Cricket is called a gentleman’s game. The term originated because many early cricketers in England, where the game started, came from affluent backgrounds. They were considered to hold the virtues of a Gentleman. Fast forward to the 21st century, the sport is considered high-octane with tempers flaring.
Incidents where a team resorting to unfair methods viz. ball-tampering have been witnessed. Although such occurrences are very rare nowadays, some controversies off the field have had lasting consequences on the image of the game.
Here we have a look at the cricket players involved in the worst of them all, sex scandals:
1) Kevin Pietersen
The South-African-born Kevin Pietersen is well known for his stylish brand of batting. He had his fair share of scandals off the field. He was involved in a short but well-known affair, so to speak, with Playboy model Vanessa Nimmo.
Pietersen allegedly dumped Nimmo via an sms. Yes, you read that right. As expected, Nimmo was unhappy with it and decided to break the details of their relationship to the media. She exposed their intimate secrets to the public. In one such statement, she said
“Kevin was desperate for sex and kept pestering me all day. I certainly wasn’t hit for six by his performance,” Nimmo had claimed after the breakup.
2) Shane Warne
Warne is a legend of Australian cricket. He finished his Test career as the second-highest wicket taker (708) behind Muttiah Muralitharan. Off the field, his personal life was filled with plenty of immortal conduct and sex scandals. Warne was also caught enjoying his time with a Melbourne stripper.
The biggest one of them all, however, was when he was alleged to have had carnal relations with a couple of models ahead of a County Championship game in 2006. He makes a mention of this in his book, ‘No Spin’.
One of the models had reportedly stated, “Shane blew our minds. He was so fit. I’d give him top marks for more than satisfying us. He was talking dirty all the time. It was full-on, hardcore and we had a great time.”
3) Chris Gayle
The Universe boss has been involved in quite a few controversies. Asking out the TV Presenter Mel McLaughlin during a BBL match is probably the biggest one of them all. After asking her out for a drink, Chris Gayle said “Don’t blush, baby”. McLaughlin was visibly distressed and uncomfortable and social media lashed out at Gayle following this incident.
Gayle, who is arguably the greatest T20 batsman ever, was found interacting with three British women in his Sri Lankan hotel room during the 2012 ICC World T20.
The Jamaican was involved in another over-the-top flirting incident when he bragged about his “very, very big bat” to Charlotte Edwards during an interview. Proves Chris Gayle certainly doesn’t hold back on the field or off the field.
4) Herschelle Gibbs
Gibbs, the former batsman for South Africa, is well known for his innings of 175 against Australia which helped them record the highest chase (434) in ODI history. As good as he was on the field, he was involved in equally bad happenings off it.
In his autobiography titled ‘To The Point’, he makes revelations of his sex life. Gibbs wrote: “I just knew I was going to get a century. Perhaps the girl lying in bed beside me had inspired me. She worked at the hotel, where I had befriended her. I just wish her powers had extended to my fielding and the bladdy dropped catch.”
In another separate matter, Gibbs spoke about an incident that involved a teammate. “Two beds, two cricketers, and three women. One of them wasn’t all that keen, though; she just lay on the bed. Which was fine – there was enough for everyone. The other two girls, however, more than made a go of it.”
5) Shahid Afridi
Former Pakistan skipper, Shahid Afridi, had a stellar career. He held the record for the fastest century in ODI’s until Corey Anderson beat him. Afridi is a loved figure in Pakistan. In his very early days though, he was allegedly involved in a scandal with two of his other teammates – Hasan Raza & Atiq-Uz-Zaman.
In 2000, the trio was caught entertaining a group of young women in their Karachi hotel rooms. The players said that the girls had merely “come to collect autographs.” But the PCB refused to believe them and ended up fining and banning all three of them from the ICC Champions Trophy in Kenya.
Following the ban, Afridi issued a statement. “I am satisfied that I didn’t commit any mistake but I accept this punishment. It will have a positive effect on my career,” he said.
6) Ian Botham
The legendary English all-rounder was out and out accused of cheating on his wife, Kathy Botham. An Australian waitress named Kylie Verrells and Ian Botham were allegedly involved in a two-year affair. They were assumed to be living in hotels under aliases, while Ian was on vacation with his wife Kathy.
Several allegations were made by Kathy’s ex-husband. One such was where Botham was revealed to have bought a sapphire diamond ring for Kylie, assuring her of divorcing Kathy. Kylie was the only one who tried to drag Botham’s name into the ground, while Kathy defended her husband.
7) Andre Nel
Andre Nel is a former South African fast bowler. In September 2010, Andre Nel was accused by his then-girlfriend Jelena Kultiasova. Jelena, who met Andre in a nightclub, Movida, in London, revealed that he never told her about his existing marriage. She said she was left heartbroken after she got to know that Nel was a married man.
Andre Nel later admitted to his relationship with Jelena. A couple of months later, two more women came forward and revealed that Nel had an extramarital affair with them as well. He was shocked and reportedly had suicidal thoughts. Following this, he was recommended to seek counseling before things got worse.
8) Imam-Ul-Haq
The promising Pakistani batsman was accused of having harassed multiple women back in 2019. A member of the Twitterati had exposed several conversations with Imam where he was seen sending obscene videos in return for intimate pictures.
“So apparently Mr. @ImamUlHaq12 was dating 7 to 8 (that we know of) women and kept using them and manipulating them. He kept telling them the whole time how he’s single. Some of the screenshots attached from girl 1,” a Twitter user wrote attaching screenshots of the cricketer’s alleged chat.
The account which released the images was later deleted but not before it claimed that the left-hander had been harassing women. These allegations haven’t been proven, however. Lots of people came to Imam’s defense saying there was no sign that there was anything non-consensual about the relationships.
9) Daryl Tuffey
The Otago-born pacer was filmed having sex by two British backpackers, according to a New Zealand newspaper. This incident took place in 2005 and Tuffey appeared before the New Zealand Cricket disciplinary board after being charged with bringing the game into disrepute.
The two backpackers took the tape to pubs around Christchurch, boasting of their efforts and showing it on the screen of their video recorder. Tuffey’s tape was recorded at a Christchurch flat and it only became a big issue when the woman’s new boyfriend had heard about the tape’s existence through external sources.
10) Scott Kuggeleijn
In May 2015, Kiwi pacer Scott was accused of raping a 21-year-old woman in Hamilton. He was remanded on bail in July 2015 after pleading not guilty. However, on February 24, 2017, the jury in the rape trial cleared him of the charges. Even though he was found not guilty, CSK buying him in the IPL at the auction was met with wide criticism.
Scott did not deny having sex with the woman who accused him of rape. He even sent a text the next day apologizing for “the harm I have caused you”. Some of his statements from the trial received a lot of hate as well. Kuggeleijn allegedly told the court that the woman was “provocatively dressed” and “looking for male attention” when they met at the bar.