Cricket Scandals: Cricket is often called the “gentleman’s game.” Cricket is a sport that was started by English aristocrats. It is played by two teams of 11 players each, and the players are expected to play the game with honor and fairness.
Click Here for IPLT20 Records: IPL T20 RECORDS Click Here for Official T20 World Cup Site: News on T20 World Cup
Because of its honesty and sportsmanship, cricket has been able to enjoy some of the most beautiful and rich memories of the game. But in the last few years, there have been a number of scandals in the sport that have put its integrity and commitment to fair play to the test. With so many scandals in the news, the sport and its athletes have ruined the reputation of this “gentleman’s game”. From time to time, scandals like match-fixing, ball-tampering, drug scandals, and verbal fights on the field have made the front pages of newspapers.
Top 10 Biggest Cricket Scandals in the World to shed some light on the situation.
1. The Underarm Ball (1981):
It was for the World Cup. Both Australia and New Zealand were trying to win. The team in black caps needed six runs on the last ball, but they didn’t get them because of some strange moves.
Greg Chappell, the captain of the Australian cricket team, asked his brother Trevor to throw the last ball underarm. Before that day, the ICC did not forbid bowling with the arm down. After this happened, the rules were changed because it was against the spirit of the game. After this happened, bowling with your arm behind your back was banned from cricket games. This is at number 1 in Cricket Scandals List.
2. Hansie Cronje Match-Fixing (2000):
Hansie Cronje, who was the captain of the South African team, took part in fixing games. England was the team playing. Hansie Cronje could still get to without doing this, but he chose to. He worked with a bookie to set up the game.
3. England Boycotts World Cup (2003):
South Africa, Zimbabwe, and Kenya put on the 2003 World Cup. But there were worries about the players’ safety in Kenya and Zimbabwe. People’s rights were broken in Zimbabwe, which was said to be true. England didn’t show up to their game in the country, which cost them because they were then knocked out.
Also, New Zealand stopped their game because they were worried about safety in Kenya. This gave the Black Caps points and put Kenya in the semifinals for the first time.
4. Ball-Tampering Allegations on Pakistan (2006):
It was England and Pakistan’s fourth test match. And Pakistani fielders were said to have messed with the ball. Five extra runs were given to the England team. The umpires checked the ball right away, put it back in play, and warned the group.
Just after the tea break, the Pakistani team didn’t show up to play and refused. In the end, the England team won the match because Pakistan didn’t show up to play.
5. Bob Woolmer’s Death (2007):
The coach of the Pakistani cricket team was Bob Woolmer. Pakistan was out of the 2007 Cricket World Cup after the first round. The next day, Bob Woolmer’s body was found in his hotel room.
Police started their investigation right away, and one report said that he had died from asphyxiation caused by being strangled. According to another report, he might die of a heart attack. It’s still not clear and there are still questions.
6. The Sydney Test Match (2008):
India and Australia were the teams that played. All-rounder Andrew Symonds said that Indian spinner Harbhajan Singh had called him racist words.
Harbhajan Singh was banned for three games and had to go to an ICC hearing to explain himself.
7. Terror Attack in Pakistan (2009):
In March, a terrorist attack happened on the Sri Lankan team’s bus as they were going from their hotel to Gaddafi Stadium.
After this terrorist attack, the Lahore test match was called off right away, and the team went straight to a safe airbase.
8. Pakistan Spot-Fixing (2010):
In a Test match between Pakistan and England, Mohammad Amir, Mohammad Asif, and Salman Butt all took part in spot-fixing. After the News of the World set up a sting, it was found that the three had planned to intentionally throw no-balls during the Test match.
9. Indian Premier League Spot-Fixing (2013):
The spot-fixing and betting case from the 2013 Indian Premier League came to light when the Delhi Police arrested three cricket players, Sreesanth, Ankeet Chavan, and Ajit Chandila, on suspicion of spot-fixing. All of them played in the Indian Premier League for the Rajasthan Royals in 2013.
In July 2015, the Patiala House Courts found that Sreesanth, Chavan, and Chandila were not guilty of any of the charges against them.
10. Sandpaper Gate (2018):
In March, the Australian cricket team was involved in a ball-tampering scandal after and during the third test match against South Africa in Cape Town. Cameron Bancroft was caught on TV trying to rough up one side of the ball with sandpaper to make it swing in the air.
So, these are some of the worst scandals that have happened in cricket around the world. We hope there won’t be any more this year. The game should stay a sport and not be used as a way to cheat.
IPL Spot-Fixing Scandal
Sreesanth, Ajit Chandila, and Ankeet Chavan of the Rajasthan Royals were arrested in 2013 on spot-fixing charges.
They were suspected of being part of a large betting and organized crime syndicate that changed IPL games.
According to Ravi Sawani, who led the Board of Control for Cricket in India’s investigation into the scandal, N Srinivasan and vice-presidents Arun Jaitley and Niranjan Shah banned Sreesanth and Chavan for life, while Gujarat cricketer-turned-bookie Amit Singh got a five-year ban.
The charges against Chandila have to be defended by March 12.
| Cricket Scandals | Year |
| The Underarm Ball | 1981 |
| Hansie Cronje Match-Fixing | 2000 |
| England Boycotts World Cup | 2003 |
| Ball-Tampering Allegations on Pakistan | 2006 |
| Bob Woolmer’s Death | 2007 |
| The Sydney Test Match | 2008 |
| Terror Attack in Pakistan | 2009 |
| Pakistan Spot-Fixing | 2010 |
| Indian Premier League Spot-Fixing | 2013 |
| Sandpaper Gate | 2018 |
Leave a Reply