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The game of cricket is considered a game of goodwill and peace and is well-liked in Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, and some other western countries including India. It is very important for the player to always be honest towards the game and have sportsmanship in him. But in the history of cricket, some players have done the work of shaming cricket by fixing matches. Today we are going to tell you the 5 most talked-about match-fixing controversies in cricket.
However, rules have also been made by the ICC and the cricket boards of different countries to prevent fixing, so that the player can be punished for any kind of fixing in the match or doing any act contrary to the spirit of the game.
The ICC can impose a lifetime ban on activities like match-fixing, spot-fixing, sharing inside match information, and betting on cricket. But still, many controversies of match-fixing have come to the fore in cricket history and many players have been banned for a few years or even a lifetime ban.
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5 most famous match-fixing controversies in cricket history:
Below we are going to tell you about the 5 most talked-about match-fixing controversies in cricket history.
Pakistan cricket spot-fixing scandal, 2010:
The Pakistan cricket spot-fixing scandal occurred during a Test match between England and Pakistan at Lord’s ground in August 2010. In this match, some players of Pakistan had taken money from a bookie named Mazhar Majid for throwing a no-ball at the pre-determined time in the match. In this, the names of Mohammad Amir, Mohammad Asif, and the then captain Salman Butt were revealed. Mohammad Amir was banned for 5 years, Mohammad Asif for 7 years, and Salman Butt for 10 years.
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Azharuddin match-fixing controversy:
Azharuddin’s match-fixing controversy shocked the entire cricketing world in Indian cricket history. Investigation revealed that Azharuddin had fixed matches against South Africa in 1996, then in 1997 in the Sri Lanka Pepsi Cup, and in 1999 in Pakistan. After this BCCI imposed a lifetime ban on him in 2000. Although he had denied match-fixing while giving his explanation and the Andhra Pradesh High Court had also lifted the ban on him in 2012.
Hansie Cronje match-fixing controversy:
Delhi Police had intercepted a call in the year 2000, in which Hansie Cronje was talking to an Indian bookie, Sanjeev Chawla, about the same match. It was from here that match-fixing was exposed for the first time in India and in the cricket world. A few days after this news came, when the South African investigative agencies interrogated Hansie Cronje continuously for two-three days, after this he confessed to the fixing and he also named some Indian players including some bookies. He died in a plane crash in 2002.
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IPL spot-fixing
For the first time in 2013, the IPL spot-fixing case came to the fore in which the names of S Sreesanth, Ajit Chandila, and Ankit Chavan were revealed. Along with this, the allegation of betting on Gurunath Meiyappan, owner of the Chennai Super Kings team, and Raj Kundra, owner of the Rajasthan Royals team, was proved. After this, both the teams were banned for 2 years, while both the owners and all the three players were banned for life by the BCCI. Although Sreesanth was given a clean chit by the Delhi High Court in 2015, he is playing domestic cricket for Kerala.
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Match-fixing by Salim Malik:
In 1994–95, Australian cricketers Shane Warne and Mark Waugh were accused of contacting the bookie and giving him insider information about the match. Following these allegations, Shane Warne, taking the name of then Pakistan captain Salim Malik, accused him of giving a bribe to lose the match. After which it was proved correct in the investigation and Salim Malik was banned for life.
Later, Shane Warne told in his documentary that before the last match of the 1994 Pakistan vs Australia Test series, Malik had offered him 1 lakh 45 thousand pounds (about Rs 1.5 crore). However, he also told that Salim feared murder if he was defeated. This was the first fixing controversy in Pakistan cricket.
