Whether it’s the infamous ‘Slap-Gate’ or lalit ModiRss suspension, the Indian Premier league has been dogged by controversies since its inception in 2008. The league has an uncanny ability to remain in news for reasons which has no relation to cricketing activities. Ajeyo Basu looks at the IPl’s tumultous journey.
The IPl is as much about cricket and glamour as it is about controversies. Throughout its six-year existence, the IPl has had more than its share of controversies, repeatedly making it to the headlines because of the wrong reasons.
The first season itself saw a huge controversy when off-spinner Harbhajan Singh slapped S Sreesanth after the two were involved in a spat following a match between Mumbai Indians and Kings XI Punjab.
Each and every season since then has seen multiple controversies, culminating in the spot fixing scandal during the current season.
For purists, the glamorous, cash-rich tournament is very anathema of what the game of cricket has traditionally stood for - gentlemen in white flannels toiling away at the five-day version, not for any material reward, but purely for the love of the game.
To be fair, the IPl has had a big impact, not just on cricket, but on Indian sports in general.
It has opened up a window of opportunity for budding cricketrs who can now showcase their talent on the big stage and earn hefty amounts of money in the process.
It has also inspired other sports in India like wrestling, badminton and hockey to set up similar leagues of their own.
lalit Modi, the disgraced creator of the IPl, who was ousted as its chief in 2010 over a series of corruption charges, said IPl is all about “cricket, entertainment and Bollywood”.
But this cocktail is pushing the real game to the backseat, despite the fact that the cricket played during the current IPl season is being touted as the best since the series’ inception in 2008.
Historically cricket-crazy India now finds itself drawn to the frenzy over the ban of belligerent movie superstar Shah Rukh Khan from a stadium.
Jamaican cricketer Chris Gayle’s record-smashing performance at the IPl was lost in the brouhaha of the Khan controversy, which itself was overshadowed by a sexual molestation case involving Australian player luke Pomersbach.
Corruption scandals have also dogged the glamorous IPl teams, most recently a match-fixing scandal.
The on-and-off-pitch action of the IPl has always hurt so-called traditional Indian sensibilities - be it the ‘sexy’ cheerleaders, the bacchanalian spirit of the after-parties, the controversies surrounding the playboy franchise owners and the players.
The IPl’s update on the staid colonial game of cricket - faster, bigger-hitting and consumer-orientated - reflects the sensibilities of India’s new middle class millions, who pack the stadiums every night to watch the short season.
But its excesses seem to embody conservatives’ worst fears about modern lifestyles and values.
Perhaps true to Modi’s definition of the IPl, the series is akin to a plot of a Bollywood thriller.
Controversies have always dogged the game of cricket and other sports worldwide. But what the IPl needs is better corporate governance and accountability, and an iron hand that can prevent the house from collapsing.
If the shenanigans associated with the Indian Premier league continue, it won’t be long before this game, arguably India’s biggest sports brand, turns into a failed Bollywood movie.
IPl VI (2013)
Delhi Police`s Special Cell arrested India pacer S Sreesanth, domestic players Ajit Chandila and Ankit Chavan who have allegedly spot-fixed three of Rajasthan Royals` matches in the current edition of IPl. The trio brought to Delhi and in Police custody.
Following the scandal, the cricketing careers of all thre players are effectively over.
Somehow, there was nothing unexpected in the fact that Sreesanth is is one of those involved in this mess.
The mercurial medium-pacer from Kerala has been a magnet for controversies since the very beginning of his career.
He has been in the news more for his onfield and off-field antics than for his cricketing prowess.
Chandila and Chavan, who are employed with Air India, have been suspended from service pending an inquiry.
Chandila in fact, has been a regular offender in the past and is infamous in club cricket circles in the National Capital Region for fixing outcomes of matches in return for paltry sums.
The role of more players whose names cropped up during interrogation of the arrested cricketers and bookies in the IPl spot-fixing scandal could be probed, as six bookies were held in Tamil Nadu in connection with another IPl betting racket.
Delhi Police is also likely to probe some more IPl matches in the current season even as Sreesanth, Chavan and Ajit Chandila — also a RR player — along with 11 other arrested bookies were subjected to interrogation by its special cell.
Asked whether women were used to trap or lure players in the spot-fixing racket, sources replied in the affirmative.
