12 Controversial cricketers - The headline hoggers

12 Controversial cricketers – The headline hoggers: Cricket and controversies have always had a hand and glove relationship. Almost all the formats of the game, be it, Tests, ODIs, World Cups, Big Bash League or the IPL, all of these have had its own share of media publicity. The highlight of this media glare has been the cricketers who have amused the fans not only with their play but also with their idiosyncrasies both on and off the field. Here is a list of 12 Controversial cricketers – The headline hoggers: 1. Andrew Symonds: Andrew Symonds. (© Getty Images) Andrew Symonds career has always tagged along with itself a bundle of controversies which got him entangled into a plethora of trouble. He was suspended in 2008, as he found it amusing to go out fishing rather than attend the Aussie team’s meet just a day prior to the match. Then in the same year he was involved in the Monkeygate with Harbhajan Singh. Owing to all this, he was dropped from the Ashes squad in 2009. Things went further downhill for him when he was reprimanded and sent back to Australia during the ongoing T20 World cup because of his indecent drinking incident. Thus just like his wacky hair his cricketing career also had its own peculiar moments but he surely made up for all this with his brilliant all-rounder performance. Also Read – 17 Most Controversial moments in Cricket History 2. Hansie Cronje: Hansie Cronje. (© Getty Images) His journey from the most likeable gentleman’ the sport had ever seen to being the ‘tarnished fixer’ Hansie Cronje is mostly remembered as, is just a nightmare. The King Commission which found him guilty of altering the result of the match in 1999-2000, at Centurion against Pakistan dethroned him forever as he was barred from participation in any form of competitive cricket in 2001. This was followed by his tragic death in a plane crash in 2002, symbolic of the way how his career plummeted overnight, just like his life. 3. Shoaib Akhtar: Shoaib Akhtar. (© Getty Images) The Rawalpindi Express had a colorful career with the bright side being as dominant as the shadier one. In 2006, he was accused of doping as he was tested positive for a banned substance. In 2007, Shoaib Akhtar was debarred from the national side for an indefinite period because of the tussle he had with his team member Mohd Asif. In 2008, he was further banned for 5 years for washing PCB’s dirty linen in the public. Then he also faced a disgraceful incident of being sent back from London because he did not have a valid visa. Akhtar still remains is a perfect example of fast and furious, which was still evident in the recently culminated Cricket All Stars tournament where he shared the same heated camaraderie with the former Australian opener, Mathew Hayden. 4. Michael Atherton: Michael Atherton. (© Adrian Murrell/ALLSPORT via Getty Images) The incident was dirtier for the spirit of the game than the dirt he was trying to put on the ball. This incident happened at the most revered ground of cricket, the Lord’s, during the third day of the first match when the England skipper Atherton resorted to wrongful tactics when he was found tampering with the ball by trying to sneak it in his trouser pockets to rub some dirt on it. The only dirt razor was that he was fined 2000 pounds for being dishonest and South Africa honestly stole a clean sweep in the series on their home ground. 5. Shahid Afridi: Shahid Afridi Ball Tampering. (Photo Source: Dailymotion) The Boom-Boom Afridi has had a roller-coaster ride with controversies. The most horrifying of all was the ball tampering incident against Australia wherein he was barred from two international T20 matches as a punishment for his misconduct. Apart from this, he was recently alleged in the media for having an illicit relationship with the Indian model Arshi Khan. Then he has also been criticized for his sexist remarks against the women players which he denied. Recently in the World Cup, he was in the limelight for calling the cricket commentator Mike Nicholas as Nigga. Besides it has also been claimed that he has registered his wrong age and in reality, is 3 years older than he claims. In the end, the Lala of cricket is a constant subject of media hog making his off-field activities as popular as his on-field massacres. 6. Harbhajan Singh: Harbhajan Singh. (© Getty Images) The recently married Turbanator of India who is India’s best off spinners has almost constantly been involved in a streak of controversies ever since the start of his career. In his maiden ODI, he got into a war of words with Ponting whom he had dismissed for a duck and subsequently was banned for a match for his brash conduct. Then in 2000 he was thrown out of the newly established National Cricket Academy for failing to comply with its objectives and the requirement of physical norms. Following this, he also lost his sponsorship with the Indian Airlines. In 2005, he was reprimanded for criticizing Greg Chappell by PCB and the BCCI. The biggest controversy which has marred his professional career is the Monkey gate scandal in which he was accused of calling Symonds, a monkey. This was followed by him calling Hayden a ‘big liar’ and Gilchrist ‘no saint.’ Well, his bad boy image was further aggravated in the 2010 IPL incident in which he slapped Sreesanth when he mocked him on losing. Thus, the Punjabi brat really had a doosra angle to his cricketing life where success was accompanied with aggressive stints which have always kept him in kept him under media scrutiny 7. Shane Warne: Shane Warne. (© Getty Images) He surely is a cricketer on whom a prolix purple prose can be written with respect to cricketing achievements but still remains a Byronic hero for all his off-field faux pas. Ranging from his multiple sexcapades to on-field brawls, Shane Warne surely has been no gentleman of the game. The biggest blow to him came in 2003 when he was barred from playing in the World Cup as he was found guilty of consumption of a banned substance which was followed by a twelve-month ban. Another instance of being involved in misconduct was the 90’s ‘John the Bookmaker’ incident wherein he was accused of being involved with an Indian bookie. In addition, he was also suspended in 2000 because of his alleged sex affair with a British nurse. Another incident of his brazen