5 biggest cricketing controversies of 2015

Controversies are always a part of any sport. When you have individuals pushing their minds and bodies to the very limit to compete at the highest level, there will be the odd occasion when tempers will flare up and words will be exchanged.But it's not just about the war of words between two individuals on the pitch. In cricket, a variety of factors like a controversial umpiring decision, administrative laxity or charges of corruption can rake up a huge controversy.Let us look at the 5 biggest and most talked about cricketing controversies that happened this year.

#5 The DRS-controversy in the Day/Night Test

Nathan Lyon — Lyon was walking to the dressing room before he was called back

The first ever Day/Night Test was a huge success and made headlines for all the right reasons. Except a controversial decision by the DRS that wrongly turned down an appeal against Nathan Lyon.

On Day 2 of the Test match, Lyon had got the faintest of edges while trying to sweep Mitchell Santner and the Kiwis went up in unison. But Lyon was given not out by the on-field umpire S Ravi and the third umpire decided to stay with his call because of lack of 'conclusive evidence'.

HotSpot showed the edge clearly, but Nigel Llong chose to ignore it in the absence of any confirmation from the Snickometer. "There is a mark on the bat, I'm not sure where it is coming from," said Llong to on-field umpire S Ravi. The replays were, however, sufficient to suggest that Lyon had nicked it.

Lyon went on to score 34 runs and was involved in a crucial 74-run partnership which ultimately swung the match in the favour of the Aussies. The decision was heavily criticised and it proved once again that the DRS is still not fool-proof.

#4 Hafeez turning down BPL offer because of Amir

Just after newspaper reports came in from an Urdu newspaper, Jang, that Mohammad Hafeez had turned down a lucrative BPL offer from the franchise, the Chittagong Vikings, he went on to publicly confirm it, holding Mohammad Amir responsible for his decision.

Hafeez said that his decision was dictated by the fact that he did not want to share a dressing room with Amir who had, according to him, tainted the image of Pakistani cricket. Speaking to Espncricinfo, Hafeez said, "I am not against any individuals. It is about the image of Pakistan cricket.

"I cannot play with any player who has tarnished and brought a bad name to the country. But, yes, if any other team offered me the contract with good money I could definitely play the BPL ... I cannot play and share a dressing room with such players who have abused the spirit of the game."

Hafeez went on to play for the Dhaka Dynamites and was endlessly trolled on Twitter when he was dismissed by Mohammad Amir in the match against the Chittagong Vikings.

#3 The Nagpur pitch

Virat Kohli won the series in Nagpur but was questioned heavily about the pitch

One of the things that took the cricketing world by storm this year was the much-criticised pitch at the VCA Stadium in Nagpur which was the venue for the third Test between India and South Africa. Many believed that the pitch was created to offer unfair assistance to the Indian spinners as the ball started turning square from Day 1 of the Test match.

South Africa were bundled out for 79 in their first innings as batsmen struggled heavily to get in and score runs on that pitch. The Indian spinners were virtually unplayable, which brought forth the allegation that India had made unfair usage of home advantage.

The pitch set off a strong war of words as experts and fans alike, who felt strongly for or against the pitch, joined the verbal duel on social media. The match referee Jeff Crowe called it a 'poor' pitch and it also got an official warning from the ICC later.

#2 Ben Stokes given out obstructing the field

Ben Stokes' controversial dismissal at Lord's during the England-Australia ODI series this year threatened to further the animosity between the two teams. The incident happened in the 26th over of the 2nd ODI when Stokes defended the ball only for Mitchell Starc to throw it back at him.

Stokes swivelled around hard and in an effort to make it back to the crease, he raised his left hand to block the ball from going on to hit the stumps. The Australians appealed and the third umpire Joel Wilson gave Stokes out obstructing the field amidst loud boos from the Lord's crowd.

There was no way of knowing intent and some argued that Stokes should have been given the benefit of doubt as he was simply trying to protect himself. Many pundits also argued that ethics should take precedence over the law in such cases and such a decision might encourage bowlers to throw directly at the batsman from now on.

The English team went on to call it an ungentlemanly gesture while the Aussies argued that they were acting according to the laws of the game.

#1 Suspension of the CSK and the RR

Findings of the Lodha committee tarnished the image of the IPL forever

Controversies surrounding the IPL have often dragged the cash-rich tournament into muddy waters in the past. But the biggest setback to the image of IPL came this year in the form of the suspension of the CSK and the RR for a period of two years.

The three-member Lodha committee appointed by the Supreme Court banned Gurunath Meiyappan and Raj Kundra for life from participating in the sport of cricket. India Cements and Jaipur IPL were also accused of not punishing them as they had, according to the Supreme Court, abetted corruption and brought the game into disrepute.

The two franchises - the Chennai Super Kings and the Rajasthan Royals - were thus suspended from taking part in the next two seasons of the IPL. To think that Indian cricket stars like MS Dhoni will not walk out in the trademark yellow jersey of the CSK is still impossible to believe for some fans.

More importantly, some believe that the image of the IPL has been permanently tarnished.