The Indian Premier League (IPL) is the most successful T20 tournament in the world. But, ever since its commencement, the tournament has seen many big controversies which made people skeptical about its integrity. Here, we look at the top 5 controversies to have hit the IPL:
1) Founder at fault
Lalit Modi, who is the main man behind the introduction of the IPL, was removed from the post of commissioner after some serious allegations were made against by some of the board officials regarding fixing the matches and also the auction. He was sacked after the board found out that he was involved in money laundering and since then he taken asylum in London.
2) The Slapgate
The on-field spat between S Sreesanth and Harbhajan Singh is one of the most ugliest moments that has ever happened on a cricket field. In the inaugural season of the IPL, the former team-mates were involved in a slap gate incident. Harbhajan Singh, who was playing for the Mumbai Indians, slapped Sreesanth, who was a part of the Kings XI Punjab, after the match concluded. This incident was criticised by one and all as the pictures of Sreesanth crying went viral on the internet.
3) Sting Operation by a news channel exposed players who agreed to take bribes to spot- fix
Some of the IPL players were caught spot fixing in a sting operation conducted by a news channel. This sting shocked the entire country as it raised serious doubts over the integrity and fairness of the IPL. The players caught in the sting operation were Shalabh Srivastava, TP Sudhindra, Abhinav Bali, Mohnish Mishra, and Amit Yadav. The operation exposed the fact that the franchises were willing to pay excess money to the players beyond their usual match fee.
