Cricketers are role-models to whom a fan looks up to. They are the heroes who almost always seem infallible. It gets a bit difficult to digest when these players fall from grace. At times it is not even related to the sport they are associated with.
We at Stumpsandbails bring you a list of certain such incidents where cricketers got arrested for different reasons
#5 Suresh Raina
Suresh Raina, the elegant left-hander has always been regarded as one of the nicest gentlemen in the game. Hence it came as a shock that Raina had been arrested. He was booked under Section 188 (Disobedience to order duly promulgated by public servant), 269 (whoever unlawfully or negligently does any act which is, and which he knows or has reason to believe to be, likely to spread the infection of any disease dangerous to life), 34 (Acts done by several persons in furtherance of common intention) of IPC and provisions of NMDA. It has been a difficult few months for the southpaw who has faced many off-field turbulences.
#4 Makhaya Ntini
Makhaya Ntini wasn’t the bowler he was when he was caught in a life-damaging case. In January 1999, Ntini was found guilty of rape by attacking a 22-year old student. This incident made him miss the 1999 World Cup. But Ntini claimed that he had given the 22-year old student a lift in his car during a storm and had to take a detour to the city’s Buffalo park ground to repay some money that he was owing to another player.
The victim, however, stated to the court that Ntini had raped her in one of the toilets at the stadium. However, in November 1999 Ntini filed a successive appeal against his conviction which helped him terminate his imprisonment. It was a clear case of being guilty until proven innocent. Ntini emerged strongly from the incident and went on to become one of South Africa’s best pacers.
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#3 Vinod Kambli
Vinod Kambli was arguably more talented than Sachin Tendulkar and people swear by this thought who had seen Kambli play. But temperament and discipline weren’t his friends and that was the main reason he couldn’t make it big in international cricket. He has often been in news for all the wrong reasons, one such incident was when an FIR was filed in 2015 at the Bandra police station against Kambli and his wife for harassing their house help.
The FIR filed by Soni Nafesinh Sarsal (house help) stated that Kambli and his wife didn’t allow her to return home and had unreasonably confined her for three days when she asked the couple for wages. This case was registered under IPC 342,506,504 and 34.
#2 Wasim Akram
The legendary left-arm pacer from Pakistan was arrested once in his life for carrying marijuana. Wasim Akram along with Waqar Younis and Aaqib Javed were charged in the drug case. The incident happened in the Caribbean when the Pakistan team toured the West Indies.
Pakistan reached Grenada from Georgetown and the trio of Wasim, Waqar, and Aaqib Javed along with other players headed to the beach from their hotel. The players met a couple of strangers there who introduced themselves as fans but they later came forward with cigarette butts. It was picked from the sand near the cricketers and they called for an arrest by presenting themselves as the policemen. The trio was left off later as the test results weren’t conclusive enough.
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#1 Praveen Kumar
Praveen Kumar was a genuine swing bowler who made the ball move both ways. He was Bhuvneshwar Kumar’s mentor. Hence it doesn’t come as a surprise that Bhuvneshwar Kumar is a prodigious swing bowler. But Praveen Kumar couldn’t build on his talent and was often in the news for all the wrong reasons. He made headlines when his neighbor accused Praveen Kumar of thrashing him and his son.
Before this incident, he was at the wrong end of the news, twice back in 2008 and 2011, when Kumar was involved in a street-fight with a doctor. The complaint stated that Praveen Kumar was in an inebriating condition and arrived in his car and started abusing the bus driver and then his neighbor. He thrashed both his neighbor and his son injuring them grievously. The Police went light on Kumar thanks to his cricketer status.
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