Best XI of Bad Boys in cricket

Known as The Gentleman’s game- Cricket and cricketers very seldom make headlines for wrong reasons per se controversies. Unlike Football, Rugby and many other sports, cricket doesn’t involve physical contact with the opposition. However, some players find themselves marred with controversies involving an opposition or their own teammate or even with people in the crowd.

Sledging, match-fixing, an altercation with the fans, even just taking a day off for fishing has cost players money and career.  The ICC and the national boards have become stricter with players putting the game into disrepute.

Here we look at an entire team of ‘Bad Boys’ to have played the gentleman’s game:

1. David Warner

As a run-scorer he is a giant, he is a beast, he is a Goliath- but maybe David Warner is not the best person to endorse the spirit of the game. Warner, who made his international debut without playing a single first-class game, has been at the pinnacle of Australian batting in all formats for about a decade. Having made over 14000 international runs, Warner has been in the grid of controversies throughout his career.

While there are plenty of bans and fines Warner has been charged with, the ‘Sandpaper Gate’ incident in March 2018 in Cape Town left a huge skidmark on his career. Warner alongside skipper Steve Smith and youngster Cameron Bancroft were banned for their actions in Newlands. Though Warner has made a comeback strongly with loads of runs in IPL and the World Cup followed by a triple century, he could not erase that horror chapter from his career.

From Martin Crowe calling him “the most juvenile cricketer” to attacking Joe Root in a bar to having a heated quarrel with Quinton de Kock in the lobby, Warner isn’t amongst the likeable persons. The left-hander even with all the accolades with the bat will still feature in every bad boys list.