5 IPL Controversies that made headlines

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The Indian Premier League (IPL) is the biggest T20 cricket league in the world, filled with excitement, thrills, and heart-stopping sport action, but this league is also not intangible from the controversies, and over the years, people have seen many such moments. In fact, since the inaugural season, whenever IPL starts, it not only catches the attention of media houses and fans. The drama and controversies circling around the league make it a source of entertainment as well. Here are some of the controversial moments of this cash-rich domestic league.

5) Harbhajan-Sreesanth “Slapgate” Controversy

The inaugural season of the IPL was a spectacle for the fans who enjoyed the domestic T20 league; however, the season also filled with a lot of controversies, one of which is still being discussed in the cricket community. This controversy erupted in the IPL 2008 when Kings XI Punjab were playing against Mumbai Indians led by Harbhajan Singh in the absence of regular skipper Sachin Tendulkar. While doing the post-match handshake, Harbhajan Singh got furious at some comments made by Sreesanth and allegedly slapped him. However, the incident of slapping Sreeshanth didn’t get caught on camera. Sreesanth was caught sobbing after the incident.

4) Virat Kohli And Gautam Gambhir Spat (2012-2023)

The bad blood between Virat Kohli and Gautam Gambhir first showed up back in IPL 2013 when they had a heated argument during an IPL 2013 match between the Kolkata Knight Riders and Royal Challengers Bangalore. Virat Kohli was dismissed in the 10th over of the second innings, and when he was going back to the pavilion, he and his then fellow India teammate Gautam Gambhir caught into a heated argument. They were separated by the fellow teammates and on-field umpires.

Again, in another IPL match in 2023, Royal Challengers Bangalore were taking on Lucknow Super Giants, who were coached by Gautam Gambhir. Virat Kohli first had a heated argument with LSG’s player Naveen-ul-Haq, and then the argument took an ugly turn when LSG’s coach Gautam Gambhir jumped into the spat, and both cricketers again ran into an argument with each other.

3) Spot-Fixing in IPL 2013

The spot-fixing scandal of 2013 was a setback for the fans and for the whole cricket community, as some big names were involved in it. Indian pacer S. Sreesanth and his Rajasthan Royals teammates Ajit Chandila and Ankeet Chavan were arrested in 2013 on spot fixing charges. Later, they got banned by the BCCI from playing cricket. The then BCCI chief secretary’s son-in-law, Gurunath Meiyappan, was arrested for betting; he was the team principal for CSK, due to which both teams got suspended for two years. RR and CSK didn’t play in the IPL in 2016 and 2017 due to the ban imposed on the franchises.

2) Shahrukh Khan Banned From Wankhede Stadium

It was in IPL 2012 when famous Bollywood celebrity and Kolkata Knight Riders owner Shahrukh Khan was banned from attending any matches at the Wankhede Stadium. The story behind such charges was that the Bollywood actor misbehaved with the security personnel of the Wankhede Stadium after getting drunk when he was stopped to enter the field. However, according to Shahrukh Khan, it was the fault of the guards as they were manhandling his children, which angered him. Later in 2015, MCA lifted the ban from him.

1) When MS Dhoni Lost His Calm

MS Dhoni is one of the most respected cricketers in the world, not just because of his achievements in the sport but also because of his demeanor; in fact, he has been known in the cricket community as “Captain Cool.” But there was one incident back in the IPL 2019 when Thala’s team CSK was playing against Rajasthan Royals, and in the last three balls, CSK needed 8 runs to win.

Ben Stokes delivered a full toss ball, which was immediately called a no-ball by the bowling end umpire, Ulhas Gandhe, but leg umpire Bruce Oxenford decided otherwise. MS Dhoni was watchfully observing, and then suddenly Dhoni started marching towards the umpires and had a talk with them, but in vain, as Oxenford’s decision stayed and it was declared a legal delivery. CSK won the match courtesy of Santner’s last six balls. The match will forever be remembered because of MS Dhoni.