Most Dramatic Incidents In Indian Cricket

Indian cricket has seen its fair share of ups and downs in the recent past. From coach and players tussle to in-team fights to rivalry or sledging with rival players Indian team has seen every bit of drama unfold on and off field. Some of these incidents have gone to effect the morale of the side, costing a place to particular players, to coaches being sacked.

Let us have a look at a few dramatic incidents which unfolded in Indian cricket in the recent past.

Mithali Raj accuses Ramesh Powar of bias

In November 2018, Mithali Raj had accused then coach Ramesh Powar of bias in the team. The senior India batter in a letter addressed to the BCCI had accused then coach Powar of discrimination and bias, alleging that he had humiliated her during the World T20 in West Indies. Her accusation came after she was left baffled for sitting out in the semi-final of World T20.

Powar, however, in his clarification mail to BCCI CEO Rahul Johri had said that Raj did not have any inputs for the team and not a single appreciation came from her.

Virat Kohli-Anil Kumble fiasco

Ask anyone who has followed Indian cricket and they would tell you Virat Kohli lays the rules here. Former India coach Anil Kumble was a hard-taskmaster. He saw a fall-out with India captain Virat Kohli which led to his controversial ouster from the team.

Kumble resigned at a time when India had lost only one off 17 Tests that they had played. The legendary spinner had said, his partnership with Kohli is ‘untenable’. [The] captain had reservations with my ‘style’ and about my continuing as the head coach,” Kumble had added.

It was then that Ravi Shastri emerged as a coach following the backing provided by Kohli.

Sourav Ganguly-Greg Chappell fall-out

The controversy between Sourav Ganguly and Greg Chappell broke out in late 2005. It led to a hard time in the career of Ganguly. He was removed as the captain and dropped from the ODI team. Later, in 2016, he was dropped from the Test team as well.

Chappell did not bond well with the team with many accusing him for divide and rule in policy. It is therefore that his initial contract with the team as the head coach was not extended and Gary Kirsten took over from him.

Accusations on MS Dhoni for his treatment of seniors

MS Dhoni made a big name for himself by making the country proud with his achievements after coming from the cricketing backwaters of Ranchi. He has achieved immense success as a player and also grew up to be one of the most successful captains and achieved almost everything the ICC tournaments had to offer.

All the success has made him one of the most influential person on the cricketing circuit but he was not the same when he was first introduced to the national team. Besides that, MS Dhoni has also been the go-to man for his teammates whenever he is on the field.

However, in the initial phase of his career he was accused for mistreatment and disrespecting of his seniors which included Sourav Ganguly, Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman. Anil Kumble later came out to clear the accusations and said that he managed the team well.

IPL spot-fixing in 2013

In IPL 2013, three Rajasthan Royals players S Sreesanth, Ajit Chandila and Ankit Chavan were accused of spot-fixing. In 2015 the trio were cleared of any charges after not being found guilty from the Patiala House Court. Sreesanth was initially handed a life-time ban from the cricket board but then it was cut short to seven years which ends in September 2020.

The Monkey-Gate scandal

Harbhajan Singh faced a tough time after the monkey gate scandal. The situation unfolded when veteran India off-spinner Harbhajan Singh was charged for racially abusing Australia all-rounder Andrew Symonds in the second Test in 2008 at Sydney. The incident saw a fallout between Symonds and Harbhajan with bitterness being created between both the sides.

1996 World Cup semi-final

The 1996 World Cup was one of the dramatic day in cricket history which unfolded at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata. Opting to field, India restricted Sri Lanka to 251/8, in what looked like a chaseable target. But India registered a collapse in their chase as they were reduced to 120 for 8 with seven wickets falling for 22 runs. Sri Lanka were awarded the match by referee Clive Llyod after a lot of crowd disturbance which saw them throwing bottles and placards on the field with the visiting players being rescued amid tight security.

The fall of Mohammad Azharuddin

Mohammad Azharuddin was household name among Indian fans during his time. The former India captain had created a rapport with his fans. His brilliant wristy shorts were a joy to watch. However, his career came to an end due his involvement in match-fixing scandal in 2000, for which he was banned for life by the cricket board.

In 2012, a Andhra court declared his ban illegal but by then his career had come to an end. Alongside Azharuddin and Sharma, Ajay Jadeja, Manoj Prabhakar and ex-physiotherapist Ali Irani was handed five years ban related to all cricket activities.