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Picture Credit: IPL/BCCI

The Indian Premier League (IPL) has undoubtedly been the biggest carnival of Indian cricket and its craze has swept across all parts of the globe. It has time and again excited all its fans and has delivered a lot of enthralling action. But all good things come with a catch. The IPL has been dotted with controversies ever since its inception in 2008. From off-field scandals to on-field controversies, IPL has witnessed some strong moments and has received some strong criticisms. But the enormity of the league and its massive fan-following has always overshadowed them. In this article, we boil down 5 such controversies that took place in the IPL and that shook the entire cricketing fraternity.

1. ON-FIELD SPAT BETWEEN MITCHELL STARC AND KIERON POLLARD

[caption id="attachment_6945" align="aligncenter" width="480"]ON-FIELD SPAT BETWEEN MITCHELL STARC AND KIERON POLLARD (Picture Credit: IPL/BCCI)[/caption]

This incident took place between these two heavy-guns in 2014. Kieron Pollard and Mitchell Starc’s altercation was one of the biggest controversies that has ever taken place in IPL history. The entire thing started when Starc bowled a bouncer to Kieron Pollard and Pollard ducked and let it go. He then went up to Pollard and spoke a few words and Pollard gestured Starc to go away with his hand. The heat-up aggravated when Pollard pulled himself out of the crease while Starc was on his run-up and was about to deliver.

However, Starc did not abort his delivery and bowled the ball straight towards Pollard, down the leg-side. Pollard, a no-nonsense guy responded by pretending to throw the bat at Starc. The duo then got into a verbal fight and the umpires and other players had to intervene. Both the players were heavily fined as they had breached the IPL Code of Conduct.

2. FIGHT BETWEEN TWO DELHI BOYS- VIRAT KOHLI AND GAUTAM GAMBHIR

[caption id="attachment_6948" align="aligncenter" width="700"]FIGHT BETWEEN TWO DELHI BOYS- VIRAT KOHLI AND GAUTAM GAMBHIR (Picture Credit: IPL/BCCI)[/caption]

Virat Kohli and Gautam Gambhir were involved in a heated argument in 2013 and this controversy too has been widely talked about. Virat Kohli was the skipper of Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) and Gautam Gambhir was the skipper of Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR). The infamous incident occurred when Virat Kohli was dismissed by Lakshmipati Balaji and while he was going back to the pavilion, Gambhir said something to him. This triggered the present Indian Team captain and he charged towards Gautam. It felt as if a huge altercation was on the cards, had the umpires and the other players had not intervened. Later, former KKR player Rajat Bhatia had revealed that the incident had happened at the heat of the moment.

3. 'MANKAD' DISMISSAL OF JOS BUTTLER BY R ASHWIN

[caption id="attachment_6949" align="aligncenter" width="700"]'MANKAD' DISMISSAL OF JOS BUTTLER BY R ASHWIN (Picture Credit: IPL/BCCI)[/caption]

R Ashwin has always been a very thinking and canny cricketer. He has applied his shrewdness on the cricketing field at all times and this was on display when he dismissed Rajasthan Royals batsman, Jos Buttler. Buttler was cruising at 69 off just 43 balls, but his innings was brought to a screeching halt when Ashwin dislodged the bails while bowling, when he saw Buttler was out of the crease. Though this was well within the laws of cricket, Ashwin received a lot of criticism for this act as it went against the spirit of cricket.

4. MS DHONI BARGING ONTO THE CRICKET FIELD

[caption id="attachment_6950" align="alignnone" width="700"]5 Biggest IPL Controversies of IPL (Picture Credit: IPL/BCCI)[/caption]

MS Dhoni has always been labelled with the moniker, “Captain Cool” for his outstanding display of calmness during tense and crunch situations. But one incident in 2019 took everybody by storm. This happened when Dhoni barged onto the cricketing field, questioning the umpire’s decision. Rajasthan Royals player Ben Stokes had bowled a high full-toss which was immediately declared a no-ball by front-umpire Ulhas Gandhe. But the decision was overturned because Bruce Oxenford, who was the square-leg umpire, deemed it to be not a no-ball. This irked Dhoni and he came storming into the field, questioning the overturning of decision.

5. SHORT-RUN DRAMA IN IPL 2020

[caption id="attachment_6951" align="aligncenter" width="701"]SHORT-RUN DRAMA IN IPL 2020 (Picture Credit: IPL/BCCI)[/caption]

Short-runs are very annoying for batsmen as all the effort they undertake in running the 22 yards, goes in vain. But if you run a full run and it is deemed as a short-run, then the going gets even more annoying. This was the case when there was an umpiring blunder in IPL 2020 by Nitin Menon. Square leg umpire Nitin Menon declared a short-run by Chris Jordan as he thought, Jordan had not completed the run. But the replays clearly showed that the run was completed. Nitin Menon had to face a barrage of criticisms for his wrong decision and many credited Punjab’s loss to Nitin Menon as 1 run was needed off the last 3 balls an Punjab failed to do so. They even lost in the super over.