10 Scandals involving Match-Fixing, Spot-Fixing, and Corruption that rocked Cricket

Shakib Al Hasan. (Photo Source: Twitter)

Cricket is a gentleman’s game and noting that reputation, there is a responsibility on players to keep that image intact with their attitude. However, there are a few instances to recount for cricket fans when some players failed to do justice to this beautiful sport by putting a blot on this game with their infamous acts.

Fans of the sport remember these ill-famed incidents as a nightmare as they felt betrayed after the actions of players. However, during these difficult times, the International Cricket Council (ICC) played its part efficiently and brought these players to justice for tainting the image of the reputable sport. 

Here are the match-fixing and corruption scandals that shook the world of cricket

10. 2017 Pakistan Super League (PSL) spot-fixing scandal gate

PCB spokesman Amjad Bhatti speaking to media after spot-fixing scandal. (Photo Source : Gettyimages)

In 2017, six players got involved in a spot-fixing scandal that rocked the second season of the Pakistan Super League (PSL). Among six blokes, one of them was the left-handed opening batter, Sharjeel Khan. The infamous scandal got exposed when an undercover British police officer posed as a member of a corrupt betting syndicate and tricked a suspected bookie Yousuf Anwar and Pakistan cricketer Nasir Jamshed.

After getting caught, Sharjeel was handed a five-year ban (with half of the sentence suspended) from all forms of cricket for flouting Pakistan Cricket Board’s (PCB)’s five articles such as fixing, betting, receiving bribes, failing to report corrupt approaches, and failing to disclose corrupt approaches to PCB’s Vigilance and Security Department (VSD).

As per the allegations, Sharjeel got two million Pakistani Rupees to play a couple of dot balls in the Islamabad United vs Peshawar Zalmi match. For his irresponsible act, Sharjeel also offered an unconditional apology to the PCB, and in 2019, he made a comeback in competitive cricket.

9. Umar Akmal’s ban for failing to report a match-fixing approach 

Umar Akmal PSL 2019. (Photo Source : Gettyimages)

Going through Umar Akmal’s career, one can see the record of the right-handed batter’s several controversies but what impacted his career severely was not reporting Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) about the spot-fixing approaches made to him ahead of the 2019 Pakistan Super League (PSL).

Prior to the start of the fourth edition of the PSL in 2019, some people approached the Pakistan stalwart. After the incident, the veteran’s duty was to report the incident to the anti-corruption unit, but instead of disclosing it, he kept it a secret, which became the cause for his 18-month suspension from the sport.

Earlier, in February 2020, he was handed a three-year ban from the sport but with the intervention of the Court of Arbitration for Sport, his ban got halved with a fine of 4.25 million Pakistani Rupees for breaching the PCB’s anti-corruption code.

8. Nasir Jamshed’s involvement in spot-fixing plans in PSL and BPL

Nasir Jamshed. (Photo Source : Gettyimages)

Nasir Jamshed was expected to become a huge figure in international cricket after the left-handed opening batter powered Pakistan to win the three-match One-Day International (ODI) series against India in India in 2012-13. With 241 runs in three ODIs at a strike rate of 75.31, he became the leading run-scorer and the Player of the Series in the competition.

Following his performance in the high-voltage tournament, Pakistan veterans saw potential in Jamshed to become the next big thing for Pakistan. However, his form plummeted later and the batter got dropped from the national squad. In 2017, he hit headlines for his involvement in the 2017 Pakistan Super League (PSL) spot-fixing case. 

Following the incident, Jamshed got suspended for one year for his non co-operation. In 2018, an anti-corruption tribunal declared him guilty of violating PCB’s five anti-corruption codes. Punishing Jamshed for the offence, the tribunal banned him for 10 years from the sport.

7. Marlon Samuels’ two-year ban in corruption case 

Marlon Samuels. (Photo Source : gettyimages)

Marlon Samuels is an enormous figure in international cricket. His contribution to the West Indies cricket is unprecedented. In the Caribbean team’s T20 title victories in 2012 and 2016, he played a key role. However, the former West Indies stalwart’s career witnessed a lot of controversies. 

In 2008, the Jamaican cricketer got banned by the International Cricket Council (ICC) for two years for allegedly revealing match-related information to a bookmaker during the West Indies tour of India for ODIs in 2007. Samuels’ collusion with the bookie came out with a tape seized by police in which Samuels was heard passing the match information to the bookmaker.

Noting the seriousness of the matter, ICC’s Anti-Corruption and Security Unit asked the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) to look into the matter. Investigating the case, the WICB (now Cricket West Indies) decided to debar their stalwart from cricket for two years. Accepting the verdict from the WICB, ICC implemented the ban on Samuels for two years.

6. Saleem Malik’s ban in 2000 due to a match-rigging scandal

Saleem Malik. (Photo Source: Twitter)

During the 1980s and 1990s, Saleem Malik was an integral part of the Pakistan cricket team due to his batting capability. In his vast international career, he amassed more than 12,000 runs for Pakistan. His career got sabotaged when his name got featured in match-fixing charges.

In a report prepared by Justice Malik Mohammad Qayyum, following a two-year judicial investigation, Malik was declared guilty of corruption. The report also recommended his ban for life from any involvement in cricket. Shane Warne and Mark Waugh helped in proving the charges against Malik, with their statements.

Following the release of the Quayyum report, Malik said he is innocent and got victimised by Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB). In 2008, a Pakistani local court lifted the ban on the former Pakistan batter but the decision was neither supported by the PCB nor the International Cricket Council (ICC).

