Sri Lanka opener Tharanga banned 3 months

Sri Lanka opening batsman Upul Tharanga was suspended for three months by the International Cricket Council on Friday for using a banned substance during the World Cup.
After the semifinal win against New Zealand on March 29 at Colombo, Tharanga tested positive for metabolites of two glucocorticosteroids — Prednisone and Prednisolone.
He was banned from May 9 to Aug. 8, and will miss Sri Lanka's entire ongoing tour of Britain and Ireland.
He pleaded guilty on Friday before an independent anti-doping tribunal, comprising of chairman Tim Kerr, Anik Sax and Peter Sever.
"The tribunal accepted that Tharanga had ingested the substances when drinking a herbal remedy given to him to ease discomfort caused by a long-standing shoulder injury," the ICC said in a statement.
"It also found that Tharanga had no intention to enhance his sporting performance or to mask the use of another performance-enhancing substance, but that he had failed to satisfy the high levels of personal responsibility implicit upon him as an international cricketer subject to anti-doping rules."
Tharanga apologized to fans and followers "for inadvertently committing an offence."
"I hope my fellow sportsmen will learn from my experience and be more vigilant when taking medical treatment, so that their careers do not suffer in the way that mine has," he said.
The tribunal also disqualified the rankings points he earned from the World Cup. He scored two centuries during the run to the final.
ICC chief executive Haroon Lorgat said it realizes Tharanga didn't cheat deliberately, "but the ICC maintains its zero-tolerance approach towards doping for the benefit of all its stakeholders."
Tharanga has 21 days to appeal after receiving the written decision.

Cricket Controversies

Harbhajan Singh Vs Andrew Symonds: Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2007-08

The second Test match at the Sydney Cricket Ground between India and Australia is infamous for the altercation between Harbhajan Singh and Andrew Symonds. Harbhajan Singh was charged with racial abuse for calling Symonds a monkey owing to his non-white background. Bhajji was banned for three matches and it also soured the relationship between the two teams as well.

 

PakistanVs. England: 4th Test Match: Oval 2006

Pakistan's decision of not turning up for the match not only cost them the match but also revealed the uglier aspect of the game. Match umpires Darrel Hair and Billy Doctrove found Pakistan guilty of ball-tampering and awarded England 5 penalty runs. As a result, the then captain of the Pakistani team, refused to continue the match as an act of rebellion against the unfair (as they thought it) decision. The match was awarded to England and Inzy was found guilty of bringing the game to disrepute.

 

Terror Attack on Sri Lankan Team: 2009

The entire cricketing fraternity was gripped with horror when the bus carrying the Sri Lankan cricket team was fired upon by 12 gunmen near the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore, Pakistan. In the incident, six Pakistani policemen along with two civilians were killed and six members of the team were injured.

 

Hansie Cronje Match Fixing Scandal: 2000

The highly successful journey of South African captain Hansie Cronje was cut short by allegations of match-fixing. Cronje accepted his the charges and released a statement revealing all contact with bookmakers. Cronje was banned from playing cricket for life in October 2000, which was followed by his dramatic death in a plane crash in 2002.

 

Pakistan Spot-Fixing Controversy: 2010

An English newspaper published allegations that Mohammad Asif along with Mohammad Amir and Salman Butt had accepted bribes from a bookmaker to under-perform at the 4th Test in England. Asif's ex-girlfriend Veena Malik also made public claims that he worked with an Indian bookie and had proof of his involvement with bookmakers. As an outcome, the ICC banned all three players: Butt, Asif and Amir were suspended for 10, 7 and 5 years respectively.

 

Harbhajan-Sreesanth Slap Incident: 2008

After a defeat at the hands of Punjab Kings XI, Harbhajan Singh, who was captaining Mumbai Indians, slapped Indian teammate Sreesanth across the face for saying "hard luck" to Bhajji. Sreesanth was seen crying on the ground and his tears were there for everyone to see. Cricketers described the incident as "really ugly." As a consequence, Harbhajan was handed an 11-match ban by the BCCI.

 

Zimbabwe Cricket crisis

During 2000-01, Zimbabwean players alleged political interference in the running of the game in the country. Robert Mugabe's government was accused of corrupting the game with its racist policies. after going through a tumultuous phase in 2004, the board of Zimbabwe Cricket was replaced by Mugabe's government which announced a 12 month withdrawal from Test cricket.

 

The Bodyline Series: 1932-33

This series has been described as the most controversial period in Australian cricketing history. During the Ashes series, the English team used controversial bowling tactics, where the bowlers bowled deliveries which were often short-pitched, bouncing as high as the torso. The main target of the 'Bodyline' was the legendary Sir Don Bradman. These tactics generated much ill-feeling between the teams and also gave birth to the term 'Bodyline'.

 

Afridi's Ball-Chewing Incident: 2010

In this embarrassing incident which gained notoriety as the 'Bite-Gate' incident, Shahid Afridi was caught biting the ball on cameras. Afridi tendered a lame apology, stating that he was merely trying to smell the ball. He eventually pleaded guilty to ball tampering and was banned for two T20 matches. The incident only had people wondering one thing: What the hell was he thinking?

Salman Butt, Mohammad Asif & Mohammad Amir already Banned for 5 to 10 years

Three Pakistani cricketers were already banned for 5, 7 & 10 years by the International Cricket Council (ICC). They were all found guilty of spot fixing in their series against England in August 2010.

The scandal implicating cricketers Salman Butt, Mohammad Asif, and Mohammad Amir was regarded as one of the most shocking scandals in the history of international cricket. The affair was unveiled by a British tabloid News of the World which linked to a video of a broker receiving money on behalf of the players, sending waves of condemnation throughout the cricket-playing-and-watching world. Soon thereafter, the cricketers were suspended by the ICC and charged with corruption via spot-fixing.

After months of trial, Salman Butt, ex team captain, was awarded a penalty of 10-year ban while Mohammad Asif is banned for 7 & Mohammad Amir is banned of 5 years – the punishment being regarded as very strict by experts in the sport. Butt’s punishment is being considered the strictest case of punishment on behalf of his leading role in spot-fixing. Asif and Amir are have both been found guilty of delivering pre-planned no-balls, already made known to the gamblers through the broker named Mazhar Majeed.

Salman Butt was reported by media expressing disappointment with the ICC’s ban imposed on them. Amir is reportedly taking it well perhaps due to his age, being 18 now and thus anticipating catching up with cricket when his ban expires at age 23. The players reserve the right to file an appeal against the decision of the ICC tribunal in the Court of Arbitration for Sport.