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As a lifelong fan of sports and games, I have always believed in the natural adage that every game has advantages and disadvantages. The benefits can be enormous, improving your physical and mental abilities to the point of invincibility. However, in its darkest version, the negative can shatter you to your doom.
Several cricketers who had previously had illustrious careers sheening about their necks followed wrong routes in their desire to reach the pinnacle. These players used drugs to improve their physical talents or used ball-tampering to defeat the opposition during vital phases of a game. By not playing to their full potential, a practice known as ‘tanking’ in various sports, they resorted to match-fixing, where they hoped to be rich simply by losing a game.
If they are the team’s leader or captain, it becomes much more difficult for them to go out and sustain themselves in the face of impending disaster. On that point, we take a look at the lives of five renowned captains who lost everything in a shady deal with darkness.
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1. Hansie Cronje (South Africa)
Cronje, a former South African captain and brilliant all-rounder, was voted the 11th greatest South African in 2004, despite being found guilty of match-fixing in the year 2000, such was his standing in South African cricket.
Captaincy – Cronje led South Africa to a record 23 wins in 53 tests, as well as 99 wins in ODIs.
Controversy-
Hansie Cronje was named South Africa’s regular captain in 1994 during a Test series against New Zealand, and he went on to have a fairly successful career. With 27 Test victories to his name, South Africa was a powerful outfit that, with the exception of Australia, flattened practically every other nation.
However, on April 7, 2000, he was charged with match-fixing with Sanjay Chawla, an infamous member of the Indian betting syndicate. After first disputing the claims, the right-hander admitted to being part in match rigging.
On October 11, 2000, he was deprived of his captaincy and banned from all forms of cricket for life.
2. Mohammed Azharuddin (India)
Azharuddin, a former Indian captain and the most elegant middle-order batsman of his generation, lit up the cricketing globe with his advent in cricket by (still unbroken) smashing a record three back-to-back international century in one-day internationals.
Captaincy – Under Azharuddin, India won 90 ODIs and 14 tests, a record that MS.Dhoni broke in 2014.
Controversy-
Azharuddin, one of India’s strongest batters, a terrific leader, and one of the most flamboyant characters, led India in a remarkable 47 Tests, 14 of which India won. His hitting and fielding were always excellent, but he, like Cronje, was accused of rigging matches in collaboration with bookies.
Cronje revealed that the Indian captain had introduced him to a member of the booking syndicate. The Crime Bureau of Investigation headed the investigation, and Azharuddin was banned for life by the BCCI and the ICC.
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then, he admitted to fixing three matches, which he then refuted in an interview.
3. Steve Smith (Australia)
Smith, a former Australian captain and current member of “The Fab Four,” is a true inspiration for young players, and his dedication to the game is admirable. He began his career as a leg spinner, but his desire to excel in all aspects of the game propelled him to become one of the best batsmen in the world at the time.
Captaincy – He was captain when he was fired in 2018 for the ball-tampering scandal, despite leading a young Australian squad to 18 tests and 25 one-day victories.
Controversy-
Steve Smith was one of the best Test batsmen in the world, and he was the captain of Australia, which had thrashed England in an Ashes series. Few things could have gone better for the right-hander than when his teammates, Cameron Bancroft and David Warner, decided to rub sandpaper on a cricket ball to extract reverse swing during a Test match against South Africa in Newlands, Cape Town.
No other incident in recent memory has resulted in such a purge – Cricket Australia intervened, the Prime Minister of Australia was forced to issue a statement, and the players involved were ordered to leave the nation and return home immediately.
Steve Smith and David Warner received one-year bans, while Cameron Bancroft received a nine-month penalty. Smith was also removed of his captaincy, and Tim Paine was given command of the team.
4. Shakib Al Hasan (Bangladesh)
Sakib Al Hasan, widely regarded as the best all-rounder of this generation, is without a doubt one of the best players Bangladesh Cricket has ever had.
Captaincy – Sakib was seen as the ideal alternative when long-time captain Mashrafe Mortaza asked BCB for two months to work on his retirement preparations, despite being the most senior player in the current team.
During his previous captaincy, he won three Tests and twenty-three One-Day Internationals.
Controversy-
Shakib al Hasan, possibly Bangladesh’s finest player, has always been involved in a variety of scandals. When he neglected to report the approaches of match-fixing agents on three occasions, he was in the center of a major tempest.
After an investigation, he confessed, and he was banned from cricket for two years, with one year suspended. He made his return to cricket on October 29, 2020.
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