6 cricketers who have been accused of sexual harassment

What started off as a social media campaign against sexual harassment and assault has turned into a widely appreciated movement calling out all the culprits of molestation, who were until now safe behind the curtains. Of late, the movement has gained traction in India too with a Bollywood actress accusing a co-actor of inappropriate behaviour and cases have not stopped coming out in the open since.

The Indian movement has in its wake laid blames on many respected people from across different professions, of which cricket, unfortunately, is one. Two prominent names, which also feature in the article, have been named in the recent series of the #MeToo allegations. There have been past instances too when cricketers were accused of inappropriate behaviour towards females. While some accusations were proved right, others failed to stand the test of truth.

This article lists six cricketers who have been accused of sexual assault or harassment at any point in their lives including those who were called out recently. Two of the names featuring on the list have come up only in the recent slew of #MeToo allegations while others had surfaced earlier.

The article does not claim the recent allegations to be true or baseless.

Without further ado, let's glance through the names in the list.

#6 Luke Pomersbach

Luke Pomersbach, a former Australian cricketer, found himself in a deep sea back in 2012, when he was accused of molestation and violence during the IPL. He was a member of the Royal Challengers Bangalore then.

Following the charges of molesting the victim and hurting her fiance, he was arrested by the Delhi police. It was also reported that he fainted during the hearing. The woman who filed the complaint later dropped the charges against him and the case was settled outside court premises.

#5 Rubel Hossain

Rubel Hossain's presence in the 2015 World Cup was under doubt due to a rape allegation.

A permanent member of the Bangladeshi National Cricket Team, Rubel Hossain has not had the smoothest of past. Back in 2015, he was arrested over charges of rape. The arrest came a few days after he was named in the squad for the 2015 World Cup which meant that his place in the World Cup was precarious.

As his luck would have it, he was granted bail by the court so that he could be cleared for participation in the mega event. Rubel Hossain performed brilliantly in the World Cup. Just so that he could play better for Bangladesh without any mental stress the complainant, a Bangladeshi actress, eventually withdrew her complaint during the World Cup itself.

#4 Arjun Ranatunga

Arjun Ranatunga is one of the two Sri Lankan cricketers who has been accused in the recent #MeToo allegations.

One of Sri Lanka's most famous cricketers, and the one credited largely for Sri Lanka's run to glory in the 1996 World Cup, Arjun Ranatunga is one of those two cricketers whose name has cropped up in the recent spurt of #MeToo allegations on social media. He has been accused of sexual harassment by an Indian flight attendant, who wrote her ordeal in a Facebook post.

According to the post, he had indulged in inappropriate touching when she was taking a stroll by the pool at Hotel Juhu Centaur in Mumbai. The attendant's post was largely shared on both Facebook as well as Twitter. Although his name has rolled up many eyes there has been no comment from his side so far. Only further investigations can confirm if the allegations are right.

#3 Lasith Malinga

Lasith Malinga is another cricketer whose name has come up in the recent #MeToo allegations.

Lasith Malinga, one of the best bowlers to have donned the Sri Lankan jersey, is another Sri Lankan cricketer whose name has come up on the micro-blogging site, Twitter in the recent outbreak of sexual allegations. In a tweet posted by Chinmayi Sripada (an acclaimed singer), he has been accused of molesting a woman, who wanted to remain anonymous as she writes in the post and happens to be the singer's friend.

The woman claims that he forced himself upon her in his room. The allegations made in the tweet stand unverified verified as yet. Moreover, neither a police case has been registered, nor has the cricketer himself said anything on the allegations. The incident as mentioned in the tweet took place in Mumbai, perhaps during one of the IPL seasons.

Here is what Chinmayi tweeted:

Cricketer Lasith Malinga. pic.twitter.com/Y1lhbF5VSK

— Chinmayi Sripaada (@Chinmayi) October 11, 2018

#2 Makhaya Ntini

Makhaya Ntini's career was in danger of a premature due to a rape allegation.

Makhaya Ntini's case is a rather peculiar one for his public image of a black South African Test cricketer had a negative bearing on how the public saw him in context of the case. He had debuted in 1998 in both forms of the game and was a part of the South African squad when one year after his debut, a rape case against him started gaining traction.

He was charged with rape of a housekeeper at the Buffalo Park cricket ground and later was convicted too with even the public opinion against his innocence. But, it was only a few months after his arrest that he was acquitted by the court, which was hearing on his appeal against the earlier judgment. He was recalled back into the side following his acquittal and never looked behind ever after.

#1 Amit Mishra

Amit Mishra was accused of a sexual assault shortly completion of ODI series against South Africa.

Currently out of favour with the selectors, Amit Mishra is undoubtedly one of the best proponents of wrist spin in the country. He has had many troughs as a cricketer, but what could have finished his cricketing career entirely occurred almost three years ago when he was arrested in Bengaluru on charges of sexual harassment, criminal intimidation, and many other offences.

The incident under concern happened in September 2015 during a national camp in Garden City. He was accused of abusing and assaulting her in his hotel room. The victim also said in the report that they had been friends for three years then. Mishra got bail quickly after his arrest and the complainant also withdrew the case shortly after.