by Sidhu and his friend Rupinder Singh in Patiala as he asked the duo to remove their car parked in the middle of the road. On rushing to the hospital after that beating, the person was declared dead. The death of the person resulted in murder charges against Sidhu and his friend Rupinder. 

During the first hearing, the local district and session court acquitted both Sidhu and his friend due to lack of evidence. However, the decision was turned against them by the high court following which Sidhu was sent to jail before being released on bail in the same year in 2007. But, the victim's family finally got its justice when the Indian cricketer was sentenced to a rigorous imprisonment in 2022. 

4. Mohammad Azharuddin involved in match-fixing

India's most stylish and dynamic batsman Mohammad Azharuddin created a lot of records with the bat and was also one of the most successful captains in the history of the game. However, his entire prestigious cricketing career suffered a massive downfall when he got involved in match-fixing charges in 2000. The former Indian cricketer was alleged by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) to have fixed international matches in exchange of money. The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) also mentioned in its report that Azharuddin introduced South Africa captain Hansie Cronje to some high profile bookies. As a result, the BCCI banned the Indian cricketer from playing international cricket but the Andhra Pradesh High Court lifted the ban in 2012. 

5. IPL spot fixing and betting scandal

It was a massive shocker for the millions of cricket fans in India when they came to know the biggest cricket update that the Indian Premier League 2013 season was marred by spot fixing and betting incidents. Two of the famous IPL franchises, Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals were banned for two successive years for their involvement in the betting scandal. On the other hand, the Delhi Police arrested three Rajasthan Royals' cricketers, S Sreesanth, Ajit Chandila and Ankeet Chavan against spot fixing charges in the IPL.