IPL is no longer just a cricket league, it has become an integral part of Indian cricket culture. Every year, runs are scored on the grounds, wickets are taken, arguments take place between the players and the Indian Premier League matches are also full of drama and thrill.
IPL 2026 is starting from March 28, whose first match will be played between Royal Challengers Bangalore and Sunrisers Hyderabad. But it is also true that the bigger the league, the more popularity, the bigger the controversies will be. IPL has seen many big controversies in the last 18 years of its history, but there are five of them which the fans will not be able to forget for many decades to come.
1. Harbhajan Singh’s slapping scandal
In the first season of the Indian Premier League, in 2008, there was a match between Mumbai Indians and Kings XI Punjab (now Punjab Kings), in which Punjab won by 66 runs. But after the match, when both the teams were shaking hands, Harbhajan gave a hard slap to S Sreesanth. Its video was not revealed for years, but the former chairman of IPL had released its video in 2025. Well, Harbhajan has apologized to Sreesanth many times on TV and now their relationship is better than before.
2. Fight between Virat Kohli and Gautam Gambhir
It is not possible that Virat Kohli and Gautam Gambhir are in the field and there is no aggression. After getting out in a match against KKR in IPL 2013, Virat Kohli and Gambhir had an argument on the field. About 10 years later, in IPL 2023, both of them once again had an argument on the field. The difference this time was that Gambhir was not a player but was the mentor of the LSG team. Both of them have come to the media several times and said that all this is part of the game.
3. Ban on Shahrukh Khan
Kolkata Knight Riders defeated Mumbai Indians in a match of IPL 2012. KKR team co-owner Shahrukh Khan clashed with a security guard after the match. It is said that the security guard had misbehaved with Shahrukh’s children. The matter became very heated, after which an FIR was registered against Shahrukh. In this case, Mumbai Cricket Association had banned Shahrukh from Wankhede Stadium for 5 years.
4. Spot fixing scandal
Another incident from 2013, when not only IPL but the entire game of cricket was tainted. First of all, bookie Sunil Bhatia was arrested, after which the match fixing case was linked to three players of Rajasthan Royals. S Sreesanth, Ajit Chandila and Ankit Chauhan were arrested. The case became high-profile when CSK team principal Gurunath Meiyappan and Rajasthan Royals team co-owner Raj Kundra were found involved in illegal betting and Bollywood actor Vindu Dara was also arrested. All three players were banned, while Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals were banned for two years each.
5. Dhoni came to the field to fight with the umpire
MS Dhoni usually does not lose his temper, that is why he is also called ‘Captain Cool’. In April 2019, in a match between Chennai and Rajasthan, CSK had to score 18 runs in the last over to win. Dhoni was sitting in the dugout when RR bowler Ben Stokes bowled a full toss ball which according to Dhoni was a no-ball. The umpire first declared it a no-ball, but the umpire standing at square leg indicated a legal ball. When the decision was changed, Dhoni came to the field and started fighting with the umpire. Dhoni was fined 50 percent of his match fee for this incident.
