Controversial Cricketers XI: Forming a team out of the most controversial cricketers of all time

Despite being called the “Gentlemen’s Game”, controversies have become a part of cricket over the years. Match-fixing scandals have plagued the game since the infamous scandal of 2000 where former India and South Africa captains Mohammed Azharrudin and Hansie Cronje were involved in fixing matches during South Africa’s tour of India.

Since then, the number of match-fixing scandals have unfortunately increased. Along with this, there have been a host of other controversies to have beleaguered the game of cricket and a number of cricketers who have been involved in these time and again.

This list included those cricketers who could not keep controversies out of their career and have been constantly involved in some controversy or the other.

Presenting the Controversial Cricketers XI:

Openers

Herschelle Gibbs

One of the most decorated South African batsmen of all time has been involved in a lot of controversies throughout his career.

He was involved in the infamous match-fixing scandal of 2001 where the then captain Hansie Cronje who was the mastermind behind the plan had offered Gibbs a sum of money to score a low score in one of the ODIs against India due to which he was banned for 6 months and refused to tour India until 2006.

He was also caught smoking marijuana with other teammates during South Africa’s tour of West Indies in 2001. He was also admitted into rehabilitation due to his alcohol addiction during his career.

Gibbs played 248 ODIs and 90 Tests for South Africa in a career which spanned over 13 years.

Kevin Pietersen

One of the most captivating cricketers of all time, Kevin Pietersen was involved in a fair share of controversies.

Expressing his anger on Twitter by using swear words, making derogatory remarks against former cricketer Nick Knight or having a fallout with coach Peter Moores – Pietersen has come under the screw multiple times after expressing his views.

He retired from the game in 2012 following a dispute with England Cricket Board. Although he retracted his retirement soon after, his relationship with the ECB and teammates took a turn for the worse, and he has not featured for England since then.

Middle order

Mohammed Azharrudin

Former Indian captain Mohammed Azharrudin was involved in a fair share of controversies throughout his career.

The most infamous one of them all was the match-fixing scandal of 2000 in the South Africa-India series where Azharuddin was involved with a number of bookies to fix the matches. Then South African captain Hansie Cronje indicated that Azharuddin was the one to introduce him to the bookies.

An investigation done by the CBI led to Azhar being banned for life. However, the ban was lifted in 2012. He played in 99 Tests and 334 ODIs for India.

Marlon Samuels

West Indies all-rounder Marlon Samuels was involved in a controversy in 2007 which led to him being banned for 2 years by the ICC.

In the West Indies tour of India in 2007, he was accused of providing a bookie with information regarding the team before the match took place. Although there was not enough evidence to prove that he was involved in match-fixing, a leaked phone conversation proved to show that he was participating in some betting.

After a hearing into the matter, in May the International Cricket Council enforced a two-year ban on the 27-year-old for "receiving money, or benefit or another reward that could bring him or the game of cricket into disrepute."

Marlon Samuels has been an integral part of the West Indies set-up since his return in 2010 and was also a part of the squad which won the 2 T20 world cups.

All-Rounders

Hansie Cronje

Just like Azharrudin, former South African captain Hansie Cronje too was involved in the infamous match-fixing scandal of 2000.

According to many reports and traced phone calls and texts, Cronje was found to have offered money to a lot of players in order to fix multiple matches of the particular series in 2000 against India.

Despite denying the allegations earlier on, he later admitted to the allegations and in 2001, was banned from any sort of participation in any form of cricket for life.

Unfortunately, in 2002, he was killed in a plane crash. He played in 68 Tests and 188 ODIs for South Africa.

Andrew Symonds

The talented Australian all-rounder was involved in a lot of controversies throughout his career. He made it a habit of appearing in the news for all the wrong reasons.

In 2008, he was suspended from the team for missing team meetings because he wanted to go fishing instead. He also got into the famous “monkey-gate” controversy with Indian cricketer Harbhajan Singh the same year.

He was also involved in a lot of drinking incidents throughout his career and was sent back home later the same year during the ICC World T20 tournament for a late-night drinking incident.

After appearing in 200 ODIs for Australia, Symonds decided to hang his boots in 2012.

Chris Cairns

The enigmatic all-rounder for New Zealand was involved in a lot of controversies regarding the rebel “Indian Cricket League” which was set up in 2008.

He was alleged to have attempted to manipulate games in India when he was captain of the Chandigarh Lions in the short-lived league. Later on, former teammate and batsman Lou Vincent came out and admitted that Cairns had approached him to fix matches, but Cairns rubbished the claims.

He successfully sued former IPL chairman Lalit Modi in 2012 for Libel after Modi had accused Cairns of match-fixing in 2008.

Bowlers

Shane Warne

Australia’s greatest bowler of all-time Shane Warne has been involved in controversies related to drugs, sex, and involvement with bookies.

In 1995, Warne along with Mark Waugh, the duo were allegedly involved in accepting money from a bookmaker for giving information about pitch and weather conditions for a particular match.

He was suspended for 2 games at the start of the ICC Cricket World Cup in 1999 after making derogatory remarks against former Sri Lankan captain Arjuna Ranatunga.

The lowest point of his career came just before the 2003 World Cup when he was banned for 6 months after being tested positive for a banned diuretic. Despite these controversies, Warne turned out to become the highest wicket-getter for Australia till date.

Shoaib Akhtar

Widely regarded as the fastest bowler of all time, Shoaib Akhtar has been in a soup of controversies throughout his career regarding poor attitude, ball tampering, and drug scandals.

After the 2003 World Cup, he was involved in a verbal spat with fellow teammate Waqar Younis after which both of them were sacked from the team.

In the same year, he was suspended for a short period for ball tampering during a triangular series in Sri Lanka. He was also suspended for 3 matches after abusing South African cricketer Paul Adams during a game.

In 2005, he was sent back from Pakistan’s tour of Australia due to his poor attitude. In November 2006, the Pakistan Cricket Board handed down a two-year suspension to Akhtar on the grounds of taking performance enhancing drugs. However, the ban was lifted the very next month.

S Sreesanth

Former Indian speedster S Sreesanth was known for his aggression and his antics on and off the field. Despite being incredibly talented, he was involved in multiple controversies over the years with regards to his behavior.

He was fined multiple times for breaching the ICC Code of Conduct during matches and was given numerous warnings by the governing body. He even received a warning from the Kerala Cricket Association for not appearing in a Ranji Trophy match for his state.

The lowest point of his career came when he was involved in the ugly match-fixing scandal in the Indian Premier League in 2013 where he was arrested on charges of spot-fixing while playing for the Rajasthan Royals. He was banned from cricket and has not appeared for the Indian cricket team since then.