IPL 2024 is just two weeks away, and the franchises have already started their preparation for the toughest league in the world. The numbers and craze of the Indian Premier League is growing with each passing year and the upcoming season can break all records set by the IPL 2023 season.
The previous edition of the tournament broke many viewership records, owing to the number of games that went down to the wire and also due to some controversial events. Some players like Royal Challengers Bangalore’s Virat Kohli, then Lucknow Super Giants mentor Gautam Gambhir, and Chennai Super Kings skipper MS Dhoni added fire to the season with their on-field actions and arguments.
5 biggest controversies in IPL 2023
In this article, we will look at the five controversial moments from the IPL 2023.
Virat-Gambhir feud
The two Indian cricket stalwarts are known for their aggression induced on the field and for pouring out their hearts for the game. Their rivalry dates back to 2013 when Virat Kohli and Gautam Gambhir indulged in a heated argument in the game between RCB and KKR. However, the duo renewed their fight last year when RCB visited Lucknow in their reverse fixture game. After winning the low-scoring thriller, Virat and Gambhir engaged in a verbal spat after the game. They were later fined 100% of their match fees for violating the conduct of the game.
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Virat’s face-off with Naveen
Alongside his altercation with Gautam Gambhir, IPL 2023 also hit the headlines owing to the face-off between Virat and Afghanistan and LSG pacer Naveen-ul-Haq. It was during the same match when Virat and Naveen had an aggressive see-off during the handshake formality before the game. The two exchanged words and were cursing towards each other when Glenn Maxwell and other teammates ran between them to clear up things. However, both of them plotted full-stop on the rivalry in the World Cup 2023 with a handshake and a thumbs up.
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MS Dhoni’s argument with umpires
Known as Captain Cool, the CSK captain lost his calm last season, and this time too he burst on the on-field umpires over the controversial decision. It happened during Qualifier 1 when Dhoni introduced Matheesha Pathirana to bowl an over. However, on-field umpires came in between to stop the proceedings as Pathirana was out of the field for a considerable amount of time and had to spend the same number of time in the field to be able to bowl an over. MS Dhoni, the mastermind, argued with the umpires for the same amount of time till the Sri Lankan pacer was eligible to bowl again.
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The Hyderabad crowd’s unruly behaviour against LSG
This happened during the game between Sunrisers Hyderabad and Lucknow Super Giants in Hyderabad. During the 19th over of the hosts’ batting, umpires favoured a no-ball call towards the LSG pacer Avesh Khan. Dejected by the decision, the Uppal crowd started to showcase unruly behaviour towards the ground and even reported throwing objects at the players. One of the victims, Prerak Mankad, got hit with a nail that was thrown by the crowd.
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Nitish Rana’s exchange with Hritik Shokeen
The incident occurred during the match between Mumbai Indians and Kolkata Knight Riders in Mumbai when the incident happened. During the ninth over of the KKR’s batting, Rana was dismissed by the young bowler Hrithik Shokeen. Disgusted, Rana started to walk to the dugout when the MI bowler rushed to the KKR captain and had a go at him. Furious by this act, Rana lost his temper and the duo indulged in an ugly fight. The feud could have gone too far but MI’s stand-in-skipper Suryakumar Yadav came in between to stop the things getting ugly.
