The ten 'bad boys' of cricket

The ongoing Border-Gavaskar trophy saw Virat Kohli‘s middle finger salute to a heckling crowd, an action that went well with no one. Kohli blamed it on the crowd’s instigation, and accused them of abusing his near and dear ones, provocation he couldn’t tolerate. A talented cricketer, and one of the better performing Indians in the series, this act did him no good, and he’s now been inducted into the ‘bad boys of cricket’ club, of which a select few are members. This list has nothing to do with a player’s talent, but bases itself solely on on-field and off-field antics. This is my list, in no particular order:

Douglas Jardine – The father of Bodyline bowling, former England Test captain Douglas Jardine became notorious for introducing ‘Bodyline’ in the 1932-33 Ashes series to curb the exploits of the unstoppable Donald Bradman, even though its use was not limited to The Don only, with several others falling victim to the dangerous ploy. Bert Oldfield suffered a serious skull injury as a result of Jardine’s dangerous tactics. Regarded as one of the greatest English captains, his image as the architect of Bodyline stuck with him.

Ian Botham – Another Englishman, and one of the finest players of his time, his magnificence on the field was often marred by trouble off it. Botham remains one of the most controversial cricketers of all time. Suspended in 1986 for smoking cannabis and accused by Imran Khan of racism and ball tampering, Botham was no stranger to controversy. Botham fought Imran Khan in court, and lost, adding insult to injury. His colourful private life remained anything but a secret with extramarital affairs dominating headlines, and he was also arrested on assault charges in Australia.

Mohammed Azharuddin – At his peak, Azharuddin had one of the most graceful batting styles, but his career was destroyed after he was revealed to be the man who introduced Hansie Cronje to match-fixing, resulting in a life ban. He well and truly disgraced himself and the Indian cricket fraternity. The BCCI attempted to revoke his life ban in 2006, but they were promptly halted by the ICC. What Azharuddin did deserves no pardon, and his punishment set the precedent for such future incidents.

Shoaib Akhtar – Cricket would have been morose had it not been for the Rawalpindi Express’s shenanigans. Undeniably talented, and one of the fastest bowlers of all time, we can only wonder what heights he could have achieved had it not been for his lifestyle and his attitude. Akhtar was involved in several brawls with teammates and opponents, including his former captain Waqar Younis. He was banned for ball tampering in 2003. His career was rocked by another scandal in 2006 when he tested positive, along with Mohammed Asif, for performance enhacing drugs, and was subsequently given a two-year ban. In 2008, he was given a five-year ban for assaulting his old accomplice Asif. Definitely the poster boy of infamous cricketers, Akhtar courted more controversy after the release of his autobiography in 2011.

Andrew Symonds – Another story of a supremely gifted cricketer whose career has been blighted by controversy. In 2005, he was banned for two games for not turning up for a one-day match against Bangladesh. In a Test match against India, Symonds got involved in a spat with Harbhajan Singh after the latter allegedly called him a ‘monkey’. Harbhajan was initially handed a three match ban, but Symonds was also criticised for instigating Bhajji. Again, in 2008, Symonds was sent home from the ODI series against Bangladesh, because he had gone fishing instead of attending a team meeting. His commitment to the national side came into question after that. In 2009, a drunken Symonds attended a radio show and launched a verbal tirade against New Zealond cricketer Brendon McCullum, and was subsequently fined and reprimanded by Cricket Australia.

Harbhajan Singh – It is only too obvious that ‘The Turbanator’ comes into this list directly after Andrew Symonds, considering their volatile relationship. Bhajji’s actions range from the weird to the bizarre, with incidents like ‘monkeygate’ involving Symonds, and ‘slapgate’ involving Sreesanth. Harbhajan came in for criticism from almost every Tom, Dick and Harry because of the entire ‘monkey’ incident, and he could have been far worse off, as the ICC Appeals Commissioner John Hansen later admitted, had he been aware of Harbhajan’s previous transgressions. In the 2008 edition of the IPL, Harbhajan slapped Indian teammate Sreesanth, leaving him in tears. He was charged of gross misconduct, and was banned for the remainder of the IPL, and he was not allowed to collect his remuneration.

Sreesanth – Notable for not only his cricketing skills, but also his over-exuberant celebrations and appeals, Sreesanth, despite his young age, has managed to court controversy at every step, the most well documented being the slapgate of IPL 2008. Sreesanth is known for aggressive behaviour, and admits it is an inseparable part of his game. In games against Australia, he is one of the few Indian players who matches up to them as far as aggressive attitude goes. Indian captain Dhoni complained that Sreesanth was hard to control, after he allegedly insulted South African Graeme Smith. And who can forget Sreesanth dancing around the pitch after hitting Andre Nel for a six in the 2006 Test series?!!

Dale Steyn – Even though South African pacer Dale Steyn is known to be aggressive in his style of play, he has never been as controversial as any of the others in this list, but his most controversial action till date was highly insulting and deserved the highest punishment. In June 2010, in the third of the three Test series against West Indies, Dale Steyn spat on West Indian Sulieman Benn, after he was dismissed by Kemar Roach. Benn is said to have provoked him, but his retaliation was unjustified.

Shane Warne – Starting from the ‘John the bookmaker controversy’ in 1994, to his column in a publication in which he had scathing remarks about Sri Lankan Arjuna Ranatunga, to his rocky private life, Shane Warne remains the most controversial Australian of all time. In 1994, a bookmaker approached Mark Waugh and Shane Warne for pitch and weather information in return for handsome payouts, to which they obliged. Warne was also involved in countless scandals regarding his married life. In an IPL game in 2009, Warne was also spotted sipping beer after someone in the crowd offered it to him! But no matter how infamous his behaviour may be, his contribution to the game and his status as one of the greatest bowlers cannot be doubted.

Salman Butt, Mohammad Asif and, Mohammad Amir – I saved the worst for last on this list. While these may be three individuals, they were involved in the same crime, and threw the game into massive disrepute. A ‘News of The World’ sting operation led to the exposure of Mazhar Majeed, a bookmaker who bribed Butt, Asif and Amir into spot-fixing. All three maintained their innocence till the end, but at last justice prevailed, and the trio were handed lengthy bans, and they now face long spells in prison. It is doubtful whether any of the three will ever play another professional game. Asif is no stranger to indiscipline, and deserves what he got, and Butt should take most of the responsibility as he was the captain.

A SPECIAL MENTION: SUDHIR NAIK – Doubtless, many deserving players have been left off this list, but for the sake of comic relief, I could not leave out former Indian batsman Sudhir Naik. For those in the dark, Naik was caught shoplifting a pair of socks from a sports store in 1974 during India’s tour of UK. To make matters worse, the Indian High Commission in UK asked him to plead guilty instead of providing legal aid! A shameful incident, and greatly publicised at that time, it is one of the funnier moments as far as cricket controversies go.