Indian cricket has always been attractive of certain amount of aura and mystique. The cricketers lead a very glamorous life and have fans going crazy for them no matter where they go. Yet there are certain episodes which the fans might not know. There are certain episodes in the world of Indian cricket that is classified as look but don’t talk episodes. Here we take a look at five such instances which makes any cricket fan would not want to talk about.
Mohammad Azharuddin and the Underworld
Mohammad Azharuddin was known for his masterful batting and wristy flicks which were delight for many a cricket fans. The former Indian captain who perhaps has one of the best home test matches records had a very sour end to his career. Azhar was implicated in the 2000 match fixing scandal which shook the core of world cricket. There were rumblings of his involvement with certain sections of the underworld as well. The issue came about when the former Indian captain’s private pictures were spotted with few members of the underworld, but none of it came to fruition as he was cleared of any wrongdoing due to lack of proof.
Kapil Dev and Dawood Ibrahim – misguided identity
Indiatimes.com
The Indian team was a constant fixture in the Sharjah games before the outbreak of the match fixing scandal in 2000. This incident was in the year 1986 when Dawood Ibrahim apparently visited and offered bonuses for players if they won the game next day. The Indian captain Kapil Dev was very firm in his declining of any such awards and politely asked the man to leave the property of the Indian dressing room. The Indian captain had confused him for some businessman till he was made aware of the gentleman’s real identity. This story was in fact retold by current Indian coach Ravi Shastri and it is believed that Kapil Dev was quick to apologize as well for his behavior.
Yuvraj Singh and MS Dhoni – The friendship which did not start well
The Week
Yuvraj Singh and MS Dhoni have been thick friends for a long time and both have played a lot of international games together. Yuvraj for his part has been one of the key players in the two title wins under Dhoni in 2007 T-20 world cup and 2011 fifty over world cup. Their friendship though was got off on the wrong foot where Yuvraj was seen to be a bit stiff in his approach to the young MSD. The pair later broke ice when MS Dhoni apparently asked him “don’t you ever smile?” which made the left handed batsmen break into a grin. The two then became thick friends and have played a huge part in the Indian team victories and have a good history of batting with each other and finishing games.
Kapil Dev and Match Fixing – a teary spectacle
The Guardian
The year 2000 was a difficult one for the Indian cricket history, a year which many fans don’t look back proudly. The Indian team had lost the core of its team for the alleged malpractices with the apparent involvement of its few start players being named. The biggest name to have faced allegation was former Indian world cup winning skipper and the greatest all rounder India ever produced Kapil Dev. Certain sections of the media had questioned the integrity of Kapil and in an interview which was broadcasted worldwide the former captain had tears flowing out of his eyes as he swore that he had not to do with any wrong doing and pledged innocence.
The Chappell and Ganguly Saga – The dark times of Indian cricket
News18
Sourav Ganguly is possibly the greatest captain to have not won a major trophy. The renaissance man of Indian cricket brought a steely resolve to the battered Indian team feeling the shocks of the match fixing scandal. In 2005 with the reign of John Wright coming to an end, Ganguly suggested the name of former Australian great Greg Chappell in a bid to keep the good work going which was done by John Wright. The Australian though in a high handed move which saw him force the Indian left handed great out of team and captaincy. The prince of Kolkata spent a year away from the team and returned just before the start of the 2007 world cup which ended with a disaster as the team got knocked before reaching the super six stages. This led to the Australian exiting as the coach of the Indian team, Ganguly still does not talk much about the incident but deep down somewhere he still is smarting about the way he was treated by the coach and the management at that point of time.