The biggest, most earth-shattering controversies that changed cricket forever. From Bodyline to the 2019 World Cup Final.
82 incidents documented
Pakistan vs India / ICC
February 2025
India's refusal to travel to Pakistan for the 2025 Champions Trophy forced the ICC to implement an unprecedented 'hybrid model' — with India's matches relocated to Dubai — generating fierce debate about the politicisation of cricket and the ICC's impartiality as a governing body.
India vs South Africa
June 2025
India's third consecutive defeat in a World Test Championship Final — this time to South Africa at Lord's in 2025 — sparked the most intense cricket debate in years about whether India's Test team was structurally incapable of winning ICC titles.
India vs Bangladesh
6 October 2024
When the BCCI named Vaibhav Suryavanshi — aged 13 — in India's T20I squad against Bangladesh in October 2024, it triggered one of cricket's most heated modern debates: should a child be playing professional international cricket? The debate intensified further when Rajasthan Royals bought him for the 2025 IPL season.
BCCI / ICC / England Cricket / Cricket Australia
2024
The 2024 cricket calendar brought the IPL-versus-Test-cricket scheduling conflict to its most acute point yet, with multiple Test series rescheduled, players choosing IPL contracts over international availability, and administrators openly questioning whether Test cricket could survive as a commercially viable format.
Mumbai Indians
January 2024
Mumbai Indians' decision to replace Rohit Sharma — their five-title-winning captain — with Hardik Pandya triggered one of the most sustained fan backlashes in IPL history, as Pandya was booed relentlessly throughout IPL 2024 while Rohit batted for the same team.
Afghanistan U19 / ICC
January–February 2024
Afghanistan's Under-19 team's participation in the 2024 U19 World Cup in South Africa generated controversy given the Taliban government's domestic restrictions on youth sport — raising the same governance questions at youth level that the senior men's team's continued ICC participation had already raised.
IPL Franchises
31 March 2023
The IPL's Impact Player rule, allowing teams to substitute a player mid-match, was criticized for devaluing all-rounders and turning matches into batting slugfests with 200+ scores becoming routine.
Sri Lanka vs Bangladesh
6 November 2023
Angelo Mathews became the first player in international cricket history to be given 'Timed Out' after his helmet strap broke and he couldn't face a delivery within the stipulated time, with Bangladesh captain Shakib Al Hasan refusing to withdraw the appeal.
Australia / ICC
December 2023
The ICC's order to Usman Khawaja to remove his pro-Palestine symbols during the Boxing Day Test 2023 forced cricket to confront a question it had never publicly answered: should cricketers be permitted to make humanitarian statements, and who decides what is 'political'?
Various WPL Teams
13 February 2023
Several high-profile international women's cricketers went unsold in the inaugural WPL auction, raising questions about the valuation of experience versus youth in women's T20 leagues.
Australia Women
1 February 2023
Australian captain Meg Lanning took an indefinite break from cricket for undisclosed personal reasons, fuelling widespread speculation and raising questions about privacy in women's sport.
BCCI / Women's Premier League
February 2023
The inaugural Women's Premier League auction in 2023 produced eye-catching contracts for some players but raised sharp questions about the pay gap between the highest-paid WPL stars and the majority of players, and about whether the league genuinely elevated the financial standing of women's cricket globally.
Afghanistan / ICC
Ongoing 2021–2024
Afghanistan's Taliban government banned women from playing cricket — in direct violation of ICC membership requirements — yet Afghanistan's men's team continued playing in ICC tournaments, forcing cricket's governing body to confront its most challenging governance dilemma.
Multiple Nations
2023
Multiple cases of Under-19 cricketers reporting burnout, mental health challenges, and premature dropout across several nations in 2022-23 prompted the ICC and multiple cricket boards to review the increasing demands placed on teenage cricketers in the franchise cricket era.
India Women
27 October 2022
The BCCI announced equal match fees for men and women cricketers in 2022, but the disparity in central contracts and overall compensation remained massive, sparking debate.
Pakistan Women
1 March 2022
Pakistan women's cricketers have faced systemic barriers including inadequate facilities, cultural restrictions, and poor support structures, with incidents highlighting the challenges periodically making headlines.
India Women vs England Women
24 September 2022
Jhulan Goswami's farewell match at Lord's was overshadowed by the Mankad controversy, and many felt India's greatest fast bowler deserved a more befitting send-off.
England Women
May–August 2022
England Women's star Nat Sciver-Brunt took an extended break from cricket in 2022 to prioritise her mental health — a decision that sparked the most substantive conversation about player welfare and mental health in women's cricket, and prompted Cricket England to review its player support frameworks.
