Cricket has a reputation as a gentleman’s sport. In countries such as India, the game is even worshiped and considered as a religion, with the sentiments of billions of people associated with it. Such a love for the game has brought a lot of money into it, with the players making great fortunes for themselves through their brilliance in the sport.
But numerous episodes have severely tarnished the “beautiful game.” One of the numerous things that has damaged the reputation of the game is the match-fixing incident. The following are some of the most well-known cricket match-fixing scandals that have weakened the sport’s ethical cohesion:
Hansie Cronje:
The chats between South African captain Hansie Cronje and bookmaker Sanjeev Chawla were recorded by Delhi Police in 2000. Even though Cronje originally refuted the Delhi Police’s allegations, he later broke down and admitted all of his wrongdoings. As a result, Cronje received a suspension for the entirety of his life. When he mysteriously perished in a plane crash in 2002, there were rumors that Cronje had been assassinated because of match-fixing.
The Pakistan Fix:
Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Amir were two gems that Pakistani fast bowlers had discovered. They were correctly predicted to be the Wasim Akram and Waqar Younis of the next generation. However, Asif and Amir both succumbed to avarice when they were discovered throwing pre-planned no-balls at the English batsmen during a Test match at Lords. They overstepped the bowling crease by a foot to deliver their balls since they were so focused on bowling the no-ball. Investigation results showed that Salman Butt, the captain at the time, had meticulously planned out how his bowlers would strike. The group received harsh punishment. Even though Amir resumed playing cricket after a 5-year absence, a stain has been left behind.
The Azharuddin Incident:
Mohammad Azharuddin was a player of the highest calibre and one of the greatest batsmen to have ever represented India. He led India wonderfully in the 1990s and was a fantastic captain. But the shadow of match-fixing was one occasion that profoundly changed his life. During one of the inquiries, his name came up. Hansie Cronje, a former captain for South Africa, acknowledged that Azharuddin had introduced him to the bookmakers. A legacy was permanently tarnished.
How India was Affected:
The biggest match-fixing scandal in Indian cricket was revealed when Manoj Prabhakar came forward as a whistleblower and implicated numerous players. Players like Kapil Dev, Ajay Jadeja, Ajay Sharma, and Manoj Prabhakar were implicated in the mess of match-fixing, according to a thorough investigation into the situation.
The IPL Debacle:
The much-discussed IPL was not exempt from the grip of spot-fixing. The IPL controversy involving spot-fixing occurred in 2013. The IPL governing board banned players like S. Sreesanth and Ajit Chandila for life as a result of this controversy. The primary co-owners of the Chennai Super Kings (Gurunath Meiyappan) and Rajasthan Royals (Raj Kundra) were found to be guilty of gambling after a thorough investigation in 2015. As a result, they were both barred from playing cricket, and CSK and RR were also suspended for two years from the league. Since then, IPL has consistently been the subject of spot-fixing investigations.
Sources:
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