Cricket and match-fixing, unfortunately, is very rampant, with some getting caught while others flourish under the radar.
What is match-fixing in cricket?
The act of rigging any organized sports, like cricket, to get a predetermined outcome, violating law and game rules by bribing players and coaches. Be it international cricket or domestic tournaments, match-fixing has been a key factor in cricket bans, as shown in the list below.
From Hansie Cronje match-fixing news to Manoj Prabhakar fixing games for money, this list will talk about some of the famous match-fixing issues that have broken the cricket world.
2000 Match Fixing Controversy
The first cricket match-fixing scandal in India, which shook the whole nation, came from Manoj Prabhakar.
Prabhakar was a handy pace bowler and batter who raised concerns in 1998. It was information provided by Manoj that shook the nation.
From Ajay Jadeja to Kapil Dev, everybody was questioned, and their houses were searched. Interestingly, proof of sharing match information was found only from Manoj Prabhakar and Ajay Jadeja, and both of them were banned from cricket for life.
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The Mohammad Azharuddin Story
In the late 90s, India found a perfect cricketer in Mohammad Azharuddin, but he had other plans. Hansie Cronje, who is a premier cricketer from South Africa, put through this claim.
He stated that Azharuddin had introduced him to the bookies, and they doctored 3 ODI matches.
Upon inquiry, it was found that Azhar was guilty and banned for life. However, in 2012, his ban was lifted by the Andhra Pradesh High Court.
Hansie Cronje Fixing Controversy
When the focus is on cricket match-fixing scandals, Hansie Cronje’s name comes right up. The major reason for this is due to the 2000 series saga.
Hansie was found guilty as he accepted his involvement in match-fixing.
Delhi Police found out in 2000 that Hansie had a shady conversation with bookie Sanjay Chawla. Later, during cross-examination, Hansie admitted his mistakes and was banned for life.
Later, Cronje died in a plane crash in 2002.
Mark Waugh and Shane Warne Incident
Two of the biggest names in the history of the game, Shane Warne and Mark Waugh, have also been involved in match-fixing scandals.
In the years 1994-95, they were blamed for sharing information with John, the bookmaker.
Later, when the news came out in 1990, the Australian Cricket Board tried to hide the incident. However, the news surfaced again in 1998, and both Mark and Shane openly denied doing such things for money.
Salim Malik
A very capable batter from Pakistan cricket, Salim Malik, also chose the wrong path to earn money. Malik sadly enters the list of players with a match-fixing history. He was the skipper of Pakistan in the 80s and 90s.
Salim is also the first cricketer in the 21st century to get a fixing ban. Upon finishing the 100th test match, Malik was found guilty and was given a life sentence.
Malik later asked Warne to come forward and talk about doctoring games, which Warne denied openly.
Marlon Samuels
Marlon Samuels is the player in the finals and semifinals, but hardly anyone knew that he was also the player for fixing.
It was in 2008, during the India series, Samuels was termed to have shared the information.
Officials claimed that the West Indies batter had shared information about team and game strategies before the Nagpur ODI.
Even though Samuels denied all the claims, phone calls found out he was guilty and put him on a 2-year ban. Samuels did make a successful comeback, winning two T20 World Cup titles on his own.
Pakistan Spot Fixing 2010
The darkest day for Pakistan cricket came in the 2010 England cricket series.
It was the time when three of the well-known Pakistani cricketers were banned from playing cricket for 10 years.
Salman Butt, Mohammad Amir, and Mohammad Asif were found guilty of match-fixing with Mazhar Majeed.
In order to bowl deliberate no-balls, they were paid heavily. As the corruption unit found out, it became a massive rage in the cricketing world.
IPL Match Fixing Issue
In the list of top 10 match-fixing scandals in cricket, the IPL issue of the year 2013 also comes through. IPL isn’t a small tournament; hence, the issue was a massive blow.
Rajasthan Royals players like Sreesanth, Ajit Chandila, and Ankeet Chavan were found guilty.
Delhi Police termed them to be involved in fixing IPL matches.
Along with three cricket players, 23 other personnel came under the radar.
Owner of Chennai Super Kings son Gurunath Meiyappan also raised questions about whether Chennai fixes cricket matches or not.
Mervyn Westfield
This particular incident of match-fixing happened in the England domestic circuit.
Mervyn Westfield, a county cricketer in England, accepted spot-fixing.
It was during the 2009 season of domestic cricket that did spot-fixing.
He was paid 6000 pounds purposefully to bowl wide. However, it was only found in 2012 that he was guilty.
Mervyn was immediately banned from playing cricket in England and also handed 4 months of prison time.
Maurice Odumbe
The last pick for the top 10 match-fixing scandals in cricket is from the Kenyan cricketer Maurice Odumbe.
Odumbe is a lead player who won man of the match in the 1996 World Match against West Indies.
He accepted bribes to play poor cricket, and the proof was found in 2004.
Odumbe was banned for 5 years from playing the sport. The Kenyan superstar came back to domestic cricket in 2009 but couldn’t uplift his game.
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