IPL biggest controversies: The Indian Premier League i.e. IPL was launched in the year 2008, just the next year after the start of the T20 World Cup. Now this tournament has made its mark as the biggest T20 league in the world. Apart from Australia and England, players from other cricket teams including New Zealand, South Africa have managed to make their mark through this league so far.

A look at some of the biggest controversies in IPL history (IPL biggest controversies)

Year after year, the IPL has also seen many controversies in its 17-year history. Three days from now, IPL 2025 will start at Eden Gardens with defending champions Kolkata Knight Riders and Royal Challengers Bangalore hosting. In such a situation, we are going to tell you about some of the biggest controversies in IPL history through this article.

Bhajji slaps Sreesanth

The first major controversy in IPL happened in the first season of 2008. When Punjab Kings (then Kings XI Punjab) defeated Mumbai Indians by 66 runs in Mohali on April 25, PBKS pacer S Sreesanth was seen crying after being slapped by MI captain Harbhajan Singh. Pacer Sreesanth had a habit of harassing his opponents and Harbhajan was irritated by his act, and slapped him. Harbhajan later apologized for the incident.

Shahrukh Khan banned from entering Wankhede Stadium

In the fifth season of IPL in 2012, Gautam Gambhir-led Kolkata Knight Riders won their first IPL title in five attempts. They defeated Chennai Super Kings in the final at Chepauk. In this way, captain MS Dhoni missed out on completing a hat-trick of titles. However, that season also saw KKR co-owner Shah Rukh Khan getting into a heated argument with security personnel at the Wankhede Stadium during his team's away game against Mumbai Indians on May 16. Though the Gambhir-led side continued their march towards the playoffs by winning that match by 32 runs, Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan had to face a five-year ban from the iconic cricket venue for his scuffle with the stadium's security personnel.

Two fierce fights between Kohli and Gambhir

Both Virat Kohli and Gautam Gambhir have been aggressive players. The two have clashed with each other several times during their illustrious careers. The first incident happened during Royal Challengers Bangalore's home game against then defending champions Kolkata Knight Riders at Chinnaswamy in 2013. Soon after he was dismissed for 35 off 27 balls while chasing RCB's target of 155, Kohli got involved in a war of words with KKR captain Gambhir before walking back to the dugout. A decade later, Kohli again encountered Gambhir during RCB's away game against Lucknow Super Giants, this time as the mentor of LSG. However, Gambhir once again got into a spat with Kohli over Afghan pacer Naveen-ul-Haq.

2013 spot-fixing scandal

The sixth season witnessed the infamous spot-fixing scandal involving three Rajasthan Royals cricketers, which is arguably the biggest scandal in IPL history. Sreesanth was arrested by the Delhi Police along with RR teammates Ajit Chandila and Ankit Chavan on charges of spot-fixing soon after the match against Mumbai Indians at the Wankhede on May 15.

When Dhoni stormed out on the field, angry at umpire's decision

Legendary captain and wicketkeeper-batsman Dhoni is known for his calm demeanour even under the most pressure situations. 'Thala' is said to have lost his temper on the field on a few occasions during the IPL and one of them was when he barged into the field of play from the dugout during CSK's match against RR in Jaipur.

Dhoni was dismissed on the third ball of Chennai's final over while chasing a target of 152 set by Rajasthan but soon returned to the field in anger when a full toss by Ben Stokes was initially given out as a waist-high no-ball by the umpire but was overruled by the square-leg umpire. However, 'Captain Cool' had to pay a fine of 50 per cent of his match fee for his aggressive attitude.