5 current cricketers who were involved in off-field scandals
With cricket being one of the most popular sports in the world, prominent players are idolised regardless of their country. In fact, in a nation like India, the gentleman’s game is hailed as a religion while events like World Cup and IPL are celebrated as festivals. With cricketers being global heroes, several fans look up to them and plan to follow their footsteps.
However, cricketers are also humans in the first place and are bound to make mistakes. Cricket is no stranger to controversies and infamous episodes, both on and off the field. While cricketers committing small mistakes get away with fines, bans are imposed if the error made is massive. In fact, some infamous episodes have also disrupted cricketers’ careers.
Meanwhile, let’s look at 5 current cricketers who were involved in infamous off-field scandals
Shakib Al Hasan
Unarguably the finest cricketer to have played for Bangladesh, Shakib Al Hasan served a one-year ban for failing to report corrupt approaches by an Indian bookmaker. When the International Cricket Council (ICC) came to know about this, they handed the southpaw a two-year ban, one suspended, in October 2019. As the all-rounder has served his term, he’s free to play for the national team.
Hardik Pandya
Dashing Indian all-rounder Hardik Pandya made some controversial statements on the popular talk show ‘Koffee with Karan.’ Several fans found his remarks derogatory and gave him tags like ‘misogynist’ and ‘sexist’. While KL Rahul also appeared in that show, Hardik’s statement grabbed more headlines. BCCI banned the duo for a while but they eventually made a comeback.
Ben Stokes
Arguably the finest all-rounder going around, Ben Stokes is no stranger to controversies. The southpaw got engaged in a brawl outside a Bristol-based bar in 2017 and this cost him big time. He missed the 2017-18 Ashes series against Australia after being suspended by the ECB. He, however, managed to make a remarkable comeback.
David Warner
Besides the infamous ball-tampering scandal in 2018, David Warner was involved in another infamous controversy. During the 2013 Champions Trophy in England, the Australian batter had punched current England captain Joe Root in a bar. This saw Warner facing a ban and also a suspension. The southpaw accepted his mistake and issued a public apology to Root.
Tim Paine
Now, this controversy is still pretty fresh. Days before the start of Ashes 2021-22, Tim Paine stepped down as Australia’s Test captain in awake of a ‘sexting’ scandal. The wicketkeeper-batter had sent several inappropriate messages to a then female colleague at Cricket Tasmania in 2017. As the issue came out in public recently, Paine found it best to step down from his position. He has also taken a break from cricket assignments citing mental health reasons.
