The Indian cricket team has millions of followers around the globe. It will be fair to say that the country has produced some of the elite talents in the cricketing community. Most of them have effectively played their role in increasing the popularity of the game and in the process have inscribed their names in the history books. Their presence helped the Indian team in achieving some of the most memorable moments.

However, there are some dark moments which has not been discussed enough in the cricketing circle. These episodes involved some of the legends of Indian cricket. Also, these incidents have always put Indian cricket in a bad light. That&#8217;s why these episodes can be considered as the secrets of the country&#8217;s cricketing journey.

Here is the list of 10 secrets of Indian cricket people should know

<img loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-159954" src="https://crictracker-admin-panel-08032022.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/media/attachments/Yuvraj-Singh-and-MS-Dhoni.jpg" alt="MS Dhoni and Yuvraj Singh" width="640" height="400" sizes="(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px"><figcaption id="caption-attachment-159954" class="wp-caption-text">MS Dhoni and Yuvraj Singh. (Photo Source: Instagram)</figcaption>

When India won the 2011 World Cup the two players who led the team in the final moments of their glory are Yuvraj Singh and MS Dhoni. Especially nobody can forget the joyful hug between the two of them after the winning hit. Such has been their friendship that both of them never fail to praise each other on any stage.

However, the friendship didn&#8217;t start on a good note as Yuvraj was not on good terms with Dhoni in the early days of his career. The Punjab cricketer used to taunt Dhoni on the basis of his ethnicity. He used to call him a Bihari and downplay his achievements after his each match-winning performances for the country.

At first, the former Indan skipper ignored the comments but it continued for a long time. That&#8217;s when he retorted and asked Yuvraj the real reason behind his annoying actions. Hearing this the southpaw understood his mistake and started laughing. Since then they became close friends and together they have led the team to various memorable victories.

<img loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-20851" src="https://crictracker-admin-panel-08032022.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/media/attachments/Sourav-Ganguly-Ian-Chappell.jpg" alt="Sourav Ganguly Greg Chappell" width="627" height="352" sizes="(max-width: 627px) 100vw, 627px"><figcaption id="caption-attachment-20851" class="wp-caption-text">Greg Chappell. (Photo Source: Getty Images)</figcaption>

Anybody who is following Indian cricket will be well aware of the Ganguly-Chappell saga. It&#8217;s a time when the country&#8217;s cricket was at its lowest point as the team hogged the limelight for their off-field antics rather than their on-field actions. Mainly the tussle of war between Sourav Ganguly and Greg Chappell formed the plot of the storyline.

Another interesting character of that storyline is Rahul Dravid as he took over the leadership duties in those tough times. Though the issues got resolved after India&#8217;s shock exit in 2007 World Cup there are still some dark clouds hovering the incident. It is clear from the contradicting statements made by the two former Indian skippers.

As per Dada in one-off his dressing-room conversations with Dravid, the right-hander expressed his disappointment of failing to control the decisions taken by Greg Chappell. In a turn of events, Dravid denied such discussions and stated that it is just an opinion of his Bengal counterpart. He went onto add that Sourav should not make such remarks without thinking of its consequences. So it can be said that both the cricketers are still not on the same page of the Chappell story.

<img loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-365093" src="https://crictracker-admin-panel-08032022.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/media/attachments/Kapil-Dev.jpg" alt="Kapil Dev" width="640" height="400" sizes="(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px"><figcaption id="caption-attachment-365093" class="wp-caption-text">Kapil Dev. (Photo Source: Twitter)</figcaption>

In the history of Indian cricket, the individual who brought sweet smiles to millions of faces is none other than Kapil Dev. By lifting the World Cup in 1983 the Haryana cricketer inspired the entire nation. Still, he found himself in the most untoward situation when he was accused of spot-fixing.

At the dawn of this century, several columns started rolling out questioning the honesty of the legendary cricketer. Amidst this, he also made an appearance in one of the talk shows hosted by Karan Thapar. There the journalist asked him about the match-fixing allegations made against him.

For all his courageous efforts on the field, Kapil couldn&#8217;t control his emotions and broke down while justifying his innocence. He further added that he would prefer suicide rather than accepting bribes for betraying his country. Eventually, he was cleared of his charges but there are a couple of sting operations where former Indian players have accused him of bribing them. In the end evidence matters and in this case there was none which proves Kapil&#8217;s integrity.

<img loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-365097" src="https://crictracker-admin-panel-08032022.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/media/attachments/John-Wright-and-Virender-Sehwag.jpg" alt="John Wright and Virender Sehwag" width="640" height="400" sizes="(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px"><figcaption id="caption-attachment-365097" class="wp-caption-text">John Wright and Virender Sehwag. (Photo Source: Getty Images)</figcaption>

Everybody must be knowing the heated incident involving Virender Sehwag and John Wright where the latter almost got into a physical tiff with the former. The reason being Sehwag&#8217;s carefree batting style which annoyed the head coach. As a result, the New Zealander created a hullaballoo in the dressing room but very few people know that it was Tendulkar who resolved the issue.

After a disturbing incident in the dressing-room, Wright realized his mistake. Even skipper Sourav Ganguly approached him and wanted him to apologize to the Delhi cricketer for his reckless behavior. Slowly things started to escalate out of hands by the minute but that&#8217;s when Sachin stepped in and played an important cameo.

The Little Master talked to John where he came to know that he didn&#8217;t do it on purpose and just wanted Sehwag to realize his mistakes. Understanding the gravity of the situation Sachin requested the coach not to apologize as it will degrade the value of his position in the team. Instead, he went to Sehwag and asked him to consider it as an incident where his father scolded his child for his goof-ups. On that day Tendulkar showed his heroics off the field.

