Top 10 cricket players who were handed life Bans for Match-Fixing

The game of cricket has always been known as the gentlemen’s game. With the emerging developments in the sport, cricket now has a very broad reach in the global scenario. Needless to say, the influx of money and popularity are only a subsequent result of it. Obvious enough, this is a big plus for the sport. However, there have been instances when the popularity and money have taken over the passion for the game.

The cricketers, who are revered worldwide, have had a ‘brain fade’ moment which has seen them ended up indulging in unscrupulous practices. Over the years, there have been several cricketers who have been involved in match fixing and spot fixing. With the growing money in the game, the interest of the bookies were bound to soar high and the illegitimate approaches made to players grew too.

Here we pick 10 such prominent cricketers who were caught in such scandals and were banned from the game. There have been a few like Mohammad Amir, Herschelle Gibbs, Ajay Jadeja, and Marlon Samuels who were banned for specific time periods. And then there have been a few who were banned for life and long periods.

Let's look at the top 10 cricketers who got banned for life due to their involvement in match-fixing scandals:

1. Mohammad Azharuddin (Life ban – overturned in 2012)

Former Indian captain Mohammad Azharuddin is revered as one of the leading captains that the Indian team has ever had. It would not be wrong to state that the men in blue started to flourish under his leadership in the late 90s. A prolific batsman renowned for his nonchalant wristwork, Azharuddin reportedly fell in the trap of match fixing. During the 2000 series against South Africa, he was alleged to have associations with bookies and was subsequently banned for life.

The reports claimed that he had introduced the South African skipper Hansie Cronje to betting. Also, spy revelations from Manoj Prabhakar for Tehelka proved to bring a lot of infamy to him. His story was later documented in Bollywood movie titled ‘Azhar’. It was on November 8, 2012 when his ban was overturned due to lack of evidences.