The Indian Premier League (IPL) is the best domestic tournament in the world. The league features the best of the best from across the globe. It is the cricket most often which sets IPL apart from others but at times the controversies make worldwide news. The players get carried away and make certain controversial statements. These statements are at times directed towards the IPL while some players take controversial digs at IPL teams.
StumpsandBails lists out 5 instances when cricketers made controversial statements in the IPL:
#5 Dale Steyn
Dale Steyn, the South African fast bowling legend made news recently thanks to his controversial views about the IPL. Steyn was once a top bowling force in the IPL but his bowling prowess has waned considerably. He is no longer the threat he once was. Hence, Steyn himself did not participate in IPL 2021 auctions.
Royal Challenger Bangalore released Steyn post a forgettable IPL 2020. This probably irked Steyn who was quoted saying, “I found that playing in these other leagues was slightly more rewarding as a player. I think when you go to IPL, there are such big squads and so many big names and so much emphasis on maybe the amount of money players earn and everything like that, so sometimes, somewhere down the line, cricket gets forgotten.” This statement drew a lot of criticism and Steyn later issued an apology.
#4 Chris Gayle
Chris Gayle, the universe boss felt hard done by Royal Challengers Bangalore not retaining him in IPL 2018 auctions. He minced no words in expressing his displeasure.
Gayle was quoted saying, “I was their biggest draw. It was disappointing in the end because they had called me. They wanted me in the team and I was told that I will be retained. But they never called back after that. So that gave me the impression that they didn’t want me and it’s fine.” The IPL veteran was clearly not expecting RCB to drop him but such is the nature of the sport.
#3 Shane Watson
Shane Watson had an altogether different perspective about Royal Challengers Bangalore. Watson was picked by RCB in 2016 for a whopping INR 9.5 crores. He played for RCB in 2016 and 2017. But his views presented a completely different insight about an IPL team.
Watson stated that “RCB was a great experience because of the calibre of players I played with. It was run by Diageo which is sort of a Johnny Walker company, so it was more corporately – sort of – run, which is different. There’s no real emotional connection with the owners who put in their heart and soul into it.” Watson’s claim of lack of emotional connection from franchise owners didn’t sit well with the top brass of RCB.
#2 Ben Duckett
RCB has the most loyal fans among all the teams. Even though they are yet to win an IPL title, their fans always stay strong by their side. At times it even goes to extreme lengths. Ben Duckett’s tweet was a classic example of fan fanaticism. Duckett had tweeted about RCB’s team saying it is a joke. He was referring to the solid batting lineup of the team. It comprised Virat Kohli, Quinton De Kock, Brendon McCullum, and AB de Villiers. But the RCB fans took offence to his tweet and were all over Duckett.
He tweeted,” Woken up to these and many more horrible messages. Yesterday I referred to RCB as a ‘joke’ meaning they have such a good side with the likes of de Kock, de Villiers, Kohli, McCullum, and lots of other world-class players.”
#1 Abdul Razzaq
Abdul Razzaq is one of those former cricketers who clearly isn’t happy with IPL’s global success. He wastes no time in pulling down the hugely successful T20 league. Razzaq had once commented, “If a team of the best players from the Indian Premier League faced a team made-up of the best players from the Pakistan Super League, the PSL team would win.” It is clearly a case of sour grapes.