<img loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-328941" src="https://crictracker-admin-panel-08032022.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/media/attachments/Suresh-Raina-vs-Ravindra-Jadeja.jpg" alt="Suresh Raina vs Ravindra Jadeja" width="640" height="400" sizes="(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px"><figcaption id="caption-attachment-328941" class="wp-caption-text">Suresh Raina vs Ravindra Jadeja. (Photo Source: Twitter)</figcaption>

When India toured the Caribbean land in 2013 the team had their share of ups and downs. Among them, the worst one has to be the on-field spat between Ravindra Jadeja and Suresh Raina. It all started during the Blue team&#8217;s encounter against the hosts when the UP cricketer dropped a couple of catches off Jadeja&#8217;s bowling.

Immediately the left-arm spinner showed his displeasure by muttering some words. Hearing this Raina got enraged and the next thing that happened didn&#8217;t please the Indian fans. Both the players began a verbal duel and their fellow teammates had to separate them. At the time there were also reports that the spat continued in the dressing room.

Still, many people have not been able to figure out the exact details of the entire saga but according to a tabloid, Jadeja provoked Suresh by making inappropriate statements. Jaddu questioned Raina&#8217;s intensity in the field. He pointed out that his demotion from the captaincy role has played a huge part in his poor fielding. Even after playing together for a long time Ravindra didn&#8217;t show enough respect for Raina and cussed a senior member of the side which is not acceptable.

<img loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-219980" src="https://crictracker-admin-panel-08032022.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/media/attachments/Mohammad-Azharuddin-1.jpg" alt="Mohammad Azharuddin" width="640" height="400" sizes="(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px"><figcaption id="caption-attachment-219980" class="wp-caption-text">Mohammad Azharuddin. (Photo Source: Twitter)</figcaption>

In the &#8217;90s, the Indian cricket was completely marred by match-fixing scandals and one of the players who lost his career in one such typhoon is Mohammad Azharuddin. Instead of getting a proper swansong the Hyderabad cricketer got his effigies burned at the end of the 2000s. Even the BCCI imposed a life ban on him for his suspicious activities.

At first the South African player, Hansie Cronje accused Azharuddin of introducing him to the world of spot-fixing. Thereafter the former Indian skipper became a regular visitor to the CBI offices. Finally, he was pinned down after several months of questioning and due to his shady connections with various bookies.

Moreover, very few people know that the turning point in Azharuddin&#8217;s case was some of his private photographs. It contained him along with the underworld kingpins. There are also reports which state that he had connections with one of the convicts of the 1993 Mumbai bomb blast. As usual, due to lack of evidence, the case never got solved and all the impending charges against him were dropped in 2012.

7) The selfish act of a selfless cricketer?

<img loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-87829" src="https://crictracker-admin-panel-08032022.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/media/attachments/Rahul-Dravid-of-India-2.jpg" alt="Rahul Dravid News" width="600" height="412" sizes="(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px"><figcaption id="caption-attachment-87829" class="wp-caption-text">Rahul Dravid. (Photo Source: Getty Images)</figcaption>

Rahul Dravid is a cricketer who defined the true meaning of gentlemen&#8217;s game. Not only with his batting but also with his decision-making skills he has helped the Indian team achieve great heights. However, the only black spot in his professional career has to be the controversial Multan declaration.

The right-hander decided to call off the innings at the most inopportune time and left Sachin Tendulkar stranded on the score of 194. As expected the Mumbaikar was surprised by his captain&#8217;s choice. At first, he reacted furiously to the other members of the dressing room including Dravid. Even in his autobiography, he has expressed the incident as an unfortunate one. Still, Sachin has always come up with positive replies to the questions related to the matter and has repeatedly termed Dravid as his good friend.

As far as Rahul is concerned it is one of the most baffling decisions taken by him as the coach and the senior members didn&#8217;t agree with him. Some die-hard Sachin fans believe that Rahul purposefully denied Tendulkar&#8217;s double century. The reason being the equal number of 200s in their Test career at the time. So if the Little Master could have completed the innings he would have surpassed his teammate. Who knows the Wall might have strained on his personal record for one split second?

<img loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-318874" src="https://crictracker-admin-panel-08032022.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/media/attachments/Virat-Kohli-1.jpg" alt="Virat Kohli" width="640" height="400" sizes="(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px"><figcaption id="caption-attachment-318874" class="wp-caption-text">Virat Kohli. (Photo Source: Twitter)</figcaption>

The title might remind you of your college days but such incidents also happen in the Indian cricket team. There have been times when the senior players bully the juniors by putting them in uncomfortable situations. Though it might sound funny sometimes the players can get terrified by such activities. Especially the two episodes which can never be forgotten involve Virat Kohli and Yuvraj Singh as the victims.

In the first one, the Delhi cricketer is intimidated by Yuvraj Singh and Munaf Patel on his first day in the Indian dressing room. They convince Kohli to touch the feet of Sachin Tendulkar, a ritual to enjoy a longer stint in the team. A nervous and teary-eyed Virat bows down before the Master. At that time Sachin told him that he is being fooled by the pranksters of the team.

In the other episode, it is Yuvraj Singh who gets tricked by his skipper, Sourav Ganguly. In his early days, Yuvi was asked to open the innings by Dada. As an obedient student, the Punjab cricketer followed his instructions and started prepping for his new challenge. Seeing him tensed on the match-day, Ganguly finally revealed that he tried to take the mickey out of him.

<img loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-365091" src="https://crictracker-admin-panel-08032022.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/media/attachments/Dawood-Ibrahim.jpg" alt="Dawood Ibrahim" width="640" height="400" sizes="(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px"><figcaption id="caption-attachment-365091" class="wp-caption-text">Dawood Ibrahim. (Photo Source: Twitter)</figcaption>

The incident which stunned the cricketing fraternity has to be the visit of an underworld kingpin, Dawood Ibrahim to the Indian dressing-room. It happened on the eve of the 1986 Austral-Asia Cup final. Seeing him most of the Indian players were taken by surprise including the skipper, Kapil Dev.