5. Shakib Al Hasan’s two-year ban in the ICC anti-corruption code in 2019

Shakib Al Hasan. (Photo Source: Twitter)

Shakib Al Hasan is one of the most successful players in the current Bangladesh squad. However, he has also done some mistakes that could have ruined his cricketing career. In October 2019, the International Cricket Council (ICC) banned Shakib for two years (with one year of that being suspended).

According to the ICC, the Bangladesh veteran didn’t report the multiple corrupt approaches by an Indian bookmaker during his national team’s tri-series with Zimbabwe, Sri Lanka and the Indian Premier League (IPL) in 2018. Admitting three charges of the ICC’s Anti-Corruption codes, Shakib accepted the sanction for failing to fulfill his responsibility.

In 2020, Shakib returned to the national fold in the international circuit during Bangladesh’s home series against the West Indies. After returning from the ban, the veteran also became the captain of Bangladesh again in Tests and T20 Internationals (T20Is) in 2022.

4. IPL 2012 spot-fixing scandal

Mohnish Mishra. (Photo Source: Twitter)

In 2012, five uncapped Indian players faced a ban from the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) for getting caught in a Hindi news channel’s sting operation which accused them of accepting money in exchange for spot-fixing in the Indian Premier League (IPL). The incident shook IPL fans as these cricketers made some shocking revelations as well, in the sting video.

During the fifth edition of IPL, Pune Warriors India’s Mohnish Mishra, Abinav Bali, Deccan Chargers’ TP Sudhindra, and Kings XI Punjab’s Amit Yadav and Shalabh Srivastava were caught red-handed in the sting video. Bali also claimed that he was involved in spot-fixing during the 2009 IPL edition.

After the release of the sting video, the BCCI got active, and the then IPL chairman, Rajiv Shukla, said that he would recommend strict action against the culprits. Maintaining integrity in the league, the IPL governing council suspended all five players.

3. IPL 2013 spot-fixing and betting scandal

Gurunath Meiyappan and N Srinivasan. (Photo Source: Twitter)

After the 2012 sting-operation gate, IPL hit the headlines for the wrong reasons again in 2013. This time, a spot-fixing and betting case came to light when the Delhi police arrested S Sreesanth, Ajit Chandila, and Ankeet Chavan, who were part of the Rajasthan Royals (RR) franchise.

Following the arrest, the Rajasthan Royals (RR) team management suspended their three players. In the high-profile case, along with the cricketers, Gurunath Meiyappan, the son-in-law of the then Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) president and owner of Chennai Super Kings N Srinivasan, also got arrested as he was the major suspect.

Later, the Supreme Court formed a panel and appointed Justice Mukul Mudgal as its head. On September 2013, the BCCI’s disciplinary committee banned all three players for life but in 2015, Sreesath was acquitted in the spot-fixing case. In March 2019, the Supreme Court of India revoked Sreesanth’s life ban and also asked the BCCI to revisit the length of the pacer’s suspension from competitive cricket. Following the court’s order, the BCCI reduced Sreesanth’s ban to seven years.

2. 2000 match-fixing scandal (India-South Africa series)

Mohammad Azaharuddin. (Photo Source: Twitter)

In April 2000, match-fixing rocked Indian cricket for the first time as Delhi police charged Hansie Cronje with fixing South Africa’s ODI games against India for money. The police also released a recording between Cronje and a bookmaker, Sanjeev Chawla. Denying the charges at a press conference, Cronje gave a statement that he neither received any money nor spoke to any of his teammates about throwing matches.

However, two days after the press conference, the South Africa Cricket Board fired Cronje, following his admission to South Africa’s managing director, Ali Bacher, of being dishonest in the India series. After a few months, Cronje revealed that the former India skipper captain Mohammad Azaharuddin introduced him to the bookie. The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) released a report in October 2000, which said Azharuddin’s confession about fixing matches with the help of his teammates Ajay Jadeja and Nayan Mongia.

In November 2000, the BCCI’s anti-corruption commissioner K Madhavan declared Azharuddin guilty. Along with Azhar, Manoj Prabhakar, Ajay Jadeja, Ajay Sharma, and former India team physio, Ali Irani were also found guilty of having connections with bookies. Next month, Azhar and Sharma got suspended from the sport for life while Jadeja got a five-year ban. Prabhakar and Irani were kept away from holding the post for five years. However, things got better for Jadeja in 2003 as the Delhi High Court overturned BCCI’s decision of his ban due to no proof of the batter’s involvement in match-fixing. In 2012, the Andhra High Court termed the life ban on Azharuddin ‘illegal.’

1. Pakistan Cricket spot-fixing scandal 2010

Salman Butt, Mohammad Asif, and Mohammad Amir. (Photo Source: Twitter)

After the Saleem Malik match-fixing controversy, Pakistan Cricket found itself in a match-fixing scandal again in 2010. This time, Salman Butt, Mohammad Asif, and Mohammad Amir were involved in fixing. During Pakistan’s tour of England in 2010, a video released by the tabloid newspaper house, the News of the World, showed Mazhar Majeed, a bookie was counting out the bribe money and made a prediction that Amir will bowl the third over in fourth Test and the first ball of the over will be a no-ball. 

As per Majeed’s predictions, Amir did bowl the third over and the Pakistan pacer also delivered a no-ball on the first delivery. Later, Majeed also predicts that the sixth delivery of the 10th over will be a no-ball and his words again proved right as Mohammad Asif also delivered a no-ball. Both pacers bowled no-balls deliberately and Salman Butt, who was the skipper of the Pakistan Test team then, played a key part in the corrupt act with his both teammates.

In February 2011, Butt, Asif, and Amir got banned for 10 (five years suspended), 7 (two years suspended), and 5 years respectively from competitive cricket, after International Cricket Council (ICC) held them guilty of the infamous act.