Afghanistan (women's cricket)
8 September 2021
After the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan in August 2021, women were banned from playing cricket and all sports, raising questions about Afghanistan's ICC membership and the governing body's commitment to gender equality.
India (internal)
8 December 2021
Virat Kohli was stripped of the ODI captaincy and replaced by Rohit Sharma in a move he claimed was made without prior consultation, exposing rifts within the BCCI and Indian cricket's power structure.
India vs England
24 February 2021
The third Test between India and England at the newly rebuilt Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad ended inside two days, with 30 wickets falling on a pitch that turned sharply from the first session.
ECB / English Cricket
21 July 2021
The ECB's creation of 'The Hundred,' a 100-ball competition with new rules and city-based franchises, divided English cricket, with critics arguing it undermined the county system and was a solution to a problem that didn't exist.
Various / ICC
18 June 2021
The ICC's World Test Championship has been plagued by controversies over its points system, fixture inequity, and whether the format genuinely crowns the best Test team in the world.
South Africa Women
15 August 2021
South Africa women's cricketers raised allegations of racial discrimination in team selection and treatment, echoing similar issues in the men's setup.
Various
13 July 2020
The COVID-19 pandemic forced cricket into bio-secure bubbles, leading to cancelled tours, mental health crises, and the controversial cancellation of England's tour of India's final Test at Old Trafford.
ICC / Various Nations
1 January 2020
The ICC's proposal to reduce Test matches from five days to four sparked fierce opposition from players and purists who argued it would fundamentally alter cricket's oldest format.
Various / ICC
1 December 2020
The ICC's decision to allow home umpires instead of neutral umpires during COVID-19, initially as a temporary measure, reignited debates about umpiring bias in international cricket.
England vs New Zealand
14 July 2019
England won the 2019 World Cup Final on a boundary count tiebreaker after both the match and Super Over were tied, amid controversy over a crucial overthrow that awarded England six runs instead of five.
Zimbabwe (ICC governance)
18 July 2019
Zimbabwe Cricket was suspended by the ICC due to government interference, reflecting years of administrative chaos and political meddling that had devastated the country's cricketing infrastructure.
India (selection controversy)
16 April 2019
After being overlooked for the 2019 World Cup squad in favor of Vijay Shankar — whom selectors described as a '3-dimensional' player — Ambati Rayudu posted a sarcastic tweet about ordering '3D glasses' for watching the World Cup.
Kings XI Punjab vs Rajasthan Royals
25 March 2019
Ravichandran Ashwin ran out Jos Buttler at the non-striker's end in an IPL match, reigniting the centuries-old Mankading debate about the spirit of cricket vs the laws of the game.
England Women
3 September 2019
England's wicketkeeper-batter Sarah Taylor was forced to retire at just 30 due to severe anxiety, raising important questions about mental health support in women's cricket.
Pakistan
1 November 2019
Pakistan fast bowler Naseem Shah's selection for Test cricket at a claimed age of 16 raised widespread questions about the accuracy of his birth records and age verification in Pakistani cricket.
Australia vs South Africa
24 March 2018
Cameron Bancroft was caught on camera using sandpaper to tamper with the ball during the Cape Town Test, leading to bans for Bancroft, captain Steve Smith, and vice-captain David Warner in the most damaging scandal in Australian cricket history.
Various
1 January 2017
The 'Umpire's Call' element of DRS, where marginal LBW decisions are upheld even when ball-tracking shows the ball hitting the stumps, has been one of cricket's most divisive ongoing controversies.
India (internal)
20 June 2017
Anil Kumble resigned as India head coach citing an 'untenable' relationship with captain Virat Kohli, in one of the most public coach-captain breakdowns in cricket history.
Ireland and Afghanistan
22 June 2017
The ICC granted Full Membership and Test status to Ireland and Afghanistan in 2017, but the lack of guaranteed fixtures and the challenges of sustaining Test cricket raised questions about whether the expansion was genuine or merely symbolic.
India Women vs England Women
23 July 2017
India controversially demoted Mithali Raj in the batting order during the World Cup Final at Lord's, a decision that many blamed for India's defeat.
Pakistan
15 January 2016
Pakistan fast bowler Mohammad Amir's return to international cricket in 2016 after serving a five-year ban for spot-fixing divided opinion on whether redemption should be offered to match-fixers.
England Women
12 May 2016
England's greatest women's cricketer Charlotte Edwards was allegedly pushed into retirement by the ECB and new coach Mark Robinson as part of a 'new direction' for the team.