As expected Dawood&#8217;s drop-in involved shady activities. He offered bribes to Indian players for winning the final against Pakistan. Immediately Kapil asked him to stay away from the restricted premises. Till now this is the part of the story which has always been discussed by the Indian fans and they hail the former <a href="https://business.facebook.com/crictracker/photos/a.601832999847425/3007491049281596/?type=3&amp;theater" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><strong>Indian skipper</strong> </a>for his brute honesty.

However, there is a twist in the story as he failed to recognize him in the first place. Even Ravi Shastri has admitted that Kapil mistook him for a reputed business tycoon and behaved inappropriately. He only came to know about him after some of his teammates informed him of the stature of Dawood. As per some reports thereafter he went onto apologize to him. Though he didn&#8217;t accept any offers he might have feared for his life.

<img loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-214603" src="https://crictracker-admin-panel-08032022.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/media/attachments/Parthiv-Patel.jpg" alt="Parthiv Patel" width="639" height="400" sizes="(max-width: 639px) 100vw, 639px"><figcaption id="caption-attachment-214603" class="wp-caption-text">Parthiv Patel. (Photo by Sydney Seshibedi/Gallo Images/Getty Images)</figcaption>

When India visited Australia in 2003 an interesting contest was on the cards with both the teams having the required ammunition to outperform each other. Amidst the high voltage clash a young keeper-batsman, Parthiv Patel headlined the newspapers for all the wrong reasons. He tried to sledge one of the most celebrated Australian cricketer, Steve Waugh in his final batting essay.

Initially, Parthiv&#8217;s team members liked his chirping behind the stumps but it reached a point where he crossed the line of respect. Parthiv taunted Waugh for his defensive approach and egged him to pull-off his famed sweep shots. Everybody got surprised by Parthiv&#8217;s attitude including Waugh. The former Australian skipper has even mentioned the event in his <a href="https://www.crictracker.com/shahid-afridi-admits-to-tampering-with-the-ball-by-biting-it-in-his-autobiography/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><strong>autobiography</strong></a>.

However, what people don&#8217;t know is Patel&#8217;s embarrassing moments in the dressing-room. After the game, most of the senior members of the squad admonished him for his rude behavior. Especially Sachin Tendulkar scolded him for disrespecting a legend of the game. Recently he also admitted in one of the talk shows that he regretted committing that mistake.

