Cricket Year Ender 2025: Top 10 Controversies That Grabbed The Headlines
2025 was rife with cricket controversies, from IPL pitch and ticket disputes to a tragic RCB parade stampede. India-Pakistan tensions at the Asia Cup, umpiring debates, and questions over sportsmanship dominated the sport’s major talking points
The year 2025 is coming to an end, with only a few more weeks left, and the sport has been marked with multiple headline-grabbing controversies, which stirred debates across the cricketing fraternity and kept fans hooked throughout the year.
Let’s take a look at the top cricket controversies that grabbed the headlines, which defined sport’s biggest talking points this year.
Kolkata Knight Riders and the Eden Gardens pitch curator Sujan Mukherjee were at loggerheads over the conditions of the surface during the IPL 2025. The controversy began after KKR captain Ajinkya Rahane lamented over the lack of assistance to the spinners after the defeat to the Royal Challengers Bengaluru in the tournament opener at Eden Gardens Stadium. However, the pitch curator denied Rahane’s request, citing the IPL rule that the teams do not have any say on the pitch.
His statement spiralled into a storm with KKR and the Eden Gardens pitch curator locked in a war of words. Responding to the criticism, Sujan Mukherjee stated that the franchises and players have no say on the pitch, as per the BCCI rule. KKR captain Rahane hit back at the Eden Gardens pitch curator, stating that he received a lot of publicity. This controversy became a major talking in the IPL 2025.
The IPL franchise Sunrisers Hyderabad and the Hyderabad Cricket Association locked horns over the distribution of tickets for the home matches at the Uppal Stadium. The controversy came to light when SRH accused the HCA officials of coercion, intimidation, and blackmail over the allocation of complimentary tickets for the IPL 2025. According to SRH, HCA demanded extra free tickets beyond the agreed quote, which the franchise refused.
As an act of protest, Hyderabad Cricket Association locked one of the corporate boxes during the home match, refusing to allow it unless Sunrisers Hyderabad handed out free complimentary tickets. In response, the franchise threatened to move all the home matches out of Hyderabad, which prompted the state government to intervene. Eventually, both parties came to a resolution over ticket allocation.
Royal Challengers Bengaluru won their maiden IPL triumph, and the victory parade was scheduled to take place in Bengaluru. However, in what should have been a moment of celebration for fans, the parade turned tragic when overcrowding and poor crowd management led to a deadly stampede outside the M Chinnaswamy Stadium, which took the lives of 11 people and injured 50 others.
The RCB management came under fire due to a lack of planning and crowd management in coordination with the event agency. Following the incident, the franchise announced ex gratia of 10 lakh each of the victim’s families, but later increased to INR 25 lakh per victim’s family member through the RCB Cares initiative. Due to the stampede, M Chinnaswamy Stadium was not allowed to host any matches, citing concerns by the commission formed by the Karnataka government.
The fourth Test of the five-match series between England and India witnessed a controversy, wherein Ravindra Jadeja and Washington Sundar refused to shake hands with Ben Stokes and his teammates at Old Trafford in Manchester. Though the draw was inevitable after India extended their first innings lead, Jadeja and Washington were aiming for a century. When the two left-handed all-rounders were nearing a century, Ben Stokes approached them for a handshake, but they refused.
Eventually, India agreed to a draw after Jadeja and Washington completed their centuries. This became a huge topic of discussion, raising questions on Ben Stokes and England’s sportsmanship spirit when their handshake offer was declined in pursuit of individual records, sparking debate over cricketing etiquette and respect between teams.
The Barbados Test between West Indies and Australia was marred by a controversial Decision Review System (DRS) call, and the centre of the controversy is third umpire or TV umpire Adrian Holdstock. The first Test was a gripping contest with both sides firing with the ball, but the controversial DRS calls became a point of discussion. The West Indies were the ones who were affected the most by the wrong DRS calls by Holdstock.
From fine Snicko spikes to disputed low catches, the Roston Chase-led side found themselves on the wrong side of the DRS calls by Adrian Holdstock. Given the inconsistency in DRS decisions in the Barbados Test, there were calls for holding the umpires accountable for wrong judgments, with many urging the ICC to more stricter action against the umpires.
The Asia Cup 2025 clash between India and Pakistan sparked a controversy after the Men in Blue refused to shake hands with their arch-rivals as a mark of protest against the Pahalgam terror attack, wherein 26 Indians were killed by militants. It was already decided that India would not engage in conversation with Pakistan throughout the tournament.
Following the group stage victory over Pakistan, Team India's skipper Suryakumar Yadav dedicated the Men in Blue’s win to the victims of the Pahalgam terror attack and expressed gratitude to the Indian armed forces. The statement rattled the Pakistan Cricket Board, which complained to the International Cricket Council.
Pakistan players Haris Rauf and Shahibzada Farhan sparked controversy during the Asia Cup 2025 Super 4 clash against India. Farhan made a ‘gunshot’ celebration with his bat after completing his fifty, while Rauf followed it up with ‘crashing jet’ and ‘6-0’ gesture, intending to mock the Indian Armed Forces. The BCCI lodged a complaint against Shahibzada Farhan and Haris Rauf with the ICC.
The ICC panel, led by match referee Richie Richardson, declared Rauf’s on-field behaviour as aggressive and fined 30% of his match fee, and he was later handed a 2-match ban. Shahibzada Farhan was left with a demerit point after being found guilty of bringing the game ‘disrepute’ during the Asia Cup 2025. Meanwhile, Suryakumar Yadav and Jasprit Bumrah were also fined 30% match fee each for their respective offences.
Another incident in the Asia Cup was Team India’s refusal to accept the trophy from ACC chief, Mohsin Naqvi, who is also the PCB chairman and Pakistan’s Interior Minister, due to his controversial post on social media. Following the victory in the final against Pakistan, Men in Blue, led by Suryakumar Yadav, were firm on their stand not to take the silverware from Naqvi, who ordered the officials to take away the trophy.
Suryakumar Yadav boycotted the trophy presentation, and the Men in Blue celebrated the night without the silverware. Mohsin Naqvi demanded a formal ceremony to hand over the trophy to Team India, which the BCCI did not accept. It’s been over three months since India won the Asia Cup, but they have yet to get the trophy. According to the latest development, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) and Mohsin Naqvi agreed on an ‘amicable’ solution to end the long-standing dispute that had delayed India’s receipt of the silverware.
South Africa head coach Shukri Conrad sparked a controversy when he used the term ‘grovel’ to describe the intensity with which the team approached the Guwahati Test against Team India. The term has a racial stigma attached to it, and it came to prominence when former England captain Tony Greig used the word ‘grovel’ against the West Indies, only to backfire after the Clive Lloyd-led side crushed England 3-0 in the 1976 Test series.
Given the racial undertones of the term ‘grovel’, Shukri Conrad was heavily criticized by former Indian cricketers, Anil Kumble, Cheteshwar Pujara, Parthiv Patel, and Akash Chopra, who called it ‘disrespectful’.
Women’s Big Bash League 2025 between Adelaide Strikers and Sydney Thunder sparked a major controversy when the on-field umpires called off the rain-affected match when Sydney needed just three runs off 10 balls to win. Adelaide Strikers posted a total of 45/0 in five overs and set a 46-run target for Sydney Thunder to chase.
Despite strong chase and light rain conditions, the match was called off by the on-field umpires, provoking a widespread outrage from the players, commentators, and fans — many called it a “disgrace” and “an utter embarrassment for the game.”