Top 10 cricketing controversies of the decade

Pakistan’s spot-fixing scandal of 2010

Right at the start of the decade, one of the biggest controversies in the history of cricket broke out. The legitimacy of the game came into question as well. Three of Pakistan’s top cricketers were involved in spot-fixing in 2010 during their tour of England. They had taken money to underperform at certain stages of the game.

Mohammad Amir, Salman Butt and Mohammad Asif had decided to betray their loyalty to the game in exchange of money. Amir deliberately bowled huge no-balls in the Lord’s Test against England and it was later confirmed that his captain at the time, Butt and fellow fast bowler Asif were involved as well.

Amir was just 18 years old and had already shown signs of becoming a great fast bowler. However, one wrong step and everything went for a toss. He pleaded guilty and was banned for five years. Butt was banned for 10 years while Asif copped a seven-year ban as well.

These two didn’t plead guilty and admit their wrongdoing early on. Thus, they were handed out jail terms as well. Butt was sentenced for 30 months while Asif served a year-long term. Amir went to jail for six months as well. It was one of the darkest days in the history of cricket.