Most Hated XI Of World Cricket

Cricket is a gentlemen’s game and players are often expected to respect the spirit of the game. Many cricketers have a huge fan following due to their on-field achievements and off-field behaviour. Cricket fans love and support such players and consider them heroes and idols.

However, there are also few cricketers whose rude attitude and wrong actions have made them unpopular personalities among fans. They have garnered a lot of hate and disrespect from fans for their actions on and off-field. Here we talk about the most hated XI of world cricket.

Ricky Ponting

Former Australia skipper Ricky Ponting is one of the most hated cricketers of his era. During his cricketing days, his attitude of’ ‘victory at any cost’ unimpressed fans all around the world. Also, the use of sledging by him and his team against opposition teams was widely criticized, something seen by many as against the spirit of the game.

The infamous Sydney Test in 2008, which witnessed many wrong decisions by umpires against India, also led to the unpopularity of Ricky Ponting. The Australian star has now managed to find some love and support from Indian fans with his successful stint as Delhi Capitals coach in IPL. However, during his active cricket career, he was among the hated players in cricket.

Shane Warne

Shane Warne is another former Australia cricketer who did not get much support from fans during his cricketing days. Warne is definitely one of the legends in cricket, however, he was often criticized for his on-field rude behaviour. Moreover, his off-field controversies like charges of sexual harassment and consuming drugs ahead of ODI World Cup 2003 made him a hated personality among cricket fans.

Greg Chappell

Greg Chappell is still one of the most hated cricket personalities in India. It is due to his controversial role as coach of Indian cricket team between 2004 to 2007. His involvement in the ouster of Sourav Ganguly as skipper, damaging Irfan Pathan’s career, and embarrassing exit of India from ODI World Cup 2007 are some big reasons. Greg Chappell is also infamous for the underarm bowling incident of 1981. The then Australia skipper asked his younger brother Trevor Chappel to bowl an underarm delivery when New Zealand needed 7 runs off the last ball in an ODI. The incident is one of the infamous examples of hampering the spirit of the game in cricket.

Salman Butt

Salman Butt is one of the most hated cricketers among Pakistan fans. He was involved in the spot-fixing scandal in 2010. During the Test series against England in 2010, he agreed to cheat in a game for cash. He was found guilty and was banned for 10 years which ended his career in international cricket. He was the Pakistan skipper in the Test series so he is still hated by many Pakistani cricket fans for hampering the image of Pakistan cricket.

Mohammad Asif

Mohammad Asif is another Pakistan cricketer who was involved in the spot-fixing scandal of 2010 with Salman Butt. Both the players also influenced youngster Mohammad Amir to engage in spot-fixing. Along with Salman Butt, Mohammad Asif was also charged for cheating and was banned for 7 years. He was never able to make a comeback in international cricket after his act.

Abdul Razzaq

Abdul Razzaq is a former all-rounder for Pakistan. He had a good fan following during his cricketing career. However, his one comment about Indian pacer Jasprit Bumrah did not go well with many cricket fans. Once he called Jasprit Bumrah a baby bowler and asserted that the Indian pacer would have gone into pressure if he batted against him. His comment made Razzaq a laughing stock among many fans who lost respect for him.

Mushfiqur Rahim

Mushfiqur Rahim garnered a lot of hate from Indian cricket fans and people of his own country for his immature and arrogant behaviour for the Indian team. India defeated Bangladesh by 1 run in ICC T20I World Cup 2016. Later, when India lost to West Indies in the semi-final, the Bangladesh cricketer Rahim celebrated India’s ouster with a tweet on Twitter.

He later deleted the tweet realizing his mistake. However, the damage had been done by then and he lost the support of many fans due to his unsporting attitude.

Jesse Ryder

Jesse Ryder was a popular player in the New Zealand team at one time. However, his behaviour off-the-field ruined his cricket career. Ryder was once found drinking till 1:30 after midnight before a game against England the next day. He injured himself at the bar and was taken to hospital. He misbehaved with hospital staff, asking for preferential treatment for himself. This un-gentleman attitude affected his popularity among fans and his career.

Mohammad Azharuddin

Mohammad Azharuddin was a strong skipper for cricket during the 90’s. However, he was unpopular for his off-field affairs while being married. Moreover, his involvement in the infamous match-fixing incident hampered his love and support of fans. He was banned for life from cricket. The ban was lifted in 2011 but still many fans accuse him of hampering the image of Indian cricket with his infamous actions.

Ravichandran Ashwin

Ravichandran Ashwin is another Indian cricketer who is often criticized by many for not following the spirit of the game. The IPL 2018 spot-fixing incident made him an unpopular player. He once made disrespectful comments to South African cricketer Herschelle Gibbs on social media by taunting him for his match-fixing incident. It was a response to Gibbs’ joke for Ashwin but did not go well with many cricket fans. Ashwin has attempted mankading on multiple occasions in cricket that has given rise to his unpopularity among fans.

S Sreesanth

S Sreesanth is another Indian player who is among the hated list of Indian fans. S Sreesanth was a promising pacer for India at the start of his career. However, his involvement in IPL 2013 spot-fixing scandal hampered his cricket career. He was acquitted of the charges later. He once blamed Dinesh Karthik for losing his place in the Indian team. His aggressive behaviour and sledging during his international cricketing days were also not liked by many Indian cricket fans.