<p>The Indian cricket team has millions of followers around the globe. It will be fair to say that the country has produced some of the elite talents in the cricketing community. Most of them have effectively played their role in increasing the popularity of the game and in the process have inscribed their names in the history books. Their presence helped the Indian team in achieving some of the most memorable moments.</p>
<p>However, there are some dark moments which has not been discussed enough in the cricketing circle. These episodes involved some of the legends of Indian cricket. Also, these incidents have always put Indian cricket in a bad light. That’s why these episodes can be considered as the secrets of the country’s cricketing journey.</p>
<h3>Here is the list of 10 secrets of Indian cricket people should know</h3>
<h3>1) A friendship not made in heaven</h3>
<figure id="attachment_159954" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-159954" class="wp-caption aligncenter" style="max-width: 100%; margin: 0;"><amp-img class="size-full wp-image-159954" src="https://crictracker-admin-panel-08032022.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/media/attachments/Yuvraj-Singh-and-MS-Dhoni.jpg" alt="MS Dhoni and Yuvraj Singh" width="640" height="400" layout="responsive" style="max-width: 100%; margin: 0;"></amp-img><figcaption id="caption-attachment-159954" class="wp-caption-text">MS Dhoni and Yuvraj Singh. (Photo Source: Instagram)</figcaption></figure>
<p>When India won the 2011 World Cup the two players who led the team in the final moments of their glory are Yuvraj Singh and MS Dhoni. Especially nobody can forget the joyful hug between the two of them after the winning hit. Such has been their friendship that both of them never fail to praise each other on any stage.</p>
<p>However, the friendship didn’t start on a good note as Yuvraj was not on good terms with Dhoni in the early days of his career. The Punjab cricketer used to taunt Dhoni on the basis of his ethnicity. He used to call him a Bihari and downplay his achievements after his each match-winning performances for the country.</p>
<p>At first, the former Indan skipper ignored the comments but it continued for a long time. That’s when he retorted and asked Yuvraj the real reason behind his annoying actions. Hearing this the southpaw understood his mistake and started laughing. Since then they became close friends and together they have led the team to various memorable victories.</p>
<h3>2) Differences of opinion</h3>
<figure id="attachment_20851" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-20851" class="wp-caption aligncenter" style="max-width: 100%; margin: 0;"><amp-img class="size-full wp-image-20851" src="https://crictracker-admin-panel-08032022.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/media/attachments/Sourav-Ganguly-Ian-Chappell.jpg" alt="Sourav Ganguly Greg Chappell" width="627" height="352" layout="responsive" style="max-width: 100%; margin: 0;"></amp-img><figcaption id="caption-attachment-20851" class="wp-caption-text">Greg Chappell. (Photo Source: Getty Images)</figcaption></figure>
<p>Anybody who is following Indian cricket will be well aware of the Ganguly-Chappell saga. It’s a time when the country’s cricket was at its lowest point as the team hogged the limelight for their off-field antics rather than their on-field actions. Mainly the tussle of war between Sourav Ganguly and Greg Chappell formed the plot of the storyline.</p>
<p>Another interesting character of that storyline is Rahul Dravid as he took over the leadership duties in those tough times. Though the issues got resolved after India’s shock exit in 2007 World Cup there are still some dark clouds hovering the incident. It is clear from the contradicting statements made by the two former Indian skippers.</p>
<p>As per Dada in one-off his dressing-room conversations with Dravid, the right-hander expressed his disappointment of failing to control the decisions taken by Greg Chappell. In a turn of events, Dravid denied such discussions and stated that it is just an opinion of his Bengal counterpart. He went onto add that Sourav should not make such remarks without thinking of its consequences. So it can be said that both the cricketers are still not on the same page of the Chappell story.</p>
<h3>3) Honesty is the best policy</h3>
<figure id="attachment_365093" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-365093" class="wp-caption aligncenter" style="max-width: 100%; margin: 0;"><amp-img class="size-full wp-image-365093" src="https://crictracker-admin-panel-08032022.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/media/attachments/Kapil-Dev.jpg" alt="Kapil Dev" width="640" height="400" layout="responsive" style="max-width: 100%; margin: 0;"></amp-img><figcaption id="caption-attachment-365093" class="wp-caption-text">Kapil Dev. (Photo Source: Twitter)</figcaption></figure>
<p>In the history of Indian cricket, the individual who brought sweet smiles to millions of faces is none other than Kapil Dev. By lifting the World Cup in 1983 the Haryana cricketer inspired the entire nation. Still, he found himself in the most untoward situation when he was accused of spot-fixing.</p>
<p>At the dawn of this century, several columns started rolling out questioning the honesty of the legendary cricketer. Amidst this, he also made an appearance in one of the talk shows hosted by Karan Thapar. There the journalist asked him about the match-fixing allegations made against him.</p>
<p>For all his courageous efforts on the field, Kapil couldn’t control his emotions and broke down while justifying his innocence. He further added that he would prefer suicide rather than accepting bribes for betraying his country. Eventually, he was cleared of his charges but there are a couple of sting operations where former Indian players have accused him of bribing them. In the end evidence matters and in this case there was none which proves Kapil’s integrity.</p>
<h3>4) Dignity saved by the Master</h3>
