5 shameful incidents in IPL history

Be it spot-fixing, players fighting with each other or even doing things that they should not have done, IPL has been through plenty of bad days.

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Gautam Gambhir and Virat Kohli
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Gautam Gambhir and Virat Kohli. (Photo Source: Twitter)

Gautam Gambhir and Virat Kohli
Gautam Gambhir and Virat Kohli (Photo Source: Twitter)

The Indian Premier League, known for its big carnival-like appeal and excitement has seen a lot of great days that boosted its reputation to great heights. The headlines talking about IPL have praised him more often than not, but there have been cases that the tournament, which is deemed to be a breeding ground for great talents across the globe, has come under bad light and the wrath of the community for being witness to some really bad incidents.

Be it spot-fixing, players fighting with each other or even doing things that they should not have done, IPL has been through plenty of bad days. Things have escalated to the extent that people were losing faith in the sanctity of the entire tournament. And, that is the last thing you want to see happen to a tournament that plays hosts to players and individuals from across the globe.

So, here’s a look into 5 such incidents, which put one of the most popular T20 tournaments under a bad light:

1. An enraged MS Dhoni walking on to the field

MS Dhoni
MS Dhoni. (Photo Source: Twitter)

Regarded as captain cool by cricket fans and experts across the globe, MS Dhoni has been known over the years to never let his emotions overpower him or influence his actions while on the field. But, this notion got a dent in its armour when during a high-intensity match, having some disagreements with the umpire’s decision, an enraged Dhoni walked on to the field, shocking everyone.

It all happened during the match between Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals, being played on the 11th of April at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur. Chennai Super Kings, batting second, were chasing a total of 152 runs, set by the Ajinkya Rahane led Rajasthan Royals. After getting dismissed on the 3rd delivery of the last over, with his team requiring eight runs to clinch the match, Dhoni was raging with anger. And, what happened on the very next ball shocked everyone.

Following a confusion regarding the 4th delivery of the over being called a no-ball, a furious Dhoni could be seen walking on to the field. The skipper was seen during live broadcast, arguing with umpires. The ball eventually was called a legitimate delivery, and Dhoni was fined 50 per cent of his match fee.

This incident, not only played a spoilsport in the match where Dhoni won the Man of the Match award and also got to his 100th IPL win, but it also tainted MS’s image. It sparked a series of reactions from all across the globe, some surprisingly supporting him, and most of them, criticising his actions.

2. Virat Kohli and Gautam Gambhir’s on-field spat

Gautam Gambhir and Virat Kohli
Gautam Gambhir and Virat Kohli. (Photo Source: Twitter)

Things are bound to get heated when the two gentlemen by the name of Virat Kohli and Gautam Gambhir, known for their intense style of play are facing off against each other in a game that has been known to get the better of the players on several occasions. And, things did heat up when the two Delhi boys, playing against each other. Gautam was leading the Kolkata Knight Riders while Kohli was heading the Royal Challengers Bangalore in that match of the 2013 edition of the tournament.

The 10th over of the match saw the then India teammates, Gambhir and Kohli, getting into a verbal spat on the field. In that over, Virat after getting dismissed did not walk back to the pavilion and did what he must not have done. Kohli walked towards short extra cover, where Gautam was headed to celebrating the wicket and made a remark which triggered Gambhir.

And, charged up after listening to it, Gambhir walked angrily towards Kohli and a verbal fight broke out between the two. Rajat Bhatia, who played for Delhi in the domestic circuit intervened and separated the two captains.

The two admitted to a Level One Offence of the IPL Code of Conduct. But, in retrospect, given the amount of time that they have spent together, winning games and trophies for their state and countries, both of them would regret badly getting involved in something that had a derogatory effect on their own image and also that of the tournament.

3. Spot-fixing by Rajasthan Royals’ players

S Sreesanth, Ankeet Chavan and Ajit Chandila
S Sreesanth, Ankeet Chavan and Ajit Chandila. (Photo Source: Twitter)

Doing unethical things in exchange for money is the worst thing that any professional would decide to do in his profession. And, doing that while playing a sport on which, billions of people have their hopes and support pinned on, is certainly no good. But, in the 2013 edition of the largest T20 franchise league of the world, things did go wrong big time. Players were arrested, franchise were suspended and the organisers drew a lot of criticism.

It all started with the then Indian pacer, S Sreesanth’s arrest by the Delhi Police in Mumbai, and the things started to unfold. After Sreesanth, two of his teammates, by the name of Ajit Chandila and Ankeet Chavan were arrested by the Delhi Police on the charges of spot-fixing.

And what followed was an absolute disaster for cricket fans. News of players having a connection with the underworld, bookies and what not surfaced and hell broke loose on the outlook of people towards the most celebrated phenomenon in Indian cricket.

Although, all the three players were aptly charged and dealt with by the authorities and their franchise was banned for two years, the perception about the sanctity of the tournament had taken a big hit. A hit so hard that the tournament would continue to face the heat of the fans for years to come and recovery would be a hard-fought battle.

4. Sreesanth slapped by Harbhajan Singh on the field

Sreesanth
Sreesanth. (Photo Source: Twitter)

It is very rare that the cricket field witnesses physical fights between players, or for that matter anyone, even the audience. But, in case of the incident in focus here, things got really bad. Back in April 2008, the match between Mumbai Indians and Kings XI Punjab, the tournament got its first bad taste in the very first edition.

Harbhajan Singh has been involved in on-field spats before, but in this very incident, even he would agree that things did get a little out of hand. After the match, which was won by 66 runs by the Kings XI Punjab, the team the Sreesanth played for in that season, the celebrations were in full flow. But, the cameras were focussed on a crying face. It was that of S Sreesanth, who had been slapped by Harbhajan Singh, for reasons that are still unknown.

Harbhajan was charged for his offence, which had been caught on camera and was suspended from the remainder of the season. Harbhajan told that what he has done was wrong and had been aptly rightly punished for his doings. Though he did later patched up with Sreesanth and played multiple matches for India together, this move of his did not do any good to either the tournament’s or his own reputation.

5. Ravindra Jadeja trying to sign up for Mumbai Indians

Ravindra Jadeja
Ravindra Jadeja (Photo: IANS)

Many people don’t know much about this incident, but it did happen and landed Ravindra Jadeja in a lot of trouble. Back in 2010, when Jadeja was known to be the player from Saurashtra, seeking a permanent spot in the Indian team, and not as the prolific all-rounder he is, he did something that almost brought his professional career to a halt forever.

Jadeja in the first season of the IPL had played an important role in his franchise’s tournament win and they were looking to sign him for another two years prior to the start of the 2010 edition of the tournament. But, Jadeja agreed to play only for a year. So, when his contract with the team expired in December of 2009, he started looking for better deals with other franchises. But little did he know that he was actually walking towards something that threatened his career.

According to the IPL’s governing laws, Jadeja could not sign up a deal with any other team until his previous franchise released him. And, when the administrators got to know about the youngster’s wrongdoings, they got furious and slapped a yearlong ban from participating in the tournament on him.

This move by Jadeja was deemed irresponsible by many, with some of the purists even deeming IPL to be a tournament that increases the greed money in youngsters.

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