Pakistan
2 September 2015
Former Pakistan captain Salman Butt's return to domestic cricket after his spot-fixing ban attracted fierce criticism, with many arguing a captain who fixed matches should never play again.
Australia vs New Zealand (first), Various
27 November 2015
The introduction of day-night Test cricket with a pink ball was hailed as an innovation to save Test cricket but faced resistance from players concerned about visibility, ball behavior, and safety under lights.
India vs South Africa
25 November 2015
The Nagpur Test pitch for the 2015 India-South Africa series was rated 'poor' by the ICC after the match ended in under three days on a pitch that crumbled and turned square from day one.
West Indies (internal)
1 June 2014
The West Indies cricket team abandoned their tour of India in 2014 over a pay dispute with the WICB, highlighting decades of conflict between the board and its players that contributed to West Indian cricket's decline.
India / ICC / Multiple Nations
1 February 2014
The BCCI's dominance of world cricket through its financial muscle has repeatedly shaped ICC governance, culminating in the controversial 'Big Three' restructuring that gave India, Australia, and England disproportionate control.
India, Australia, England vs Rest of Cricket World
8 February 2014
India, Australia, and England pushed through a radical ICC restructuring that gave them a vastly disproportionate share of revenue and governance power, undermining smaller cricketing nations.
West Indies / KKR
1 November 2014
West Indian spinner Sunil Narine was reported for a suspect bowling action multiple times across various tournaments, highlighting the ongoing challenges of policing bowling actions in modern cricket.
England vs India
12 July 2014
An alleged physical altercation between Ravindra Jadeja and James Anderson in the players' tunnel at Trent Bridge led to charges, counter-charges, and a messy ICC hearing that satisfied nobody.
Rajasthan Royals, Chennai Super Kings, IPL
16 May 2013
The 2013 IPL season was rocked by spot-fixing arrests involving Sreesanth and others, and subsequent investigations led to the two-year suspension of Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals over betting by team officials.
Various / ICC Rules
1 October 2012
Frequent changes to PowerPlay and fielding restriction rules in ODIs have been controversial, with critics arguing constant tinkering has made the format confusing and excessively batting-friendly.
England vs Pakistan
26 August 2010
A News of the World sting exposed Pakistan captain Salman Butt, Mohammad Amir, and Mohammad Asif for deliberately bowling no-balls at pre-arranged moments during the Lord's Test, leading to criminal convictions and bans.
Pakistan vs Sri Lanka
3 March 2009
Twelve armed gunmen attacked the Sri Lankan cricket team bus near Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore, injuring six players and killing eight people, ending international cricket in Pakistan for nearly a decade.
Pakistan vs Various
3 March 2009
After the 2009 Lahore attack, Pakistan was forced to play its home matches in the UAE for nearly a decade, at enormous financial and emotional cost to the country's cricket.
Multiple IPL Franchises
18 April 2008
The Indian Premier League, launched in 2008 by Lalit Modi, revolutionized cricket's commercial model with city-based franchise T20 cricket, creating enormous wealth but also concerns about corruption, player prioritization, and the future of international cricket.
India vs Various / ICC Governance
24 November 2008
India refused to use the Decision Review System for nearly eight years after its introduction, citing concerns about the technology's reliability, while critics accused the BCCI of blocking progress.
Australia vs India
6 January 2008
Harbhajan Singh was accused of racially abusing Andrew Symonds during the Sydney Test, leading to India threatening to abandon the tour and one of the ugliest diplomatic incidents in cricket history.
Kings XI Punjab vs Mumbai Indians
25 April 2008
Harbhajan Singh slapped Sreesanth after an IPL match in 2008, with Sreesanth photographed crying on the field, in one of the most infamous player-on-player incidents in cricket history.
Pakistan U19
1 March 2008
Former Pakistan wicketkeeper Rashid Latif publicly alleged that age fraud was rampant in Pakistan U19 cricket, claiming some players in the system were five or more years overage.
Pakistan (coaching staff)
18 March 2007
Pakistan coach Bob Woolmer was found dead in his hotel room in Kingston, Jamaica, the day after Pakistan's shock elimination from the 2007 World Cup, sparking a murder investigation and wild conspiracy theories.
ICL (Zee) vs IPL (BCCI)
30 November 2007
The Indian Cricket League, backed by Zee TV's Subhash Chandra, was crushed by the BCCI's retaliatory creation of the IPL, with ICL players banned from all official cricket in a brutal display of institutional power.
England vs Pakistan
20 August 2006
Umpire Darrell Hair penalized Pakistan five runs for ball tampering and changed the ball during the fourth Test at The Oval, leading Pakistan to refuse to take the field and becoming the first team to forfeit a Test match.
