Cricketers are looked up to as role models and respected for their fitness, the way they have control over their diets, and their consistency in working out to improve their fitness levels. Even though the management has strict rules, you will be surprised to know that many cricketers still smoke. Here’s looking at a few of the instances where cricketers were spotted smoking in public-:
1. Chris Gayle
Gayle has been pictured smoking several times on several occasions, though it does not have a significant influence on kids and teenagers. Still, he makes sure to work hard, play a quality game, be the best in his league, and impresses everybody with his talent rather than his personal life. He is a party animal and an entertainer, and some say it’s because of his larger-than-life personality.
2. Hardik Pandya
Controversies and Hardik go hand in hand; he somehow intentionally or unintentionally manages to be a headline all over the media. The player was technically not seen smoking in public but at Sakshi Dhoni’s party next to M.S Dhoni. The footage broke the internet, and fans wondered if Hardik was smoking a cigarette or not.
3. Shane Warne
The internet has a lot of pictures of Shane smoking. Former Australian skipper Michael Clare has revealed that Shane often smoked before stepping onto the cricket field. In 2006, Warne refused to participate in training camp unless he was allowed to bring cigarettes with him. Shane also let go of things such as underwear and socks in exchange for six packets of cigarettes. The smoking didn’t affect his performance in the 2006 Ashes as he took 23 wickets in Australia’s 5-0 sweep.
4. Aaron Finch
During IPL 2020, a video of Finch went viral on all social media platforms, which put him under the radar. He was casually seen smoking an electronic vape during the match; this was highly unusual as cricketers are not allowed to consume alcohol or smoke in the team’s dressing room. Many people have questioned whether vaping is legal inside the dressing room.
5. Ian Botham
England’s legendary all-rounder Ian was known to puff a cigarette before and sometimes during the game and never really hid the habit. In 1986, the player immediately got suspended for smoking cannabis; he admitted this during a newspaper interview and got suspended for another two months. Ian continued to play for England until 1992.
6. Ravindra Jadeja
Jadeja has been trolled for posting an Instagram video of him smoking hookah; the fans felt disheartened. Some fans gave him a health advisory, while some even called this a shameful act, and some demanded, that he shouldn’t represent the country anymore.
7. E.D Giddins
Giddins was a talented swing bowler, nicknamed ‘Geezer.’ In 1996, Giddins tested positive for cocaine; he told the game’s chiefs that his drink had been spiked, but they didn’t believe him and suspended him for 18 months. The player also admitted to smoking cannabis; just before his retirement. Giddins was found guilty of match-fixing, and he even flipped a table in rage.
8. Phill Tufnell
Phill is one of the most celebrated cricketers of England, but he always had an addiction of smoking. He admitted that he could never leave smoking as he has been smoking since he was a teenager. He confessed in his autobiography that he was a womanizer and always had issues with drinking and smoking.
9. Kusal Mendis
Mendis has been seen smoking in the U.K. during the bio- bubble along with Niroshan Dickwella and Danushka Gunathilaka. The cricketers came under the radar after a video of them smoking went viral. The Sri Lankan cricketers were suspended and had to fly home.
10. Denis Compton
Dennis Charles Scott Compton is an English cricketer who played in 78 Test matches and spent his whole cricket career with Middlesex. He has done several ads for tobacco and cigarettes in his era, and that was a period when smoking wasn’t uncommon in sports. Like any other player in the 50s and ‘60s, Denis smoked regularly before matches, and sometimes in between.
