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Cricket is often considered a religion in India with people looking for inspiration from the players. In the past, fans witnessed many players getting indulged in controversies which rocked the cricket fraternity and became talking points across the globe.
Let’s take a look at the top 6 such controversies which sparked debate in Indian cricket:
1- Virat Kohli and Gautam Gambhir verbal spat during IPL 2023
The two Delhi players had some intense moments over the years which sparked debates on social media. The duo had an ugly fight in a match between Royal Challengers Banglore and Lucknow Super Giants in IPL 2023. Both Virat and Gambhir were slammed for their behaviour.
2- Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid in 2004
Rahul Dravid’s declaration during a test match against Pakistan in Multan (2004) when Sachin Tendulkar was just six more runs away to get his fourth test double ton fumed people. On the incident, Sachin said, “I’m a little disappointed, having got so close, I was aware that the declaration was around the corner, but when it came, I was taken by surprise.”
3. Harbhajan Singh and Andrew Symonds ‘monkey gate’ controversy in 2008
The Monkeygate incident, which took place during India’s tour of Australia 2008, was termed as one of the biggest controversies which hit the Indian cricket over the years. The incident saw a direct row between Indian off-spinner Harbhajan Singh and Australian all-rounder Andrew Symonds that took place in the second match at Sydney Cricket Ground in Australia.
Speaking in Boria Majumdar’s show, Harbhajan recalled the incident where he said: “I was obviously disturbed as I couldn’t understand why it was happening.” Harbhajan also stated that the period was extremely difficult for him as a person to take and he credited his team-mates for constant support.
4. Virender Sehwag and Suraj Randiv no-ball controversy in 2010
India and Sri Lanka have shared a great cricketing rivalry over the years. This incident happened in Sri Lanka during a triangular series. After knocking the Sri Lanka team for 170 in Dambulla, the Indian team easily chased the total. But before the winning run, India required only one run to get with Virender Sehwag being stuck on 99.
Sehwag hit the ball for a six to complete his century, but Suraj Randiv did something which was unsporting in terms of cricket. The umpires declared it a no-ball for overstepping which denied Sehwag a century in the match. The reply showed the foot was way over the line and was called intentional by Sehwag. After the match, Suraj Randiv was banned for a match and Sri Lankan batsman TM Dilshan was fined for encouraging players to bowl a no-ball.
5. Sourav Ganguly T-shirt removal controversy in Lords 2002
The Sourav Ganguly Lords’ incident happened during the Natwest Series Final which was played between India and England in 2002. The Men in Blue registered one of the most thrilling wins in the last over of the match. As soon as the winning run was scored, from the Indian dressing room, Indian captain Sourav Ganguly was seen taking his shirt off.
Following the incident, in multiple interviews, Sourav Ganguly opened up about his T-shirt removing incident stating that he regrets the incident.
6. Match-fixing scandals in 2000
The match-fixing scandal of 2000 sent shockwaves through the entire cricketing community. It all began during the South African team's 2000 visit to India when Delhi police intercepted a discussion between a bookmaker and Proteas captain Hansie Cronje while listening to gangsters' calls.
The topic of the conversation was match-fixing. Much to the surprise of the cricketing community, Delhi Police filed a complaint against Cronje who then refuted the allegations. Later, the South African cricket body set up King's Commission to investigate and subsequently, big names like the then Indian captain Mohammad Azharuddin, Manoj Prabhakar and famous all-rounder Ajay Jadeja were also added to the match-fixing list.
