Ranking the 5 worst cricket controversies since 2000

#1 When cricket was rocked by 'spot-fixing'

Amir made a return to Lord's in 2016, six years after being one of the protagonists in cricket's worst scandal

It was undoubtedly Pakistan cricket's darkest hour and arguably, cricket's as well.

In August 2010, The News Of The World tabloid in England had alleged that three Pakistan players - Mohammad Amir, Salman Butt and Mohammad Asif - had indulged in spot-fixing with the bowlers agreeing to deliberately bowl 'no-balls' in return for large sums of money, sending shockwaves across the entire cricketing fraternity.

In February 2011, Butt was handed a 10-year suspension from the game, Amir a five-year suspension and Asif a seven-year ban from the game.

In November later that year, Butt and Asif were found guilty and sentenced to jail for two-and-a-half years and one year respectively. Amir was sentenced to jail for six months.

The suspension on Amir was relaxed in April 2015 and the fast bowler made a comeback to international cricket in January 2016.