<figure id="attachment_365097" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-365097" class="wp-caption aligncenter" style="max-width: 100%; margin: 0;"><amp-img class="size-full wp-image-365097" src="https://crictracker-admin-panel-08032022.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/media/attachments/John-Wright-and-Virender-Sehwag.jpg" alt="John Wright and Virender Sehwag" width="640" height="400" layout="responsive" style="max-width: 100%; margin: 0;"></amp-img><figcaption id="caption-attachment-365097" class="wp-caption-text">John Wright and Virender Sehwag. (Photo Source: Getty Images)</figcaption></figure>
<p>Everybody must be knowing the heated incident involving Virender Sehwag and John Wright where the latter almost got into a physical tiff with the former. The reason being Sehwag’s carefree batting style which annoyed the head coach. As a result, the New Zealander created a hullaballoo in the dressing room but very few people know that it was Tendulkar who resolved the issue.</p>
<p>After a disturbing incident in the dressing-room, Wright realized his mistake. Even skipper Sourav Ganguly approached him and wanted him to apologize to the Delhi cricketer for his reckless behavior. Slowly things started to escalate out of hands by the minute but that’s when Sachin stepped in and played an important cameo.</p>
<p>The Little Master talked to John where he came to know that he didn’t do it on purpose and just wanted Sehwag to realize his mistakes. Understanding the gravity of the situation Sachin requested the coach not to apologize as it will degrade the value of his position in the team. Instead, he went to Sehwag and asked him to consider it as an incident where his father scolded his child for his goof-ups. On that day Tendulkar showed his heroics off the field.</p>
<h3>5) Losing it all together</h3>
<figure id="attachment_328941" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-328941" class="wp-caption aligncenter" style="max-width: 100%; margin: 0;"><amp-img class="size-full wp-image-328941" src="https://crictracker-admin-panel-08032022.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/media/attachments/Suresh-Raina-vs-Ravindra-Jadeja.jpg" alt="Suresh Raina vs Ravindra Jadeja" width="640" height="400" layout="responsive" style="max-width: 100%; margin: 0;"></amp-img><figcaption id="caption-attachment-328941" class="wp-caption-text">Suresh Raina vs Ravindra Jadeja. (Photo Source: Twitter)</figcaption></figure>
<p>When India toured the Caribbean land in 2013 the team had their share of ups and downs. Among them, the worst one has to be the on-field spat between Ravindra Jadeja and Suresh Raina. It all started during the Blue team’s encounter against the hosts when the UP cricketer dropped a couple of catches off Jadeja’s bowling.</p>
<p>Immediately the left-arm spinner showed his displeasure by muttering some words. Hearing this Raina got enraged and the next thing that happened didn’t please the Indian fans. Both the players began a verbal duel and their fellow teammates had to separate them. At the time there were also reports that the spat continued in the dressing room.</p>
<p>Still, many people have not been able to figure out the exact details of the entire saga but according to a tabloid, Jadeja provoked Suresh by making inappropriate statements. Jaddu questioned Raina’s intensity in the field. He pointed out that his demotion from the captaincy role has played a huge part in his poor fielding. Even after playing together for a long time Ravindra didn’t show enough respect for Raina and cussed a senior member of the side which is not acceptable.</p>
<h3>6) Azharuddin in underworld tailspin</h3>
<figure id="attachment_219980" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-219980" class="wp-caption aligncenter" style="max-width: 100%; margin: 0;"><amp-img class="size-full wp-image-219980" src="https://crictracker-admin-panel-08032022.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/media/attachments/Mohammad-Azharuddin-1.jpg" alt="Mohammad Azharuddin" width="640" height="400" layout="responsive" style="max-width: 100%; margin: 0;"></amp-img><figcaption id="caption-attachment-219980" class="wp-caption-text">Mohammad Azharuddin. (Photo Source: Twitter)</figcaption></figure>
<p>In the ’90s, the Indian cricket was completely marred by match-fixing scandals and one of the players who lost his career in one such typhoon is Mohammad Azharuddin. Instead of getting a proper swansong the Hyderabad cricketer got his effigies burned at the end of the 2000s. Even the BCCI imposed a life ban on him for his suspicious activities.</p>
<p>At first the South African player, Hansie Cronje accused Azharuddin of introducing him to the world of spot-fixing. Thereafter the former Indian skipper became a regular visitor to the CBI offices. Finally, he was pinned down after several months of questioning and due to his shady connections with various bookies.</p>
<p>Moreover, very few people know that the turning point in Azharuddin’s case was some of his private photographs. It contained him along with the underworld kingpins. There are also reports which state that he had connections with one of the convicts of the 1993 Mumbai bomb blast. As usual, due to lack of evidence, the case never got solved and all the impending charges against him were dropped in 2012.</p>
<h3>7) The selfish act of a selfless cricketer?</h3>
<figure id="attachment_87829" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-87829" class="wp-caption aligncenter" style="max-width: 100%; margin: 0;"><amp-img class="size-full wp-image-87829" src="https://crictracker-admin-panel-08032022.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/media/attachments/Rahul-Dravid-of-India-2.jpg" alt="Rahul Dravid News" width="600" height="412" layout="responsive" style="max-width: 100%; margin: 0;"></amp-img><figcaption id="caption-attachment-87829" class="wp-caption-text">Rahul Dravid. (Photo Source: Getty Images)</figcaption></figure>
<p>Rahul Dravid is a cricketer who defined the true meaning of gentlemen’s game. Not only with his batting but also with his decision-making skills he has helped the Indian team achieve great heights. However, the only black spot in his professional career has to be the controversial Multan declaration.</p>
<p>The right-hander decided to call off the innings at the most inopportune time and left Sachin Tendulkar stranded on the score of 194. As expected the Mumbaikar was surprised by his captain’s choice. At first, he reacted furiously to the other members of the dressing room including Dravid. Even in his autobiography, he has expressed the incident as an unfortunate one. Still, Sachin has always come up with positive replies to the questions related to the matter and has repeatedly termed Dravid as his good friend.</p>
