Virat Kohli and Naveen Ul Haq. (Photo Source: Twitter)
Cricket is known to be a gentlemen’s game. Over the years, it’s carried forward the legacy of sportsmanship. The players have to maintain a certain kind of decorum and dignity on the field. Their behaviours dictate the nature of the game.
And as they all say, change is the only constant thing and it has been reflected on the cricketing field as well. Cricketers have started to react or express themselves quite often than they used to do earlier. Maybe because the competitiveness of the game has reached a high level.
In this day and age, we get to see cricketers losing their minds. They take out their frustration through different mannerisms. Let’s take a look back at some incidents involving cricketers in recent times who lost their cool on the field.
10. Harmanpreet Kaur
Harmanpreet Kaur. (Photo Source: Twitter)
The most recent and controversial incident when a cricketer lost their cool, involves the India women’s captain Harmanpreet Kaur in the middle. It was during a game in the recently concluded Bangladesh series. India did have a tough tour, it looked from the outside that things started to take a toll on Kaur.
In the last match of the tour, Kaur smashed the stumps after being caught at slip. She demonstrated her anger with this kind of action, she even went on to express dissatisfaction in the post-match ceremony. Even during the post-ceremony photo session, she disrespected the opponent by calling the umpires as well to join them in the picture.
With Harman, it wasn’t the first time that she found herself to be in this kind of situation. In the 2017 World Cup semi-final clash against Australia, she was fined for throwing her helmet on the ground. But this time, she has been handed over a two-match ban by the International Cricket Council. All these incidents certainly paint Harmanpreet Kaur as one of the most hot-headed cricketers around.
9. Ishant Sharma
Ishant Sharma. (Photo Source: Twitter)
India’s pacer Ishant Sharma has been a workhorse for his Test Team over the years. Not only he has changed or improved his bowling but also worked on himself as well. Much like other North Indian cricketers, the Delhi boy was a hot-headed guy during his younger days.
Ishu, as he’s fondly called by his teammates, is a nice kind hearted guy off the field. But when he’s inside the boundary line, he’s a different person. The story goes back to the Test series when Sri Lanka hosted India in 2015. The eventful Test at SSC saw two fearful pacers going at each other.
While Ishant was batting, Srilankan pacer Dhamika Prasad banged in a short-pitched delivery towards Ishant. He walked towards Ishant and had some words with him. Ravi Ashwin at the non-striker’s end had to chip in with a few other Sri Lankans. Though things got sorted out there, Ishant kept the fire inside him and produced a match-winning spell with the ball.
8. Yashasvi Jaiswal
Yashasvi Jaiswal. (Photo Source: Twitter)
India’s young promising prospect Yashasvi Jaiswal makes a surprising entry to this list. The southpaw batter has been the talk of the town ever since he made his international debut in the ongoing West Indies series. Jaiswal has been in sublime form throughout the domestic season.
The ever-smiling Yashasvi lost his cool in a domestic game. It was the Duleep Trophy final match between West Zone and South Zone in Coimbatore. The fourth innings was going on and Jaiswal started to have a go at South Zone batter Ravi Teja. Some heated arguments between them made umpires intervene in the situation.
The West Zone captain Ajinkya Rahane had a long chat with Jaiswal and it appeared Jaiswal understood not to sledge. But he continued to do so which made Rahane take a bold decision to send his own player out of the ground for seven overs straight. Though it was a temporary disciplinary action, skipper Rahane was upset with the behaviour of the youngster.
7. Asif Ali
Asif Ali. (Photo Source: Twitter)
Pakistan’s hard-hitting batter Asif Ali has shown his angry side on the cricket field. The right-hand batter was recently involved in an incident with Afghanistan pacer Fareed Ahmed. It took place during Asia Cup 2022 super stage match.
The nail-biting finish had some verbal spat going on at the ground in the penultimate over. Asif smashed Fareed Ahmed’s fourth ball for a six but was caught in the next ball. Soon after that, Asif and Fareed exchanged a few words before other players came in between them. Asif lost his temper and pushed the batter, as the clash got physical.
But it wasn’t an immediate reaction from Asif. It all began when Fareed made some unpleasant gestures towards Asif standing close to him. This didn’t go well with Asif and he reacted after he got out to the same person.
Asif Ali on a few other occasions has also shown that he is one of the most hot-headed and angry cricketers playing the game right now.
6. Mushfiqur Rahim
Mushfiqur Rahim. (Photo Source: Twitter)
Bangladesh’s middle-order batter-keeper Mushfiqur Rahim finds his name due to his on-field actions. The strong right-hand batter is known to be a tactical person who reads the game quite well. He’s well-versed in the match situation which makes him one of the best players in Bangladesh. Sometimes however anger gets the best of him.
In December 2020, Rahim was playing a T20 game in a domestic league in Bangladesh. The batter played a shot and it went high in the sky and Rahim went for the catch. On the other side, his teammate Nasum Ahmed unknowingly went for the same catch. Though, the catch was taken clean and given out, but collision made Rahim upset.
