Top 10 Banned Cricketers In Cricket

Over the years, controversies surrounding cricket have marred the beauty of 'the gentleman's game', with match-fixing, being the ugliest blotch in it.

The conviction of Pakistani cricketers Salman Butt, Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Amir on charges of spot-fixing has come as a shock to cricket-lovers and the cricketing community. Time and again, allegations of match-fixing against players surface bringing shame to the spirit of the game. Throughout the history of cricket, there have been a number of players that have been banned from the game of cricket for match-fixing and here are 10 of them.

1. Hansie Cronje

Hansie Cronje, the man whom batting maestro Sachin Tendulkar considered the toughest bowler to bat against, was charged with match-fixing on April 2000, along with other South African cricketers, Herschelle Gibbs, Nicky Boje and Pieter Styrdom. Denials were made by the South African cricket board as well as the players with regard to the allegations levelled against them. 3 Days later, Cronje was sacked as captain after confessing that he hadn't been "entirely honest". a number of startling revelations were made by players and Cronje himself, about his dealings with bookmakers. Cronje was banned from playing or coaching cricket for life on 11 October. After approximately 2 years, Cronje, aged 32, died in a plane crash, which also killed his two pilots.

2. Mohammad Azharuddin

Azharuddin was the shining star of the Indian cricket team till the time he played for the team. He was an excellent batsman and fielder and an inspirational leader of his team. He is the one of the most successful captains of Team India, statistically, with a record win of 103 ODI matches as captain that is still unmatched. However, allegations of match fixing were levelled on him after Hansie Cronje's confession which named Azharuddin as the main person who introduced the bookies to him. A CBI enquiry followed and Azharuddin, eventually admitted to fixing 3 ODI matches. This led him into being banned from cricket for life by BCCI in the year 2000, which was lifted six years later.

3. Manoj Prabhakar

Manoj Prabhakar was a significant part of the Indian cricket team in the early 1990s. He was a shrewd bowler who made batting difficult for his opponents. His career was, however, short-lived as he retired immediately after being dropped from the squad in the 1995-96 World Cup. In 2000, he tried to implicate other cricketers, including Kapil Dev, in the match-fixing controversy which backfired on him. He was found guilty of involvement in match-fixing and was handed a 5-year ban by BCCI. He then tried, unsuccessfully, to enter politics and then took to coaching for good.

4. Herschelle Gibbs

The match-fixing allegation that consumed Hansie Cronje's cricketing career also blotted Herschelle Gibbs's career. In a heart-breaking moment he tearfully admitted that he had, in fact, accepted $15,000 to score "less than 20" in an ODI match from captain Cronje. He however, could not convince himself to keep his side of the bargain and scored 74 instead. He was therefore banned only for 6 months following which he came back to the South African team and resurrected himself as a player of class and worth.

5. Henry Williams

Like Herschelle Gibbs, Williams too had agreed to underperform at an ODI match in Nagpur. The South African bowler, however injured his shoulder and couldn't complete his second innings, as a result of which he didn't receive any payment. He too was banned from international cricket for 6 months. He never returned to play cricket and later became the bowling coach at Boland.

6. Marlon Samuels

The West Indian cricketer was accused by the Indian Police of leaking out team information to a bookie prior to their match against India in 2007. The police claimed to have a taped conversation between Samuels and a bookmaker, Mukesh Kochchar. In 2008 he was banned by ICC for 2 years after being found guilty of breaking rules made to stop players from betting despite him claiming innocence throughout. After the expiry of his ban, he once again resumed the game of cricket, playing for Jamaica and then for West Indies.

7. Ajay Jadeja

Ajay was the darling of the Indian team thanks to his brilliant fielding and equally good batting. The findings of a CBI inquiry found him guilty with match-fixing following which he was banned by the BCCI for 5 years. Jadeja challenged the ban in the Delhi High Court, which was dismissed after no one represented his case when the petition was taken for hearing. Later, however, he was permitted to play domestic matches following which he became the captain of Delhi and Rajasthan. In the meanwhile, he joined Bollywood, though he never found success in it.

8. Maurice Odumbe

Maurice Odumbe was one of Kenya's leading players. Following allegations of match-fixing yet again in the year 2004, ICC found Odumbe guilty of receiving money from bookmakers and was subsequently banned from cricket for 5 years. After his suspension, Odumbe became heavily involved in social work especially helping AIDS orphans. After the completion of his ban he returned to playing cricket, but at a domestic level.

9. Ajay Sharma

Ajay Sharma was considered to be the most prolific run-maker in first class cricket with an average of 67.46. He had many records behind him in domestic cricket but had an average show in the Indian Cricket team. His career finally ended after he was awarded a life ban following his implication in a match-fixing scandal.

10. Saleem Malik

Saleem Malik was a prominent part of the Pakistani cricket team till a notable period of time. He played many memorable innings for the country and even captained the team at one stage. He was accused of offering bribes and was handed a life ban in 2000 becoming the first cricketer ever to be banned. He claimed innocence from the very beginning, which was later found to be true. His ban was overturned in 2008, but he never returned to playingcricket again.