Pakistan
1 November 2006
Pakistan fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar, the first man to bowl at 100 mph, was banned for two years after testing positive for the banned substance nandrolone, though the ban was later overturned on appeal.
India (internal)
6 October 2005
India coach Greg Chappell's leaked email to the BCCI recommending Ganguly's removal as captain created a massive controversy that split Indian cricket and eventually led to Ganguly being dropped entirely.
England vs Australia
4 August 2005
Ricky Ponting was furious after being run out by England substitute fielder Gary Pratt during the 2005 Ashes, accusing England of abusing the substitute fielder rule to gain an unfair tactical advantage.
Zimbabwe
10 February 2003
Zimbabwe players Andy Flower and Henry Olonga wore black armbands during the 2003 World Cup to mourn 'the death of democracy' in Zimbabwe, in a courageous protest against Robert Mugabe's regime.
Kenya
20 March 2003
Kenya's fairy-tale run to the 2003 World Cup semi-final was followed by decades of mismanagement, corruption, and ICC neglect that reduced them from genuine contenders to cricketing irrelevance.
England vs Zimbabwe (forfeited)
13 February 2003
England refused to play their 2003 World Cup group match in Harare, Zimbabwe, citing security and political concerns related to the Mugabe regime, forfeiting crucial points that contributed to their early elimination.
Pakistan vs New Zealand
8 May 2002
New Zealand abandoned their tour of Pakistan in 2002 after a bomb blast outside their hotel in Karachi killed 14 people, marking one of the earliest security-related disruptions to international cricket.
India vs South Africa
20 November 2001
Match referee Mike Denness charged Sachin Tendulkar with ball tampering and imposed bans on six Indian players after the Port Elizabeth Test, leading India to demand Denness' removal and nearly causing a diplomatic crisis.
South Africa
7 April 2000
South African captain Hansie Cronje was exposed as having accepted money from bookmakers to influence matches, shattering the sport's innocence and triggering a global crackdown on corruption in cricket.
India
5 December 2000
Former India captain Mohammad Azharuddin was banned for life from cricket after a CBI investigation found he had been involved in match-fixing, ending the career of one of India's most stylish batsmen.
Australia vs South Africa
17 June 1999
South Africa's Lance Klusener hit two fours off successive balls to bring the scores level, but a catastrophic run out of Allan Donald off the last ball sent Australia through on net run rate in one of cricket's greatest ever finishes.
India (internal)
1 January 1997
Sachin Tendulkar's brief and unhappy stint as India captain in the late 1990s, replacing Azharuddin, was marked by poor results, factional politics, and the eventual return of captaincy to Azharuddin.
India vs Pakistan
15 October 1997
Inzamam-ul-Haq charged into the crowd with a bat after being persistently taunted by an Indian spectator with a megaphone during a Sahara Cup match in Toronto.
India vs Sri Lanka
13 March 1996
The 1996 World Cup semi-final at Eden Gardens was abandoned after Indian fans rioted, hurling bottles and setting fires when India's batting collapsed against Sri Lanka's spinners.
Sri Lanka vs Various
1 January 1996
Muttiah Muralitharan's bowling action was questioned repeatedly over a decade, leading to fundamental changes in cricket's throwing laws and biomechanical testing protocols.
Australia vs Sri Lanka
26 December 1995
Australian umpire Darrell Hair no-balled Muttiah Muralitharan seven times for throwing during the Boxing Day Test at the MCG, igniting one of cricket's longest-running controversies.
South Africa vs England/Sri Lanka/West Indies/Australia rebel XIs
6 March 1982
Multiple international teams sent unofficial rebel squads to play in apartheid-era South Africa, leading to lengthy bans for participating players and deepening cricket's political fault lines.
Multiple (WSC vs Establishment Cricket)
24 November 1977
Media mogul Kerry Packer signed 51 of the world's best cricketers to a rival competition after being denied TV broadcast rights, fundamentally transforming professional cricket.
South Africa vs Various (Cancelled Tours)
1 January 1971
India was among the first nations to sever cricketing ties with South Africa over apartheid, and the broader international boycott eventually led to South Africa's complete isolation from world cricket for 21 years.
England vs South Africa (cancelled)
28 August 1968
Basil D'Oliveira's selection for England's tour to South Africa in 1968 was refused by the apartheid government, leading to the tour's cancellation and eventually South Africa's expulsion from international cricket.
Australia vs England
2 December 1932
England captain Douglas Jardine devised the 'Bodyline' strategy of fast, short-pitched bowling aimed at the batsman's body to neutralize Don Bradman, nearly causing a diplomatic crisis between England and Australia.