Rubbing it the wrong way - the most famous ball tampering incidents in cricket

Sachin Tendulkar in 2001 – caught in a muddy seam!

Sachin Tendulkar – Caught while cleaning the seam?

Even the maestro couldn’t escape this controversy. During India’s tour of South Africa in 2001, the match referee Mike Denness suspended Sachin Tendulkar for one game alleging him with ball tampering.

Although, television footages showed Tendulkar working on the seam of the ball, it was suggested that Tendulkar was only cleaning the mud on the seam and not trying to raise it. The match referee paid no heed to that explanation and suspended Sachin Tendulkar. The Indian team protested vehemently and threatened to pull out of the tour if the decision was not reversed.

BCCI boycotted the third Test of the series and fielded a reserve team to play an “unofficial Test”.