IPL is a yearly carnival that sets the pulse racing. It is one of the biggest annual cricketing events. Teams start building towards the IPL quite early. They organize camps to get the players up and running. It is imperative for teams to set everything in place for their players to excel. The drive to win IPL championships at times forces teams to make desperate calls. These factors lead to controversies.
We look at the top 5 IPL teams controversies:
#5 Rajasthan Royals
Rajasthan Royals surprised everyone by winning the Inaugural IPL in 2008. They always flew under the radar. RR looked like the most dominant team in 2013. But to everyone’s dismay, they found themselves at the centre of a huge controversy. Their players and owner were caught in a spot-fixing scandal. They were barred from the IPL for 2 years (2016-17). This shook the cricketing world.
#4 Punjab Kings
Virender Sehwag was Punjab Kings’ principal consultant in IPL 2015. The Kings lost a league game from a winning position. This irked their co-owner, Preity Zinta. She got involved in an infamous argument with Sehwag. The legendary Indian opener didn’t like the altercation one bit. He respectfully chose to quit before the next season.
#3 Kolkata Knight Riders
Kolkata Knight Riders prior to becoming champions were the butt of all jokes. They hit an all-time low in 2009 when they finished 8th in the points table. There were controversies with their split captaincy model. A fake account took over their social media handles. In 2021, KKR owner, Shahrukh Khan got into an altercation with Wankhede officials. He was suspended by MCA for 5 years.
#2 Sunrisers Hyderabad
Sunrisers Hyderabad have always been the Davids of the IPL. They made headlines this season thanks to them expelling David Warner as captain. Warner who had given his blood and sweat to the team was unceremoniously dropped from the team. David Warner had led SRH to an IPL win in 2016. He took them to playoffs in 2020 as well. But an indifferent batting form saw SRH slump to the bottom. He publicly aired his disagreement over Manish Pandey’s exclusion. This may have cost Warner his spot and captaincy.
#1 Chennai Super Kings
Chennai Super Kings have been one of the most consistent teams of the IPL. Their dream run from 2008-13 saw a glorious IPL double (2010-11). But all of that came to a nadir in 2013 when their principal owner, Gurunath Meiyappan was caught in the spot-fixing scandal. CSK much like RR were suspended from IPL for 2 years. Their captain MS Dhoni famously remained silent in a press conference when questions pertaining to the scandal were asked.