<p>As far as Rahul is concerned it is one of the most baffling decisions taken by him as the coach and the senior members didn’t agree with him. Some die-hard Sachin fans believe that Rahul purposefully denied Tendulkar’s double century. The reason being the equal number of 200s in their Test career at the time. So if the Little Master could have completed the innings he would have surpassed his teammate. Who knows the Wall might have strained on his personal record for one split second?</p>
<h3>8) Bullying the newcomers</h3>
<figure id="attachment_318874" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-318874" class="wp-caption aligncenter" style="max-width: 100%; margin: 0;"><amp-img class="size-full wp-image-318874" src="https://crictracker-admin-panel-08032022.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/media/attachments/Virat-Kohli-1.jpg" alt="Virat Kohli" width="640" height="400" layout="responsive" style="max-width: 100%; margin: 0;"></amp-img><figcaption id="caption-attachment-318874" class="wp-caption-text">Virat Kohli. (Photo Source: Twitter)</figcaption></figure>
<p>The title might remind you of your college days but such incidents also happen in the Indian cricket team. There have been times when the senior players bully the juniors by putting them in uncomfortable situations. Though it might sound funny sometimes the players can get terrified by such activities. Especially the two episodes which can never be forgotten involve Virat Kohli and Yuvraj Singh as the victims.</p>
<p>In the first one, the Delhi cricketer is intimidated by Yuvraj Singh and Munaf Patel on his first day in the Indian dressing room. They convince Kohli to touch the feet of Sachin Tendulkar, a ritual to enjoy a longer stint in the team. A nervous and teary-eyed Virat bows down before the Master. At that time Sachin told him that he is being fooled by the pranksters of the team.</p>
<p>In the other episode, it is Yuvraj Singh who gets tricked by his skipper, Sourav Ganguly. In his early days, Yuvi was asked to open the innings by Dada. As an obedient student, the Punjab cricketer followed his instructions and started prepping for his new challenge. Seeing him tensed on the match-day, Ganguly finally revealed that he tried to take the mickey out of him.</p>
<h3>9) Mistaken identity</h3>
<figure id="attachment_365091" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-365091" class="wp-caption aligncenter" style="max-width: 100%; margin: 0;"><amp-img class="size-full wp-image-365091" src="https://crictracker-admin-panel-08032022.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/media/attachments/Dawood-Ibrahim.jpg" alt="Dawood Ibrahim" width="640" height="400" layout="responsive" style="max-width: 100%; margin: 0;"></amp-img><figcaption id="caption-attachment-365091" class="wp-caption-text">Dawood Ibrahim. (Photo Source: Twitter)</figcaption></figure>
<p>The incident which stunned the cricketing fraternity has to be the visit of an underworld kingpin, Dawood Ibrahim to the Indian dressing-room. It happened on the eve of the 1986 Austral-Asia Cup final. Seeing him most of the Indian players were taken by surprise including the skipper, Kapil Dev.</p>
<p>As expected Dawood’s drop-in involved shady activities. He offered bribes to Indian players for winning the final against Pakistan. Immediately Kapil asked him to stay away from the restricted premises. Till now this is the part of the story which has always been discussed by the Indian fans and they hail the former <a href="https://business.facebook.com/crictracker/photos/a.601832999847425/3007491049281596/?type=3&amp;theater" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><strong>Indian skipper</strong> </a>for his brute honesty.</p>
<p>However, there is a twist in the story as he failed to recognize him in the first place. Even Ravi Shastri has admitted that Kapil mistook him for a reputed business tycoon and behaved inappropriately. He only came to know about him after some of his teammates informed him of the stature of Dawood. As per some reports thereafter he went onto apologize to him. Though he didn’t accept any offers he might have feared for his life.</p>
<h3>10) Digging one’s own grave</h3>
<figure id="attachment_214603" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-214603" class="wp-caption aligncenter" style="max-width: 100%; margin: 0;"><amp-img class="size-full wp-image-214603" src="https://crictracker-admin-panel-08032022.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/media/attachments/Parthiv-Patel.jpg" alt="Parthiv Patel" width="639" height="400" layout="responsive" style="max-width: 100%; margin: 0;"></amp-img><figcaption id="caption-attachment-214603" class="wp-caption-text">Parthiv Patel. (Photo by Sydney Seshibedi/Gallo Images/Getty Images)</figcaption></figure>
<p>When India visited Australia in 2003 an interesting contest was on the cards with both the teams having the required ammunition to outperform each other. Amidst the high voltage clash a young keeper-batsman, Parthiv Patel headlined the newspapers for all the wrong reasons. He tried to sledge one of the most celebrated Australian cricketer, Steve Waugh in his final batting essay.</p>
<p>Initially, Parthiv’s team members liked his chirping behind the stumps but it reached a point where he crossed the line of respect. Parthiv taunted Waugh for his defensive approach and egged him to pull-off his famed sweep shots. Everybody got surprised by Parthiv’s attitude including Waugh. The former Australian skipper has even mentioned the event in his <a href="https://www.crictracker.com/shahid-afridi-admits-to-tampering-with-the-ball-by-biting-it-in-his-autobiography/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><strong>autobiography</strong></a>.</p>
<p>However, what people don’t know is Patel’s embarrassing moments in the dressing-room. After the game, most of the senior members of the squad admonished him for his rude behavior. Especially Sachin Tendulkar scolded him for disrespecting a legend of the game. Recently he also admitted in one of the talk shows that he regretted committing that mistake.</p>

