Most controversial XI featuring the cricketers who were banned in the last decade

Cricket, also known as the gentleman's game has been subject to a lot of controversies throughout its history. Most of the controversies have been related to doping and fixing allegations. However, in some cases, sledging has gone far enough to tarnish the image of the game too.

In this slideshow, we have compiled a list of 11 controversial players (the players who were banned or suspended) who would make a completely balanced squad.

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OPENERS: DAVID WARNER AND SALMAN BUTT

Salman Butt was a worthy successor to Saeed Anwar at the top of Pakistan's batting line-up. He even went to captain the Pakistan Cricket team. However, in the summer of 2010 when Butt's Pakistan toured England, the left-hander's involvement in spot-fixing was revealed which led to him being banned for 10 years. Butt has not been able to return to cricket and he stands as a fine example of a talent going waste.

David Warner, the name itself causes concern in the opposition's camp due to his attacking batting. However, he was always walking on a thin edge as he was constantly warned by the Australian Cricket Board to control his temper and behavioural issues. When Australia toured South Africa this year, he was alleged to be the person behind the idea of using a sand-paper to tamper the ball. He was then given a ban of 1 year by the ACB and he will be hoping to come back for the World Cup next year.

MIDDLE ORDER: HERSCHELLE GIBBS, STEVE SMITH AND ANDREW SYMONDS

Gibbs was a vital part of the South African cricket team and even played in the IPL too

Gibbs was one of the fine batsmen that South Africa has produced. He was the man-of-the-match in the game which saw South Africa chase down the highest ever ODI score against Australia. However, his involvement in the fixing allegations was a black-spot in his career and he was never able to come out of it.

Steve Smith was the No.1 Test batsman when his involvement in the sand-paper scandal came out. He is still serving the 1-year ban for the same. However, Smith always made headlines due to his controversies. He was criticised when he referred the dressing room to take his DRS decision. He was also involved in many pub-brawls which tarnished his image as a cricketer.

While his batting, bowling and fielding were doing enough talking on the field, Andrew Symonds always had a few words to talk on the field. He was one of the few players due which Australia was branded as a sledging team. His altercation with Bhajji in Sydney is a prime example of his controversies.

WICKETKEEPER: MOHAMMED SHAHZAD

Shahzad has been in good form recently

Afghanistan's wicketkeeper Mohammad Shahzad was recently banned for 1 year for consuming a banned substance. Though the doping allegations had paused his career, he is back to keeping wickets for the Afghan team now.

ALL-ROUNDER: BEN STOKES

Stokes has been a nuisance with his off-field behaviour

Ben Stokes has been responsible for England's success in Test cricket in recent times. He has contributed both with the bat and the ball and his acrobatic efforts on the field are well known. However, his recent brawl outside a bar has been making the tall all-rounder run around the courts in England. He has had to miss many matches because of this and he will have to keep his sledging habits on the field at a limit to have a long and successful career.

SPINNER: SHANE WARNE

Warne's contribution to Australian cricket has been immense

While Shane Warne was confusing the batsmen with his leg breakers, his doping ban put a speed-breaker in his career. He found it difficult to return to form and eventually retired from his ODI career. Warne has also made headlines with various affairs of his.

FAST BOWLERS: MOHAMMED AMIR, S SREESANTH AND MOHAMMAD ASIF

While these bowlers have made news for the good reasons, they are mostly remembered for their involvement in fixing. All of them have led their team's bowling attack's for some period of time before they were made to serve their bans.

Both Amir and Asif were banned after their involvement in spot-fixing was revealed

Amir and Asif along with Salman Butt were exposed by the media about their alleged role in spot-fixing after their Test match in England. All the three were banned and only Aamir managed to represent the Pakistan team later. Amir has been in bad form recently and he will be looking to be a part of the World Cup team by performing well in the upcoming tournaments.

Sreesanth is a world-cup winner with India

Although Sreesanth was always known for his sledging, his fans were disappointed when his alleged involvement in IPL spot-fixing was revealed. Sreesanth managed to prove himself innocent at court and he is focussing on his modelling career right now.

The Kerala pacer was also involved with a number of players such as MS Dhoni, Harbhajan Singh, Andre Nel and Andrew Symonds in various controversies. Had he focussed more on his career, he could have become a great fast-bowler for India.