Indian Cricketers and Cricket betting seem like oil and water to many. Well, not many it might seem that way to the majority of people. One simple reason for it is, the players that get caught for betting scandals usually end up being from Pakistan or South Africa and even Sri Lanka. So, it becomes hard for people to interrelate betting with an Indian Cricketer. However, there are five Indian Cricketers who have gone on to break the norm of Sports Betting in India and join the list. Which five are we talking about? Well, here they are:
- Ankeet Chavan: A cricketer with untapped potential, Ankeet was doing well for Mumbai in the List A and First-class format. He is reliable down the order and bowls some left-armed orthodox spin. A lot of eyes were on Ankeet during the 2013 edition of IPL as he played for Rajasthan Royals. But, he squandered all chances of making it big by involving himself in a betting scandal during that very season.
- Ajit Chandila: Ankeet Chavan isn’t the only one to get himself highlighted negatively during 2013’s IPL Betting. In fact, he was joined in the act by Ajit Chandila, a fellow teammate in the Rajasthan Royals line-up. Chandila’s case is much more heart breaking because he made himself famous the year before with a hat-trick. Some began thinking that Chandila will get a chance to play for his country soon. However, one bad decision alongside Chavan and a famous Indian pacer cost him his entire cricketing career.
- Ajay Jadeja: Few can remember now that one of India’s finest finishers in the limited over format once got dirty. There was a time when Ajay was well-known as one of the best fielders as well. However, a dark side took over him during the latter years. Of course, he did allege to having connections with bookies. While it did initially land him on the wrong side of the law the ban was overturned in 2003. His case is one of the few to actually in the game’s history to be reversed.
- S Sreesanth: The infamous Rajasthan Royals trio of IPL includes the former test cricket Sreesanth. In his prime, Sreesanth would rattle batsmen with his pace and attitude. However in 2013, charges were brought against him, Chandila and Chavan during a match against Kings XI Punjab. He had been found guilty for not notifying the anti-corruption unit about his communication with the bookmakers. At that time, all three cricketers were placed under arrest and sent for a court hearing. Of course, Sreesanth has pleaded to the court and his ban has been reduced from 10 years to seven.
- Manoj Prabhakar: Of all the cricketers’ names in the list, Manoj’s stands out for a unique reason. He made an attempt of implicating former teammates in match-fixing controversy after his own retirement. Of course, his scheme would backfire when it came to light that he himself was involved with betting.
To conclude, ICC’s anti-corruption unit is handing out justice to such cricketers.
