Most hated XI in international cricket

It is not so difficult to determine how a player can make his way into the fans’ hearts, but scoring in matches of relative importance and contributing profusely to the team’s success. The fans also adore cricketers who come up with miraculous performances, like Yuvraj Singh’s outstanding all-round effort in the 2011 Cricket World Cup.

Hatred, on the other side, is a much complex and difficult concept to understand. Sometimes, a few players could receive unparalleled hatred despite not doing anything heinous intentionally. Since the game is called the “Gentleman’s game”, the fans also take notice of some cricketers who are a wee bit too aggressive and tend to not like it.

There are many stories of cricketers in the past which made the fans hate certain individuals a lot. While sometimes it isn’t completely justifiable, it is also inevitable. Could the cricketers have done much to rectify it? Maybe yes, maybe not in some cases.

Let’s take a look at these eleven cricketers who in the past and present received great hatred as a player:

1. Salman Butt

A talented opener who perhaps had everything in his arsenal to become an all-time great, Salman Butt remained a country mile away from greatness and he only has himself to blame. The way things escalated and transformed in his case is a lesson to many youngsters, to think twice before stepping into a path in life.

In 2010 he was implicated of allegations in spot-fixing and eventually was banned from playing cricket. Interestingly, he was the captain of the side when this incident happened. Although the ban on him was lifted in 2015, he never really came back at the top level. Not just the Pakistani fans, but also the global cricketing audience dislike the 34-year-old for throwing away such an amazing future into the bin.

2. Jesse Ryder

How many of you remember a healthy, yet muscular Jesse Ryder at the top of New Zealand‘s batting order tormenting the bowlers for fun? There were comparisons being drawn to some of the greatest hitters of the game and clearly, Ryder had it in him to etch his name forever in not just New Zealand’s history, but everywhere. What really stopped him from achieving the greatness he was associated with for so long is a question that still haunts many fans.

Ryder indulged in a “late night drinking session” during the series against Windies in 2009, which saw him getting dropped. His drinking problem was becoming serious with every passing day and his performances started to dip, with the cricketer losing his composure. He was also attacked in a bar in 2013 by some other drunkards, where he suffered a skull fracture and was medically induced into a coma.

Sadly, the game where Corey Anderson scored a 36-ball century, Ryder too chipped in with a hundred and that was his last association with New Zealand in International cricket. The 34-year-old’s tragic turn of events didn’t go down well with many Kiwi fans who were already seeing their side struggle so badly during that time.

Also check: 10 Legendary cricketers who deserved a farewell match