It made him so angry that he made an absurd gesture towards young Nasum. He tried to throw the ball at him from close quarters. Rahim was eventually fined for his crash behaviour. The good part of the incident was, Mushfiqur Rahim put an apology on social media and accepted his mistake.
5. Naveen ul Haq
Naveen ul Haq. (Photo Source: Twitter)
Afghanistan’s young pacer Naveen ul Haq was trending like a hot topic during the business end of IPL 2023. He found himself embroiled in a controversy with none other than Virat Kohli. The magnitude of the incident was such that even Lucknow Super Giants mentor Gautam Gambhir got involved and confronted Virat after the match.
It all began in the seventeenth over, when LSG were chasing, the former Indian captain Virat was found having a conversation with Amit Mishra before engaging in a verbal spat with Naveen. It seemed like Kohli was indicating to bowl a fiery bouncer. The incident got carried away long after the match ended, and some cryptic posts on social media kept fans engaged with it.
It wasn’t the first time, Naveen had a heated altercation during a match. Three years back Lanka Premier League, he had some issues with Mohammad Amir and later with Shahid Afridi. Even during post-match handshakes, it seemed Naveen had a go at Afridi.
Given his past on-field altercations, Naveen ul Haq has been termed as one of the angriest cricketers playing right now.
4. Jonny Bairstow
Jonny Bairstow. (Photo Source: Twitter)
English cricketer Jonny Bairstow is the only cricketer from the UK region to feature in this list. The swashbuckling batter doesn’t like to indulge himself in such circumstances. But the opponents try to get under his skin. One memorable incident happened during India’s UK visit last year for the one-off Test.
The Edgbaston Test was a series-defining one for the Indian Team. In the second innings of the match, India deduced England to 83/5 and Kohli chipped in with his words. That provoked Jonny who held back the Bazball approach with only 13 runs off 60 balls. But post a heated discussion with Virat Kohli, Jonny changed his gear and ended up scoring a match-winning century in that innings.
And most recently, he was left annoyed with the way he got out in a bizarre manner in the Lord’s Test. Alex Carey mindfully observed Jonny was unconscious about his stance outside the crease. This dismissal created a rage among cricket fans for quite sometime, as it happened during the 2023 Ashes Test so things were blown out of proportion to some extent.
3. Shakib Al Hasan
Shakib Al Hasan. (Photo Source: Twitter)
Bangladesh’s Shakib Al Hasan is a modern-day great all-rounder. Apart from his cricketing achievements, Shakib’s name pops up in the news for his on-field behaviour. He’s a hot-headed person, passionately involved with the game and has often found himself on the wrong end of behavioural issues.
During a Dhaka Premier League game earlier this year, Shakib seemed frustrated when the standing umpire gave not out to a strong LBW appeal. In reaction, Shakib immediately kicked the stumps in anger. As a result, he was fined and banned from BPL matches. This wasn’t the first time Shakib found himself in unwanted situations.
Five years back, he reacted angrily to a no-ball call by the umpire. This was a serious issue back then. In the 2014 Asia Cup match, he was caught doing an inappropriate gesture. So, eyeballs are always on him and his on-field action as he is considered one of the most hot-headed cricketers in the world right now.
2. David Warner
David Warner. (Photo Source: Twitter)
Australia’s opening batter David Warner is one of the prominent names you’ll often get to see among short-tempered cricketers. The southpaw batter holds a strong on-field persona and opponents often get intimated by his presence. Though he has calmed himself down over the years, Warner back in 2018 was a different beast altogether.
It happened during the most controversial Test series in South Africa. Besides the sandpaper gate incident, the incident that got the media’s attention was Quinton de Kock and David Warner’s fight at the players’ tunnel. The CCTV footage showed Warner was really angry and having a go at de Kock. It was a big task to stop him, Usman Khawaja was constantly pushing Warner to stop. Later, Warner was reprimanded for his action.
Later Warner clarified that Quinton was sledging him constantly and made some derogatory comments about his wife. Though he regrets getting physical, he’ll always stand for his family. Warner is a pure family man, so it’s understandable from where he was coming from.
Still though, Warner finds himself in the list of current most angry cricketers from time to time.
1. Virat Kohli
Virat Kohli. (Photo Source: Twitter)
The poster boy of World Cricket takes the top spot here as well. Although he has calmed himself a lot. But still, the fire inside him is there, it often comes out. The passionate West Delhi boy has a history of anger issues where he lost his cool.
In his first-ever CWC match, he got a stare from Bangladeshi bowler Rubel Hossain. It didn’t go well with him and Virat immediately had some words exchanged with him. They go back a long way to under 19 days. A few months after that, the famous middle finger incident took place when the Australian crowd was abusing him. In response to that, young Virat infamously showed his middle finger which was caught on camera.
Even if we keep aside Naveen ul Haq’s incident in IPL, Gautam Gambhir and Virat Kohli were found in a verbal altercation earlier as well. The umpires had to step in to separate the duo then. Virat is known for his on-field aggression which he expresses more often than not. Sometimes it works for his team, sometimes it does not but Kohli continues to wear his heart on the sleeve and often finds himself gracing the list of most hot-headed cricketers in the game right now.