Apart from the beautiful moments that cricket had in the past. Some bitter moments were also faced by cricket fans. Several famous star players involved in match-fixing and other corruption activities shocked the world. All activities against the ICC rules get considered to be illegal. There are many illegal activities like spot-fixing, match-fixing, doping, and many more. Primarily the player’s actions are tracked by the management. If they get caught, they will get banned from playing cricket for some years. So here we present you the top 10 cricketers who got banned for corruption:
10. Mohammad Ashraful
Mohammad Ashraful is a Bangladeshi cricketer who has captained the national team. He played 177 ODI matches and 61 test matches, scoring 3468 and 2737 runs, respectively. He was the youngest player to hit a ton in test cricket when he was 17. He was involved in match-fixing in Bangladesh Premier League in 2013 in a match against Chittagong Vikings. Reports suggest that he get paid $12,800 to lose the game. Due to this, Bangladesh Cricket Board banned him for eight years.
9. Ajay Jadeja
Ajay Jadeja was a former Indian all-rounder who has played 196 ODI matches and scored 5359 runs. He served as a finisher in the Indian team during his period. All his glory came to an end after his five-year ban. He approached the Delhi high court, appealing himself to be innocent. Then rejected his prohibition, and he was allowed to play in domestic and international cricket. He played Ranji matches in 2003.
8. Marlon Samuels
Marlon Samuels was a former West Indies cricketer who played 204 ODI matches and 71 test matches. He was a predominant all-rounder for the West Indies team since the 2000s. Samuels scored 5536 runs in ODI and 3917 runs in test cricket. He also picked up valuable 89 wickets in ODI. He was banned from international cricket for two years for passing the information regarding the team to bookmakers. Also, he had some controversy with Shane Warne in the 2012 BBL.
7. Umar Akmal
Umar Akmal is a Pakistani wicket-keeper batsman. His contribution to the Pakistan team was more necessary. But the inconsistency in his batting made him in and out of the squad. In February 2020, Akmal got banned for three years for breaching the anti-corruption code. He failed to report corrupt approaches. He was involved in several illegal activities on and off the field. He had some issues with Junaid Khan. Also, he was said to be involved in a fight with a traffic warden, which made him stay in jail for one day.
6. Mohammad Azharuddin
Mohammad Azharuddin was a former Indian cricket team captain. He had a career of 334 ODI nu matches, scoring 9378 runs and 99 test matches. He was one of the most successful captains of the Indian team. At the end of his career, around 2000, he was reported to be involved in fixing activities. The former South African captain, Hansie Cronje, said that some bookies were introduced to him by Azhar. The CBI investigated the players of that time and reported some of the players were involved in illegal fixing activities in which Azhar’s name was on top. So he was banned in the year 2000. Later he joined the Congress party in 2009.
5. Saleem Malik
Saleem Malik was a former Pakistani player who played 103 test matches and 283 ODI matches. He was a middle-order batsman and picked up some wickets also. He got banned from cricket accused of bribery. Later he was found to be innocent, and he resumed his career. After he was banned for a lifetime by the board due to Justice Qayyum’s inquiry, the court lifted his ban some years later.
4. Ajay Sharma
Ajay Sharma was a former Indian cricketer who had a short of 1 test and 31 ODI matches. He had a tremendous first-class career for Delhi. Ajay scored 10,120 runs for Delhi. At the age of 36, he ended his career after receiving a life ban from all formats of cricket. He got reported to have involvement with bookmakers. In 2014, he got cleared from all his charges for his match-fixing.
3. Shakib Al Hasan
Shakib Al Hasan is a Bangladeshi cricketer. He has been a predominant all-rounder for the Bangladesh team since 2006. Shakib is currently the best-known all-rounder. He is the highest wicket-taker for Bangladesh. He was banned for one year in 2019 as he breached the Anti-Corruption code. He was involved with bookmakers during the 2018 Bangladesh Tri-Nation series. Also, he was hated by cricket fans as he showed disrespect to the umpire by kicking the stumps after he turned down the LBW appeal.
2. Mohammad Amir
Mohammad Amir was a former Pakistani cricketer. He played 61 ODI matches and 36 test matches. In 2010, Amir got arrested as he was involved in spot-fixing activities. He and Mohammad Asif bowled no-balls against the England team. It made Amir get banned from international cricket for five years. He returned to the national team and even played for the World Cup. In late 2020, he retired from international cricket.
1. Sreesanth
Sreesanth is an Indian cricketer known for his aggression and fearless bowling. He was a predominant fast-bowler of the Indian team from 2005 – 2010. He has got warned for his emotional behavior after getting his wickets. In the 2013 IPL, he got involved in spot-fixing with his fellow mates. After the confirmation, banned for his entire lifetime. Later reduced it to seven years. After his ban, he acted in some movies and participated in the Big Boss reality show. Currently, he is playing for the Kerala team.