<p>The Indian cricket team has millions of followers around the globe. It will be fair to say that the country has produced some of the elite talents in the cricketing community. Most of them have effectively played their role in increasing the popularity of the game and in the process have inscribed their names in the history books. Their presence helped the Indian team in achieving some of the most memorable moments.</p>
<p>However, there are some dark moments which has not been discussed enough in the cricketing circle. These episodes involved some of the legends of Indian cricket. Also, these incidents have always put Indian cricket in a bad light. That&#8217;s why these episodes can be considered as the secrets of the country&#8217;s cricketing journey.</p>
<h3>Here is the list of 10 secrets of Indian cricket people should know</h3>
<h3>1) A friendship not made in heaven</h3>
<figure id="attachment_159954" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-159954" style="width: 640px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-159954" src="https://crictracker-admin-panel-08032022.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/media/attachments/Yuvraj-Singh-and-MS-Dhoni.jpg" alt="MS Dhoni and Yuvraj Singh" width="640" height="400" sizes="(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px"><figcaption id="caption-attachment-159954" class="wp-caption-text">MS Dhoni and Yuvraj Singh. (Photo Source: Instagram)</figcaption></figure>
<p>When India won the 2011 World Cup the two players who led the team in the final moments of their glory are Yuvraj Singh and MS Dhoni. Especially nobody can forget the joyful hug between the two of them after the winning hit. Such has been their friendship that both of them never fail to praise each other on any stage.</p>
<p>However, the friendship didn&#8217;t start on a good note as Yuvraj was not on good terms with Dhoni in the early days of his career. The Punjab cricketer used to taunt Dhoni on the basis of his ethnicity. He used to call him a Bihari and downplay his achievements after his each match-winning performances for the country.</p>
<p>At first, the former Indan skipper ignored the comments but it continued for a long time. That&#8217;s when he retorted and asked Yuvraj the real reason behind his annoying actions. Hearing this the southpaw understood his mistake and started laughing. Since then they became close friends and together they have led the team to various memorable victories.</p>
<h3>2) Differences of opinion</h3>
<figure id="attachment_20851" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-20851" style="width: 627px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-20851" src="https://crictracker-admin-panel-08032022.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/media/attachments/Sourav-Ganguly-Ian-Chappell.jpg" alt="Sourav Ganguly Greg Chappell" width="627" height="352" sizes="(max-width: 627px) 100vw, 627px"><figcaption id="caption-attachment-20851" class="wp-caption-text">Greg Chappell. (Photo Source: Getty Images)</figcaption></figure>
<p>Anybody who is following Indian cricket will be well aware of the Ganguly-Chappell saga. It&#8217;s a time when the country&#8217;s cricket was at its lowest point as the team hogged the limelight for their off-field antics rather than their on-field actions. Mainly the tussle of war between Sourav Ganguly and Greg Chappell formed the plot of the storyline.</p>
<p>Another interesting character of that storyline is Rahul Dravid as he took over the leadership duties in those tough times. Though the issues got resolved after India&#8217;s shock exit in 2007 World Cup there are still some dark clouds hovering the incident. It is clear from the contradicting statements made by the two former Indian skippers.</p>
<p>As per Dada in one-off his dressing-room conversations with Dravid, the right-hander expressed his disappointment of failing to control the decisions taken by Greg Chappell. In a turn of events, Dravid denied such discussions and stated that it is just an opinion of his Bengal counterpart. He went onto add that Sourav should not make such remarks without thinking of its consequences. So it can be said that both the cricketers are still not on the same page of the Chappell story.</p>
<h3>3) Honesty is the best policy</h3>
<figure id="attachment_365093" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-365093" style="width: 640px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-365093" src="https://crictracker-admin-panel-08032022.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/media/attachments/Kapil-Dev.jpg" alt="Kapil Dev" width="640" height="400" sizes="(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px"><figcaption id="caption-attachment-365093" class="wp-caption-text">Kapil Dev. (Photo Source: Twitter)</figcaption></figure>
<p>In the history of Indian cricket, the individual who brought sweet smiles to millions of faces is none other than Kapil Dev. By lifting the World Cup in 1983 the Haryana cricketer inspired the entire nation. Still, he found himself in the most untoward situation when he was accused of spot-fixing.</p>
<p>At the dawn of this century, several columns started rolling out questioning the honesty of the legendary cricketer. Amidst this, he also made an appearance in one of the talk shows hosted by Karan Thapar. There the journalist asked him about the match-fixing allegations made against him.</p>
<p>For all his courageous efforts on the field, Kapil couldn&#8217;t control his emotions and broke down while justifying his innocence. He further added that he would prefer suicide rather than accepting bribes for betraying his country. Eventually, he was cleared of his charges but there are a couple of sting operations where former Indian players have accused him of bribing them. In the end evidence matters and in this case there was none which proves Kapil&#8217;s integrity.</p>
<h3>4) Dignity saved by the Master</h3>
<figure id="attachment_365097" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-365097" style="width: 640px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-365097" src="https://crictracker-admin-panel-08032022.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/media/attachments/John-Wright-and-Virender-Sehwag.jpg" alt="John Wright and Virender Sehwag" width="640" height="400" sizes="(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px"><figcaption id="caption-attachment-365097" class="wp-caption-text">John Wright and Virender Sehwag. (Photo Source: Getty Images)</figcaption></figure>
<p>Everybody must be knowing the heated incident involving Virender Sehwag and John Wright where the latter almost got into a physical tiff with the former. The reason being Sehwag&#8217;s carefree batting style which annoyed the head coach. As a result, the New Zealander created a hullaballoo in the dressing room but very few people know that it was Tendulkar who resolved the issue.</p>
<p>After a disturbing incident in the dressing-room, Wright realized his mistake. Even skipper Sourav Ganguly approached him and wanted him to apologize to the Delhi cricketer for his reckless behavior. Slowly things started to escalate out of hands by the minute but that&#8217;s when Sachin stepped in and played an important cameo.</p>
<p>The Little Master talked to John where he came to know that he didn&#8217;t do it on purpose and just wanted Sehwag to realize his mistakes. Understanding the gravity of the situation Sachin requested the coach not to apologize as it will degrade the value of his position in the team. Instead, he went to Sehwag and asked him to consider it as an incident where his father scolded his child for his goof-ups. On that day Tendulkar showed his heroics off the field.</p>
<h3>5) Losing it all together</h3>
<figure id="attachment_328941" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-328941" style="width: 640px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-328941" src="https://crictracker-admin-panel-08032022.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/media/attachments/Suresh-Raina-vs-Ravindra-Jadeja.jpg" alt="Suresh Raina vs Ravindra Jadeja" width="640" height="400" sizes="(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px"><figcaption id="caption-attachment-328941" class="wp-caption-text">Suresh Raina vs Ravindra Jadeja. (Photo Source: Twitter)</figcaption></figure>
<p>When India toured the Caribbean land in 2013 the team had their share of ups and downs. Among them, the worst one has to be the on-field spat between Ravindra Jadeja and Suresh Raina. It all started during the Blue team&#8217;s encounter against the hosts when the UP cricketer dropped a couple of catches off Jadeja&#8217;s bowling.</p>
<p>Immediately the left-arm spinner showed his displeasure by muttering some words. Hearing this Raina got enraged and the next thing that happened didn&#8217;t please the Indian fans. Both the players began a verbal duel and their fellow teammates had to separate them. At the time there were also reports that the spat continued in the dressing room.</p>
<p>Still, many people have not been able to figure out the exact details of the entire saga but according to a tabloid, Jadeja provoked Suresh by making inappropriate statements. Jaddu questioned Raina&#8217;s intensity in the field. He pointed out that his demotion from the captaincy role has played a huge part in his poor fielding. Even after playing together for a long time Ravindra didn&#8217;t show enough respect for Raina and cussed a senior member of the side which is not acceptable.</p>
