The richest and biggest cricket League, Indian Premier League continues to entertain the viewers in the current 12th edition. The league is no less than a festival for its fans, which assures a full-fledged entertainment. Apart from giving some extraordinary talents and nail-biting thrillers, IPL has become infamous for several controversial instances which grabbed the attention from all the corners of the world. Right from Shah Rukh Khan’s Wankhede drama to the recent Mankading act of R Ashwin, the league has provided some serious controversies to pile on.
Here are the controversies that shook the IPL fans:
Harbhajan-Sreesanth slap incident (2008)
Advertisement
Right in the first season, the league sparked the infamous slapping incident. In 2008, after Kings XI Punjab won the match against Mumbai Indians, Harbhajan Singh slapped Sreesanth (who then represented Punjab). While the reason is still not clearly known, it is said the pacer offended Mumbai’s spinner by saying something abusive.
A ban on Pakistani players (2009)
In the aftermath of Mumbai terror attacks in November 2008, Pakistan government stated that it is not safe for the Pakistani players to be the part of the league in India. Also, the wave of rage against the neighbouring country in India, favoured the ban.
A ban on Ravindra Jadeja (2010)
Ravindra Jadeja tried to negotiate some higher deals with other franchises and failed to renew his contract with Rajasthan Royals. The left-arm all-rounder was found guilty of breaching the player guidelines. He was banned for a one year by the IPL governing body.
Suspension of Lalit Modi (2010)
The brain behind the most popular cricket league, Mr. Lalit Modi was sacked as a Chairperson by Board Of Control For Cricket In India (BCCI), due to his illegal financial activities.
Superstar and a co-owner of Kolkata Knight Riders, Shah Rukh Khan was accused of abusing the officials of Wankhede stadium in Mumbai. Mumbai Cricket Association banned the actor from entering the stadium for 5 years but later repealed it.
Rahul Sharma and Wayne Parnell detected for drugs (2012)
Spinner Rahul Sharma and all-rounder Wayne Parnell of Pune Warriors squad, were caught in the rave party raided by the Mumbai police. The duo was detected positive for the recreational drugs.
The verbal spat between Gauti and Virat (2013)
Kolkata Knight Riders skipper Gautam Gambhir showed the way of the pavilion to Virat Kohli (Royal Challengers Bangalore) with some send-off remarks, which didn’t go down well with the latter and both got involved in the verbal spat.
Spot-fixing (2013)
This is the biggest controversy of IPL, which harmed the overall credibility and reputation of the league. The players of Rajasthan Royals including Sreesanth, Ajit Chandila and Ankit Chavan, were said to be involved in the illegal practices of spot-fixing. Delhi Police claimed of having a piece of evidence. The players were banned for a lifetime after being arrested. Earlier this month, the ban posted by BCCI on Sreesanth was lifted by The Supreme Court Of India.
Tussle between Pollard and Starc (2014)
Two hot-headed cricketers got involved in a verbal spat during a match between Royal Challengers Bangalore and Mumbai Indians. During one delivery of Bangalore’s left-arm pacer, Mumbai’s hitter, Pollard pulled out of his stance, which didn’t gown down well with Starc and threw a ball towards the West Indian. Pollard reacted by throwing a bat towards the pacer.
Suspension Of Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals (2015)
Owners of both Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals, namely Gurunath Meiyappan and Raj Kundra, respectively, were found guilty in betting and fixing practices, which resulted in a ban of 2 years on both the teams by the committee headed by the Supreme Court.
R Ashwin’s Mankading controversy (2019)
The incident took place recently in a match between Ashwin led Kings XI Punjab and Ajinkya Rahane led Rajasthan Royals. The right-arm off spinner received backlash after he dismissed (ran out) Rajasthan opener Jos Buttler at the non-striker’s end during his bowling stride. While Ashwin defended himself by stating that Mankading is in the rule books of the game, the senior players criticised the player for not showing the sportsman spirit.
Lasith Malinga’s no-ball controversy (2019)
The last delivery of the recent match between Royal Challengers Bangalore and Mumbai Indians, sparked a new controversy. Bangalore, which needed 7 runs of the last ball with maverick batsman AB de Villiers, scored a single on the last ball, thus losing to Mumbai side. While the celebrations were on for Mumbai, it was later noticed that the umpiring blunder costed a match for Bangalore, as the last delivery was a clear no-ball.
Android & IOS users, download our mobile app for faster than ever Bollywood & Box Office updates!