However, amidst all the negative reports, there have been some positive news as.
It has also emerged that the arrested bookies tried to lure three players, including two foreigners, with the help of Chandila, to be part of the spot-fixing racket. The players — Brad Hogg, Kevin Cooper and Siddharth Trivedi — however, spurned their invite to join a party at Jaipur for clinching the deal.
IPl V (2012)
Before the scheduled auctions, Pune Warriors threatened to pull-out of IPl as BCCI did not pay heed to their request for an additional foreign player as well as reducing the fee which would have been for 74 matches instead of 94. Their request for `Open Auction` with no player retention was also rejected.
During IPl, RCB cricketer luke Pomersbach was arrested by police for harrassing NRI woman Zohal Hameed and bashing up her boyfriend. The dispute was settled out of court.
life ban on Deccan Chargers pacer T P Sudhindra after being caught in a sting operation agreeing to spot-fix matches. Veteran UP pacer Shalabh Srivastava handed five year ban on being caught agreeing to fix matches. Mohnish Mishra, Amit Yadav and Abhinav Bali receiveed one-year bans for unsubstantiated bragging.
Pune players Rahul Sharma and Wayne Parnell were also caught in a rave party in Mumbai.
Deccan Chargers were scrapped from IPl after they failed to pay franchisee fee.
Ban on Khan
The Mumbai Cricket Association banned Shah Rukh Khan from entering Wankhede Stadium for five years for misbehaving with its officials and violating its rules.
IPl-IV (2011)
Before the start of tournament, Manish Pandey is banned by IPl governing Council for four matches as he indulges in underhand dealings with franchises -- he would have got a fixed sum being an uncapped domestic Indian player.
Post fourth edition, Kochi Tuskers Kerala are scrapped from the tournament, after they fail to pay the franchise fees. There were discrepancies found out in their ownership patterns.
Dark secrets
Gabriella Pasqualotto, a Mumbai Indians cheerleader from South Africa wrote a blog about her life behind the scenes. Pasqualotto said in her blog that she had come to realise that cricketers were the most loose and mischievous sportsmen she had ever come across. She was immediately sent back after her secret identity was revealed.
IPl-III (2010)
The BCCI suspended Modi for misappropriation of funds.
Junior foreign minister Shashi Tharoor resigns from his post after investigations revealed his role in bringing Kochi Tuskers Kerala on board with his then girlfriend Sunanda Pushkar also involved in dealings.
Tax raids: A team of IT officials conducted raids at IPl headquarters. Two Gujarati investors Mukesh Patel of Shree Ram Vessels (SRV) and Vipul Shah of Parinee Developers were raided by IT Department earlier in this connection.
IPl-II (2009)
Shifted to South Africa due to general elections, the second edition was marred by allegations of Foreign Exchange violations. The Enforcement Directorate one year later issueed `Red Corner` in the name of former IPl commissioner Modi.
Kings XI co-owner Mohit Burman was beaten up by security guards on allegations of improper behaviour with a lady spectator, belonging to an influential industrialists` family in South Africa.
Shah Rukh Khan and John Buchanan`s decision of `Multiple Captaincy` created rifts in Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) team with anonymous blogger `Fake IPl Player` creating a flutter. later the blogger revealed his identity and claimed that everything in his blog was fictional.
IPl-I (2008)
Mumbai Indians` stand-in captain Harbhajan Singh slapped Kings XI Punjab`s S Sreesanth after losing a match in Mohali.
A sobbing Sreesanth was caught on camera. After investigations, BCCI hands Harbhajan an 11-match suspension. Sreesanth rakes up the issue in the ongoing edition only to be reprimanded.
The Kerala pacer reopened the controversy in 2013 after a gap of five years by claiming that it was Harbhajan Singh’s fault that led to the infamous ‘slapgate’ incident during the inaugural season of Indian Premier league in 2008.
He has said that continuously blaming him for it is disgusting.
The 30-year-old pacer has claimed that when he went to shake Harbhajan Singh’s hand after his then-IPl team, Kings XI Punjab, had beaten Mumbai Indians, the spinner lost his cool and premeditatedly hit him with his elbow.
Sreesanth also claimed that Bhajji never slapped him and he is really annoyed at the media for comparing this incident to whenever anything untoward incident occurs in IPl.