5 controversies that rocked cricket in 2016

What started off as an elitist sport has now become the darling of the masses: the gentleman’s game has gained some rough edges over the years, severely diluted from his original form but the simple wood and leather sport that it began as.

From match-fixing to doping, cricket has soldiered on like a battered veteran, the incidents denting its image, but never enough to bring a huge dip in its popularity. 2016 saw its fair share of controversies, although much of it was related to incidents off the field, than on it.

Here are five of the biggest controversies that rocked the game in 2016:

#5 Ball-tampering allegations against Faf du Plessis

South Africa’s current Test skipper, Faf du Plessis was at the centre of serious ball tampering allegations when he was found guilty of applying saliva from a mint on the ball during the Hobart Test between Australia and South Africa.

Although du Plessis vehemently denied the claims, he was docked 100% of his match fees, after the ICC investigated footage of him using saliva to shine the ball. The 32-year old defended his actions, stating that there is a difference between ball shining and ball tampering, garnering the support of his Australian counterpart, Steve Smith. England captain Alastair Cook remarked that the ICC needs to be clear about ball tampering guidelines, because of a lot of ‘grey area’.

Later, Virat Kohli was also caught in the eye of a potential storm when a British tabloid claimed that he had shined the ball using residue from a sweet, but no complaint was lodged by the opposition team, nor did any statements come out in the aftermath of the matter.

#4 Darren Sammy’s sacking as West Indies T20 captain

Two-time World T20 champion, Darren Sammy ruffled quite a few feathers when he openly ranted against the lack of support from the WICB the night his team won the second title. In an emotional speech delivered after the win against England at Kolkata, he talked about the lack of support from the WICB, saying “We had a lot of issues, we felt disrespected by our board, Mark Nicholas described our team as a team with no brains”.

All of this did not go down too well with the Board, who sacked him from the job after a “30-second call”. Before a confirmation came, Darren Sammy, in a passionate video on his Facebook page, broke the news to the world, saying that despite leading the side to the title, “my performances have not merited a selection in the squad”.

It was a harsh way to handle one of West Indies’ greatest leaders in recent times, and a vital cog in their T20 campaigns over the years. However, given the history between the Board and the players, what transpired wasn’t entirely surprising.

#3 Harsha Bhogle’s axing from the commentary panel

One of the most recognisable voices in the game, Harsha Bhogle found himself at the receiving end of a googly from the BCCI, when he was ousted from the list of commentators for the IPL 2016. The matter seemed further complicated when Bhogle was not given any reason for his non-inclusion from the roster of commentators.

His fans, huge in number, didn’t take it well, slamming the BCCI for his axing in a tournament he has been a part of since 2008.

People came up with several theories, although Bhogle himself said that he was clueless about the reason for his ouster. He was part of the promotional videos, conducted the auction, and was slated to join the rest of the batch to select venues.

Some reports suggested that the decision was prompted by reactions from celebrities and senior cricketers on the kind of content that was coming out of the Indian commentators during the broadcast of the World T20. Indian actor Amitabh Bachchan had tweeted about how Indian commentators should talk more about their own players, than others, a statement that was seconded by Indian captain MS Dhoni. Bhogle conceded that he was taken aback by the criticism that came out of Bachchan’s tweet, despite the fact the Indian actor had not directly targeted the ever-neutral Bhogle.

Others conjectured that the axing took place after Bhogle had a heated argument with officials at the Nagpur stadium regarding the VIP enclosure that separated the English and Hindi commentary rooms, making it difficult for him, and the rest, to run around the whole day and take a long route back and forth to the two rooms.

#2 Chris Gayle’s interview with female presenter

‘World Boss’ Christopher Gayle is someone who calls a spade a spade, and is never to who’d hold himself back while conversing with opponents, fans or the media. However, more than a few questions were raised when he got himself in an awkward tangle by making lewd remarks at a female presenter while representing the Melbourne Renegades in the Big Bash.

After getting dismissed, Gayle was interviewed by Mel McLaughlin, a reporter with the official broadcasters of the tournament, on the other side of the boundary ropes. However, the interaction turned a bit sour when he passed comments like “I wanted to come and have an interview with you as well. That’s the reason why I’m here, just to see your eyes for the first time. It’s nice so. Hopefully we can win this game and have a drink after. Don’t blush, baby.”

To her credit, McLaughlin handled the situation gracefully and remained unflustered, but the commentator Mark Howard had to later concede on-air that Gayle had gone a tad too far, apologising to the viewers for the incident.

#1 MS Dhoni’s Photoshopped image by Bangladeshi fans

An offensive Photoshopped picture featuring India’s limited overs captain, Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Bangladesh pacer Taskin Ahmed became the talk of the town earlier this year, leaving a bad taste in the mouth of supporters from both sides who follow the sport for the love of it. A section of the ever-growing fan base of the Bangladeshi side sometimes borders on fanaticism, a repercussion of which was an image of Dhoni’s cleaved head being held by Ahmed while celebrating. The manipulated image spread like wildfire on the social media, just before the Asia Cup final between the two teams.

While the image didn’t have a bearing on the Indian captain, or the side, who brushed off the hosts in a comprehensive display in the finals, immature behaviour from a faction of so-called supporters brought to the fore the need to draw a line between love for the team, and zealotry.