Cricket is a gentleman’s game. The players are always on their toes to put their best feet forward. They are regarded as icons and revered all over. But there are certain players who hit themselves in the foot. They have the tendency to catch attention for all the wrong reasons. These players sometimes affect the game negatively. These controversial players have a caustic effect on the team. let’s look at Most Controversial Cricketers
Most Controversial Cricketers
#5 Shahid Afridi:
Shahid Afridi is the undisputed star of Pakistan cricket. Afridi never fails to hog the limelight with his antics. At times even his antics off the field catch a lot of attention. The maverick cricketer once bit the white ball in Australia to aid reverse swing. His action was widely critiqued. Afridi is known to make many foot-in-the-mouth statements. His unnecessary opinions on border tensions has always raised eyebrows. Afridi was the alleged catalyst in the feud between Shoaib Akhtar and Mohammad Asif. The pace bowling duo was expelled from the team post the fight. Afridi smartly escaped punishment.
#4 Andrew Symonds:
Andrew Symonds was a once in a generational talent. He singlehandedly changed the outcome of the game. A terrific batsman, a gun fielder, utility bowler, Symonds was a captain’s dream. But just one thing stopped Symonds from becoming an all-time great. It was his temperament that held him back. Symonds went fishing while on an England tour. This didn’t go down well with Ricky Ponting, the then Australian captain. His monkey gate episode literally ended his career abruptly.
#3 Shane Warne:
Shane Warne was one of the most colourful characters in cricket. He wore his heart on his sleeve. Warne never saw eye to eye with Steve Waugh and Adam Gilchrist. He was dropped from the World Cup squad in 2003 right before the first game. The reason behind his omission was owing to Warne having consumed a banned substance. Warne had a famous run-in with Marlon Samuels in the BBL. He was never far away from controversy.
#2 Shoaib Akhtar:
Pakistani speedster, Shoaib Akhtar was the controversy’s favourite child. He always made news no matter how he performed. Akhtar’s celebrations in itself were a thing. His sledging opponents, running in fast, smashing batsmen, Akhtar was always a sight to watch. Throughout his career, there were speculations about him underperforming in many games. His feud with Asif was well documented. Akhtar didn’t get along well with another maverick, Afridi. Akhtar was famously called the bad boy of world cricket.
#1 S. Sreesanth:
S. Sreesanth was unlike any Indian cricketer. He wasn’t docile, he wasn’t subtle. Sreesanth was always in your face player. His celebrations were exaggerated, his antics over the top. Sreesanth was a very difficult player to manage. MS Dhoni, the former Indian captain had famously quipped once that he doesn’t know how to manage Sreesanth. The talented yet eccentric fast bowler had levelled an allegation against Harbhajan Singh for slapping him post an IPL match. But Sreesanth’s career hit rock bottom post his match-fixing scandal. He was handed a life ban post this. A promising career hit the rock bottom owing to his attitude.
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