Top 5 controversies in the history of Indian Cricket
Cricket is always appreciated as a gentlemen’s game. However, if we turn back the pages of cricketing history, we can see many conflicts that rocked the sporting circles across the globe and of course damaged the spirit of the game.
Indian Cricket came to prominence after the 1983 World Cup and while their notoriety towered, the controversies also started to sneak up. Here is the list of top 5 controversies that rocked the Indian Cricketing world.
#5 Mike Denness vs The Indian Cricket Team - November 2001
Mike Denness, former England Captain and the match referee for the India vs South Africa Test match in Port Elizabeth in 2001, stirred one of the biggest controversies in the world cricket. The issue gained global notice when Sachin Tendulkar, of all people, was accused of ball tampering charge and handed a match ban. The English referee didn't stop there. He handed a Test match ban to Virender Sehwag, Deep Dasgupta, Harbhajan Singh and Shiv Sunder Das for excessive appealing. He also banned the then Indian Captain Sourav Ganguly for one Test match and two ODIs for failing to keep his team under control.
These accusations caused a serious uproar in India. While the Indian Cricket aficionados went to streets and burnt Denness effigies, the Indian Parliament termed Denness as a 'racist'. ICC supported Denness, but Cricket South Africa sided with BCCI and did not let Denness officiate the next Test Match. ICC declared the third Test Match unofficial. The world cricket governing body, eventually, overturned the ban on Sachin and Ganguly.