<h3>6) Azharuddin in underworld tailspin</h3>
<figure id="attachment_219980" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-219980" style="width: 640px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-219980" src="https://crictracker-admin-panel-08032022.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/media/attachments/Mohammad-Azharuddin-1.jpg" alt="Mohammad Azharuddin" width="640" height="400" sizes="(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px"><figcaption id="caption-attachment-219980" class="wp-caption-text">Mohammad Azharuddin. (Photo Source: Twitter)</figcaption></figure>
<p>In the &#8217;90s, the Indian cricket was completely marred by match-fixing scandals and one of the players who lost his career in one such typhoon is Mohammad Azharuddin. Instead of getting a proper swansong the Hyderabad cricketer got his effigies burned at the end of the 2000s. Even the BCCI imposed a life ban on him for his suspicious activities.</p>
<p>At first the South African player, Hansie Cronje accused Azharuddin of introducing him to the world of spot-fixing. Thereafter the former Indian skipper became a regular visitor to the CBI offices. Finally, he was pinned down after several months of questioning and due to his shady connections with various bookies.</p>
<p>Moreover, very few people know that the turning point in Azharuddin&#8217;s case was some of his private photographs. It contained him along with the underworld kingpins. There are also reports which state that he had connections with one of the convicts of the 1993 Mumbai bomb blast. As usual, due to lack of evidence, the case never got solved and all the impending charges against him were dropped in 2012.</p>
<h3>7) The selfish act of a selfless cricketer?</h3>
<figure id="attachment_87829" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-87829" style="width: 600px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-87829" src="https://crictracker-admin-panel-08032022.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/media/attachments/Rahul-Dravid-of-India-2.jpg" alt="Rahul Dravid News" width="600" height="412" sizes="(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px"><figcaption id="caption-attachment-87829" class="wp-caption-text">Rahul Dravid. (Photo Source: Getty Images)</figcaption></figure>
<p>Rahul Dravid is a cricketer who defined the true meaning of gentlemen&#8217;s game. Not only with his batting but also with his decision-making skills he has helped the Indian team achieve great heights. However, the only black spot in his professional career has to be the controversial Multan declaration.</p>
<p>The right-hander decided to call off the innings at the most inopportune time and left Sachin Tendulkar stranded on the score of 194. As expected the Mumbaikar was surprised by his captain&#8217;s choice. At first, he reacted furiously to the other members of the dressing room including Dravid. Even in his autobiography, he has expressed the incident as an unfortunate one. Still, Sachin has always come up with positive replies to the questions related to the matter and has repeatedly termed Dravid as his good friend.</p>
<p>As far as Rahul is concerned it is one of the most baffling decisions taken by him as the coach and the senior members didn&#8217;t agree with him. Some die-hard Sachin fans believe that Rahul purposefully denied Tendulkar&#8217;s double century. The reason being the equal number of 200s in their Test career at the time. So if the Little Master could have completed the innings he would have surpassed his teammate. Who knows the Wall might have strained on his personal record for one split second?</p>
<h3>8) Bullying the newcomers</h3>
<figure id="attachment_318874" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-318874" style="width: 640px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-318874" src="https://crictracker-admin-panel-08032022.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/media/attachments/Virat-Kohli-1.jpg" alt="Virat Kohli" width="640" height="400" sizes="(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px"><figcaption id="caption-attachment-318874" class="wp-caption-text">Virat Kohli. (Photo Source: Twitter)</figcaption></figure>
<p>The title might remind you of your college days but such incidents also happen in the Indian cricket team. There have been times when the senior players bully the juniors by putting them in uncomfortable situations. Though it might sound funny sometimes the players can get terrified by such activities. Especially the two episodes which can never be forgotten involve Virat Kohli and Yuvraj Singh as the victims.</p>
<p>In the first one, the Delhi cricketer is intimidated by Yuvraj Singh and Munaf Patel on his first day in the Indian dressing room. They convince Kohli to touch the feet of Sachin Tendulkar, a ritual to enjoy a longer stint in the team. A nervous and teary-eyed Virat bows down before the Master. At that time Sachin told him that he is being fooled by the pranksters of the team.</p>
<p>In the other episode, it is Yuvraj Singh who gets tricked by his skipper, Sourav Ganguly. In his early days, Yuvi was asked to open the innings by Dada. As an obedient student, the Punjab cricketer followed his instructions and started prepping for his new challenge. Seeing him tensed on the match-day, Ganguly finally revealed that he tried to take the mickey out of him.</p>
<h3>9) Mistaken identity</h3>
<figure id="attachment_365091" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-365091" style="width: 640px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-365091" src="https://crictracker-admin-panel-08032022.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/media/attachments/Dawood-Ibrahim.jpg" alt="Dawood Ibrahim" width="640" height="400" sizes="(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px"><figcaption id="caption-attachment-365091" class="wp-caption-text">Dawood Ibrahim. (Photo Source: Twitter)</figcaption></figure>
<p>The incident which stunned the cricketing fraternity has to be the visit of an underworld kingpin, Dawood Ibrahim to the Indian dressing-room. It happened on the eve of the 1986 Austral-Asia Cup final. Seeing him most of the Indian players were taken by surprise including the skipper, Kapil Dev.</p>
<p>As expected Dawood&#8217;s drop-in involved shady activities. He offered bribes to Indian players for winning the final against Pakistan. Immediately Kapil asked him to stay away from the restricted premises. Till now this is the part of the story which has always been discussed by the Indian fans and they hail the former <a href="https://business.facebook.com/crictracker/photos/a.601832999847425/3007491049281596/?type=3&amp;theater" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><strong>Indian skipper</strong> </a>for his brute honesty.</p>
<p>However, there is a twist in the story as he failed to recognize him in the first place. Even Ravi Shastri has admitted that Kapil mistook him for a reputed business tycoon and behaved inappropriately. He only came to know about him after some of his teammates informed him of the stature of Dawood. As per some reports thereafter he went onto apologize to him. Though he didn&#8217;t accept any offers he might have feared for his life.</p>
<h3>10) Digging one&#8217;s own grave</h3>
<figure id="attachment_214603" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-214603" style="width: 639px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-214603" src="https://crictracker-admin-panel-08032022.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/media/attachments/Parthiv-Patel.jpg" alt="Parthiv Patel" width="639" height="400" sizes="(max-width: 639px) 100vw, 639px"><figcaption id="caption-attachment-214603" class="wp-caption-text">Parthiv Patel. (Photo by Sydney Seshibedi/Gallo Images/Getty Images)</figcaption></figure>
<p>When India visited Australia in 2003 an interesting contest was on the cards with both the teams having the required ammunition to outperform each other. Amidst the high voltage clash a young keeper-batsman, Parthiv Patel headlined the newspapers for all the wrong reasons. He tried to sledge one of the most celebrated Australian cricketer, Steve Waugh in his final batting essay.</p>
<p>Initially, Parthiv&#8217;s team members liked his chirping behind the stumps but it reached a point where he crossed the line of respect. Parthiv taunted Waugh for his defensive approach and egged him to pull-off his famed sweep shots. Everybody got surprised by Parthiv&#8217;s attitude including Waugh. The former Australian skipper has even mentioned the event in his <a href="https://www.crictracker.com/shahid-afridi-admits-to-tampering-with-the-ball-by-biting-it-in-his-autobiography/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><strong>autobiography</strong></a>.</p>
<p>However, what people don&#8217;t know is Patel&#8217;s embarrassing moments in the dressing-room. After the game, most of the senior members of the squad admonished him for his rude behavior. Especially Sachin Tendulkar scolded him for disrespecting a legend of the game. Recently he also admitted in one of the talk shows that he regretted committing that mistake.</p>

Some of these incidents coincide with the darkest phases of Indian cricket and that's why it is necessary for people to know about these secrets.

10 Dark secrets of Indian cricket you all should know

The Indian cricket team has millions of followers around the globe. It will be fair to say that the country has produced some of the elite talents in the