The 16th season of the world's most colourful T20 tournament —the Indian Premier League (IPL) — is going to start on March 31 with Chennai Super Kings (CSK) facing defending champions Gujarat Titans (GT). This league allows many famous players in India and abroad to come to show their mettle on the field, which might lead to some unsavoury or tense moments.
Such moments have led to many controversies being witnessed by the fans during the IPL season. Here, we look at the biggest five controversies in the league since its inception in 2008.
Harbhajan and Sreesanth's slap-gate
The first edition of IPL was the centre of a big controversy. Harbhajan Singh, a former off-spinner for Team India who played for the Mumbai Indians (MI) back then, slapped his international teammate Sreesanth during a match against the Kings XI Punjab. Sreesanth was seen crying on the field after the incident, which led to a major uproar with Harbhajan suspended for the remainder of the tournament. BCCI also banned the spinner for five ODIs.
IPL operatives fled to London
The idea of organizing a spectacular T20 league like the IPL was first initiated by Lalit Modi. He made it a reality as the IPL earned its name as the biggest T20 franchise tournament in the world. However, Modi, who was the former IPL President and Chairman, was accused of unfair treatment, indiscipline and financial irregularities.
He was suspended with immediate effect and later when the allegations against him proved to be true, the BCCI imposed a life ban on Modi. After this, when the Enforcement Directorate (ED) started an investigation into him, he fled to London and has not returned to India since then.
KKR owner Shahrukh Khan banned after winning trophy
Controversies during the IPL are not limited to players or the chairman only. Even the owners of the franchise cannot escape from the glaring eyes of the public, especially if they are as popular as Shahrukh Khan. The Kolkata Knight Riders co-owner misbehaved with the officials during a match in Mumbai. After this, Shahrukh Khan's entry was banned at the Wankhede Stadium for five years. It is believed that Shah Rukh Khan abused a guard in a drunken stupor.
Spot-fixing taint on IPL
Players playing in IPL get the most money across all the leagues in the world. Despite this, the league has been tainted with fixing. In 2013, the Delhi Police arrested three Rajasthan Royals (RR) players S Sreesanth, Ajit Chandila and Ankeet Chavan.
Not only was RR caught, but also the owner of Chennai Super Kings (CSK), N Srinivasan and his son-in-law Gurunath Meiyappan were accused of having links with bookies. The latter was also arrested for the same. The name of Raj Kundra, the owner of Rajasthan Royals was also on this list. The Supreme Court banned Chennai and Rajasthan for two years in 2015. They returned to the tournament in 2018.
Mankading becomes the subject of discussion
In international cricket, the run-out of the batter on the non-striker's end by the bowler has always been a topic of discussion. It has now been approved by the ICC and has been placed in the run-out category. But before that could happen, Mankading caught a lot of heat in the IPL. In IPL 2019, R Ashwin dismissed Jos Buttler of the Rajasthan Royals via Mankading. After this, Buttler was given out and a debate broke out among veterans on whether such a run-out is sportsmanship. The ICC has ended all debate by making it legal.
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