The citizens of India hold the Indian cricketers in high regard, even more than the actors and other celebrities. It’s certainly obvious why this is the case, considering that cricket is India’s most popular sport. They are considered celebrities and idols for representing the country at an international level, and due to their personalities.
The downside of being a celebrity is that the slightest mistake or wrong connections can land them in a scandal. In the world of cricket, these so-called scandals are mostly related to match-fixing, spot-fixing or betting. We have had a few players accused in these cases, regardless of whether it’s fake or real.
Top 7 Cricketers Who Faced Defamation in India
Like every other controversy, cricket has also seen players who have been falsely accused and banned. It’s nothing new when an innocent person is on the receiving end of something they didn’t do. The list will consist of the Top 7 cricketers who were defamed in India, including the accusations against them and what came after.
7) Ajay Sharma
Ajay Sharma is one of those former cricketers who are famous in Indian domestic cricket, especially the Ranji Trophy. He represented India in both Test and One-Day International formats. Presently, Ajay is the owner of a dry-cleaning and laundry brand, UClean, based out of Punjab and Delhi NCR.
In the year 2000, his cricketing career abruptly concluded due to allegations of match-fixing. Along with him, the punishments were also meted out to Manoj Prabhakar, Ajay Jadeja and Azharuddin. Ajay Sharma’s career ended at the age of 36 when the BCCI handed down a life ban. His agony lasted fourteen years until he got justice. These 14 years passed by without Ajay receiving a single penny as pension, and also being barred from indulging in any cricketing activity.
6) Manoj Prabhakar
Manoj Prabhakar is an ex-cricketer and a coach of the Delhi and Nepal cricket teams. His international cricketing career was for a decade, starting in 1984 and ending in 1996. Later, he got into coaching the cricket teams of Delhi, Afghanistan, and Nepal.
Two allegations were levelled against him-one to the effect that he deliberately underperformed in a 1994 match in impugned consideration of Rs. 25 lakh. It later turned out that the senior player paying the money was none other than Kapil Dev himself. The other allegation was that he was involved in betting and was having link-ups with bookies, with the BCCI and CBI investigations pronouncing him guilty. Consequently, he was banned from Indian cricket since 2000.
5) Ajay Jadeja
Ajay Jadeja is a former Indian cricketer for the national team between 1992 and 2000, and scored over 5,000 runs in ODIs. He had also occasionally captained the Indian cricket team.
Ajay was allegedly caught match-fixing and was banned from all formats of cricket for 5 years. During the investigation, Ajay and a few other players were found to have been in contact with bookies. In 2001, Jadeja appealed his BCCI ban to the Delhi High Court and in 2003, his ban was revoked due to a lack of proof.
4) Mohammad Azharuddin
Mohammad Azharuddin, a former captain of the Indian cricket team, won the Asia Cup in 1990-91 and 1995 and is the only Indian captain to lead in three World Cups.
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In 2000, Azharuddin faced allegations of match-fixing during the series against South Africa. Based on the investigation done by the CBI, the ICC, and the BCCI, he was banned for life. In 2003, the trial court acknowledged the ban. However, the Andhra Pradesh High Court overturned the decision in 2012.
3) S. Sreesanth
S. Sreesanth is a former Indian cricketer who played for the national team from 2005-2011. He was a member of the Indian team that won the 2007 T20 World Cup and caught the winning catch of the 2011 Cricket World Cup.
In 2013, he was arrested with his teammates Ajit Chandila and Ankeet Chavan by the Delhi police for spot-fixing in the 2013 IPL match. The police stated Sreesanth admitted to the allegation that he would give away runs for money, initially. At a later date, he then refused the statement. In retrospect of this matter, Sreesanth, alongside his teammates, received a life ban from the BCCI.
2) Mohammed Shami
Shami is a very fast bowler; he bowls for the Indian cricket team. His ability to swing the ball in and out renders him vital for the game in all formats. Shami was instrumental in the 2025 Champions Trophy.
In 2018, his wife, Hasin Jahan, had accused him of adulterous behaviour, domestic violence, and match-fixing. Several charges were said to have been brought against Shami, with the BCCI suspending his central contract on grounds of corruption-based charges. After the anti-corruption inquiry was completed, Shami’s central contract was restored.
1) Ravindra Jadeja
Ravindra Jadeja is an all-rounder for the Indian cricket team. Since 2009, he has been representing the nation. Thanks to his incredible all-round abilities, Jadeja gave away less than 30 runs and did his best in the recent Test match to carry the team as far as possible.
In November 2014, the Rajkot newspaper Aabtak accused Jadeja of having links with Bali Dangar, a land grabber. Falsely accused of having links with this individual, he suffered due to this wrongful accusation of character assassination. He has now filed a defamation suit for an amount of ₹ 51 crore in the Jamnagar Civil Court, demanding that the newspaper pay for the damages he has suffered and withdraw the accusation against him.