Year-ender 2021: From Kohli-Rohit saga to Paine's Ashes shocker - Controversies that rocked cricket this year

Although it is a gentlemen's sport, it does not go down without some controversies when it comes to cricket. Every year, the sport goes through ups and downs, and the same has been the case in 2021. As the year approaches its end, it makes sense to look at five of the big fusses that staggered the sport this year.

Virat Kohli stripped of ODI captaincy
Starting with the latest and most talked controversy, Kohli was dropped as the Team India One-Day International (ODI) skipper last week. At the same time, the reins were handed to senior opener Rohit Sharma. As reports started to do rounds that Kohli was considering opting out of the ODIs during the upcoming South Africa tour, rumours also began to surface that everything was not right between him, Rohit and the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI).

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Nonetheless, Kohli clarified during a press conference by saying, "I was contacted one-and-a-half hour before selection for Tests. The chief selector discussed with me the Test squad. Before the call ended, I was told that the five selectors had decided that I wouldn't be ODI captain anymore. There was no prior communication about this. I have no problems with Rohit. I've been clarifying this for the last two years. I'm tired of it. Any action or communication from me will never be to demean the team. I'm committed to Indian cricket." He further clarified that he never asked BCCI for a break from SA ODIs.

IPL 2021 bubble breach
The 2021 Indian Premier League (IPL) was being conducted in March-April when halfway through the tournament, the bio-secure bubble of three sides (Chennai Super Kings, Kolkata Knight Riders and Sunrisers Hyderabad) were breached by COVID. Incidentally, India was going through the severe second wave of the coronavirus at the time.

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As panic spread across the tournament, the BCCI opted to suspend the competition. Also, BCCI's decision to conduct the event during the pandemic, along with its six-city travel plan, was heavily criticised. Nevertheless, it was later shifted to UAE in September, where it was safely conducted, with CSK winning it.

New Zealand and England call off Pakistan tour
Pakistan was scheduled to host New Zealand and England in September and October, serially. While NZ arrived for the tour in September, on the day of the first ODI, NZ alerted the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) and Pakistan government of a security threat, leading to the entire tour being called off.

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Later, England too called off its trip, citing it unsafe to travel to the nation, leading to PCB suffering severe financial losses. It came as yet another setback for PCB that has been trying hard to revive international cricket in the region for the past couple of years, with most of the teams touring, including the Windies currently.

Yorkshire racism
English county club Yorkshire was weaved with a racism scandal last month. Former cricketer Azeem Rafiq alleged that the club is involved in deep-rooted racism, revealing some events. Although Yorkshire apologised to Rafiq, he kept fighting. It led to the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) suspending Yorkshire's home ground Headingley from hosting international cricket. In contrast, club skipper Gary Ballance, who admitted to being racist, was indefinitely suspended from the national selection.

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Taliban bans women's cricket
Afghanistan was wavered by political turmoil, with the Taliban taking over. As the Taliban announced its own set of laws to preserve the Islamic heritage, it banned women from playing any sports, including cricket. It also denied television coverage of IPL in the nation for having female spectators in the stands.

As a result, things did not bore down well internationally in terms of cricket. The International Cricket Council (ICC) law mandates any cricketing nation to have a women's team. Also, Cricket Australia (CA) retaliated and took a bold step to postpone its scheduled Test against the Afghanistan male team Down Under.

Tim Paine shockingly resigns as Australian Test skipper
A couple of months back, Paine was subject to sexting a female colleague back in 2017. Baffled and troubled by it, Paine decided to step down as the skipper of the Australian Test side, as he deemed himself incapable of being called a leader. In the meantime, CA was criticised for handling the situation, while later, Paine also decided to take an indefinite break from cricket due to mental health issues.