attitude was captured when he was found smoking after instructions from the authorities to quit the same. The wonderful leg-spinner with a gift to move the ball anti-clockwise has definitely got a knack to grab the media lights which are sure to hover on him for a long time. 8. Greg Chappell: Greg Chappell. (© Getty Images) The Australian cricketer has been a favorite of the controversial trap on the field of cricket. It all started when he ordered his brother Trevor Chappell in 1981 to bowl underarm against New Zealand which got him a lot of criticism from all the cricket lovers. The biggest stint which brought him disrepute was his tenure as the coach of the Indian cricket team. This marked the beginning of his inimical relationship with Ganguly which eventually led to his leaving captaincy. Off late, he has also sparked a controversy mentioning in his book that Dravid never got support in the team as the captain. Well, the Australian just like his celebrated brother Ian Chappell has got a considerable share of the media limelight, and it seems unlikely that he is going to shirk off his attitude of giving scathing opinions about cricketers especially Indian players. 9. Kevin Pietersen: Kevin Pietersen. (© Getty Images) The flamboyant cricketer had a glitzy career, but it was not without its pitfalls. In 2008, it was his invention of the switch hit, a modification of the conventional reverse sweep which faced resistance before getting the approval of the international body. In 2009, his demand of the removal of Peter Moores got him a lot of flak, which made his position untenable as the captain. Then in 2011 he absented himself from the World Cup due to a hernia problem which again was the talk of the town. But the major imbroglio of his career was the issue surrounding reports that he had sent hate text messages to the South African team against Andrew Strauss and Andy Flower. Pietersen has always been a maverick with the bat and he sure had some rash moments from which he did “switch-hit’ very well and will always remain the ‘Kelpes’ who destroyed the opposition with his masterful strokes. 10. Sreesanth: S Sreesanth. (Photo Source: AFP) The Sree-heat was at its highest point ever since the Kerala speedster made his mark in the Indian Cricket team. In 2007, he was punished for shoulder-barging Michael Vaughan. In the same year, he also got into a verbal spat with Symonds wherein he sledged him after the former was dismissed. This was followed by the 2008 talk of the town that is the Slapgate controversy, where he got slapped by his India teammate Harbhajan for his brazen remarks during the IPL. In 2010, he also faced a disciplinary warning from Kerala Cricket Association as he had criticized the body and voiced his contemplation of playing for some other state. But he reached the nadir of his career when he was accused of spot-fixing in IPL along with three other players of Rajasthan Royals which resulted in him being banned from all forms of competitive cricket. Although he has been exonerated from all charges recently, his return to the Indian team seems bleak but he sure has managed to grab his chunk of headlines in his small career. All one can hope is that the angry-young-man of Indian cricket has learnt his lesson and will soon return to the cover pages for all the right reasons. 11. Mohammad Amir: Mohammad Amir. (Photo Source: PA Photos) The lanky pacer has had a tumultuous cricketing career until now witnessing both overnight fame and fall of glory. Labeled as prodigal talent on his early appearance in the international arena, he paved the way for an illustrious road ahead. All these predictions had a horrendous end because of his involvement in match fixing along with his team-mates Salman Butt and Mohd Asif. Amir was written off by many admirers of the game after this shameful stint but also has gathered a lot of sympathies because of his young age and the hopes of a bright future. He has proved by his recent comeback in domestic cricket that he had not lost is cricketing finesse by grabbing a seven-wicket haul in his first comeback match and has grabbed 34 wickets in four matches. But his return has not been without its share of controversies. During the match, he was fined 150 of the match fee for sledging. At the same time, he also had to bear the brunt the stigma of match fixing by being called a thief by his fellow cricketers. The international opposition by Kevin Pietersen and Rameez Raja about his comeback has also been making rounds. The decision of Hafeez of not playing in Bangladesh Premier league because it had already signed Amir has raised many eyeballs and concerns about his efforts of a comeback. It is said that time is the best healer. All one can hope is that Amir’s spectacular performances overshadow the blot of his past actions and once again he is feared only by the batsmen and not disliked by anyone. 12. Chris Gayle: Chris Gayle. (© EMMANUEL DUNAND/AFP/Getty Images) The Jamaican has lived up to his image of being one of the controversies favorite children by bringing a storm not only in his on–field massacres but also in his off-field involvements. From his participation in DWWC (Double Wicket World Championship) and his consequential non-appearance in the Jamaican squad to playing in IPL on being dropped from the national side, thereby making himself unavailable for the remainder of the series has been a center of attraction with regards to his inclusion and exclusion from the team. His animosity with WICB has become a commonality with some issue propping with every other series. The most recent issue has been the criticism of WICB selectors on the exclusion of Dwayne Bravo and Kieron Pollard from the world cup winning T20 squad which got him into trouble as disciplinary charges were levied against him. Thus his actions just like his hard hitting shots have the consequence of creating a cricketing hot potato situation. His recent sexist comment to a question by a female journalist has added to the list of controversies he has kept himself busy with. The Calypso batsman sure does a nice Gangnam by juggling between off and on-field gaffes. Also Read – 10 Controversial cricket dressing room incidents

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12 Controversial cricketers - The headline hoggers

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