Controversies never seem to leave the sport of cricket, and 2015 also had their fair share of problems. It is time for us to walk down memory lane and go through the top five cricket controversies of 2015.
1. Suspension of Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals - This was surely one of the most talked-about moments in the calendar year, with a committee led by Justice RM Lodha suspending two of the most popular franchises of the Indian Premier League (IPL) -- Chennai Super Kings (CSK) and Rajasthan Royals (RR) -- on 14 July, as a result of the IPL spot-fixing scandal of 2013. The committee, appointed by the Supreme Court, banned Gurunath Meiyappan and Raj Kundra from participating in the sport of cricket for life. The two teams have subsequently been suspended for the next two editions of the cash-rich league.
2. James Taylor denied of a debut century in the opening game of the ICC World Cup 2015 owing to a umpiring howler - James Taylor was batting on 98, while his other teammates crumbled in the opening game of the ICC World Cup 2015 against Australia. Josh Hazlewood appealed for an lbw and by that time Taylor ran down half the pitch. The umpire gave him out and Taylor asked for a review immediately. Glenn Maxwell ran James Anderson out on the end who was the last man standing with Taylor. According to the DRS playing condition rule, the ball was supposed to be considered dead once the umpire gave his lbw decision and decided to go upstairs for the review.
3. India vs South Africa Nagpur pitch - Critics around the world criticised the Nagpur wicket which was used for the third Test of the India vs South Africa series. Many had agreed that the wicket assisted the spinners unfairly, with the South African batting lineup crumbling for a meagre total of 79 runs. The match referee Jeff Crowe termed it as a poor pitch and ICC handed the BCCI a warning.
4. DRS controversy in the day-night Test between Australia and New Zealand - Nathan Lyon was batting on Day 2 of the historic day-night Test match at the Adelaide Oval earlier this year. Lyon got a faint edge to a ball and the New Zealand players appealed for a caught behind. The on-field umpires turned it down and as a result the Kiwis decided to go for a review. Nigel Llong was the third umpire, and even though everyone could clearly see an edge through the hot-spot technology, he stayed with the on-field umpire's decision, saying there was not enough evidence to give Lyon out. That decision cost Kiwis the match as Lyon was involed in a crucial partnership which helped the Aussies maintain their dominance over the Black Caps.
5. ICC World Cup 2015 India vs Bangladesh controversial quarterfinal - Aleem Dar was the square-leg umpire who called a waist high full toss no-ball, when Rohit Sharma holed out and would have been walking back to the pavilion before scoring his crucial century against Bangladesh in the CWC quarterfinal. Rubel Hossain and his teammates were infuriated. The then ICC president Mustafa Kamal, who also hails from Bangladesh, said that he would ask the ICC to investigate the poor umpiring standards. Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Haseena also said her country would have won the game if the decision had not gone against them.
