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5 famous players whose careers ended because of controversies

Duanne Olivier
Duanne Olivier

Cricket has faced a plethora of controversies over the years. From the infamous ‘Bodyline’ Ashes series of 1932-33 and the ‘Mankading' incident, to the current issues of match-fixing and Kolpak contracts, unsavoury incidents have always been part and parcel of the game.

With the extensive media coverage nowadays controversial incidents rarely slip away without notice, and are instead often blown out of proportion. In some cases, these incidents were serious enough to end a player’s career. 

Here we take a look at five such instances.

 #5 Hansie Cronje

Hansie Cronje
Hansie Cronje

When a cricket fan ponders Hansie Cronje’s fall from grace, the first thought that comes up in his or her mind is: how did it go so wrong?

Cronje, who represented South Africa in 68 Tests and 188 ODIs, was an inspiring captain and dependable all-rounder. For a majority of his international career that spanned from 1992 to 2000, he was an excellent role model too. It seemed like he had very few flaws in his character.

But then in 2000, it transpired that he had an unhealthy love for money. To the widespread shock and disbelief of cricket fans, Cronje was convicted of match-fixing in April of that year. He was given a life-ban and died an unhappy man two years later.

Cronje made his international debut during South Africa’s historic World Cup 1992 campaign (it was their first ever tournament). He was known for his powerful slog-sweeping – when he played the shot the ball often went for six – and good timing. 

He displayed these attributes in full when he registered his maiden Test century in December 1992 against India.

The batsman experienced plenty of highlights in the next eight years, such as 1133 ODI runs in 1994 and a Test score of 126 against England in 1998.

Come 2000, Cronje was at the peak of his powers. As captain, he seemed ready to propel the Proteas to even greater heights. As a batsman, he was eager to score many more runs. But unfortunately for him, neither of those things materialized.

On 7 April 2000, a conversation between Cronje and bookmaker Sanjay Chawla was leaked to the media. Cronje, who initially denied any wrongdoing, had no option but to confess his sins. 

To the consternation of South African fans, he admitted that he had received money to force a result in a recent Test versus England, as well as asking players to underperform. 

Tragically, Cronje died in a plane crash near George, South Africa in 2002.

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