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IPL Final: 'Nervous' Shah Rukh Khan Tweets Updates as Kolkata Knight Riders Play Kings XI Punjab

Shah Rukh Khan - co-owner of Kolkata Knight Riders - tweeted a picture of his team's jersey with AbRam written on it. Wrote on the micro-blogging that he can't stop tweeting which may be a sign of nervousness as Kolkata Knight Riders play Kings XI Punjab for the IPL 2014 title.

Bangalore:  Shah Rukh Khan's Indian Premier League (IPL) franchise Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) won the title in 2012 and they have again reached the finals of the seventh edition being played here on Sunday. The superstar admits to being nervous, but says he has nothing to lose and tweeted a picture with AbRam written on it.



"As long as I will do justice to that moment in which I exist, I have nothing to fear. The rest does not matter," tweeted SRK before the match.

But he is nervous about the result.

"I am getting a feeling that my constant tweeting is a sign of nervous excitement. Fingers are not stopping," added SRK whose daughter Suhana is with him at the M. Chinnaswamy stadium.

The “Main Hoon Na” star has three children -- son Aryan, daughter Suhana with wife Gauri, and baby boy AbRam, who was born through surrogacy in 2013.

While his daughter and her friends are all up to watch the match live here, his other family members are back home in Mumbai.

“We are kind of ready in all shapes and sizes. Bring it on. Go my KKR,” Shah Rukh shared along with a photograph with AbRam’s name written on it, but it is not clear whether its a jersey or a T-shirt.

“Suddenly, wish for all around me. Wife is babysitting lil one, miss her. Aryan in school. But my army of lil girls with me. Ready steady po,” he further tweeted.

"Two hearts racing. My KKR & mine. They say when two hearts race… both win. So let’s wish for more and dream a little higher. Love you, my boys,"

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Fastest Cars In The World: Top 10 List 2014

While most of us can only dream of owning the fastest car in the world, some will do whatever it takes to possess one.

Here are 10 of the fastest street legal cars available in the market (production models, as opposed to concept or modified cars) these are tested, measured and verified top speeds (theoretical speeds do not count).

World's Fastest Cars:

1. Hennessey Venom GT: 270 mph (435 km/h), 0-60 mph in 2.5 seconds, has a 7.0 liter LS7 Turbocharged V8 Twin Turbo V8 Engine producing 1244 hp, with a price tag of $1,000,000 and up. The Venom GT is the fastest car in the world when tested again on February 14th, 2014 at NASA runway in Florida. The track was only 3.22 miles long, thus limiting it top speed to 270 mph. Congratulations!

22. Bugatti Veyron Super Sport: 268 mph (431 km/h), 0-60 in 2.4 secs. Aluminum, Narrow Angle 8 Liter W16 Engine with 1200 hp, base price is $2,400,000. After being the fastest car in the world for over 3 years from July 10, 2010, it is now in 2nd place as of February 14, 2014. In the past, the Bugatti Veyron lost the title to SSC Ultimate Aero on March 2007. However, Bugatti challenged the record in Germany on July 10, 2010 with the new Super Sport and reclaimed the title of the fastest car in the world at 268 mph. The original Bugatti Veyron had a top speed of 253 mph, priced at $1,700,000 with 1001 hp.

3. Koenigsegg 

3. Koenigsegg Agera R: 260 mph (418 km/h), 0-60 mph in 2.9 secs. 5.0-liter V8 Engine with twin turbo’s, housing 1099 hp. Base price is $1,600,000. If you're into snow sports, the Agera R can be fitted with a Ski Box as well as winter tires. While the Agera R has a massive theoretical top speed, the current tested top speed is 260 mph. Expect this snow car to be the Bugatti's arch enemy for the next 5 years.

4. SSC Ultimate Aero: 257 mph (413 km/h), 0-60 in 2.7 secs. Twin-Turbo V8 Engine with 1183 hp, base price is $654,400. Tested in March 2007 by Guinness World Records, The SSC Ultimate Aero was the fastest car in the world from March 2007 to July 2010. Shelby SuperCars will continue their quest to reclaim the fastest car title, and their new SSC Tuatura might do the job (we'll just have to wait).

4. 9ff GT9-R: 257 mph (413 km/h), 0-60 in 2.9 secs. The 4.0 Liter flat-6 Twin-Turbo Engine with 1120 hp, comes with a base price of $695,000. Based on the Porsche 911, the 9ff GT9-R 1120 hp version is limited to 20 units and the exterior may be modified to suit the owner.

5. Saleen S7 Twin-Turbo: 248 mph (399 km/h), 0-60 in 2.8 secs. Twin Turbo All Aluminum V8 Engine with 750 hp, base price is $555,000. Smooth and bad-ass. It will make you want to show it off non-stop.


6. Koenigsegg CCX: 245 mph (394 km/h), 0-60 in 3.2 secs. 90 Degree V8 Engine 806 hp, base price is $545,568. Made in Sweden, it is the older brother of the Agera R, only losing to 6 other supercars in the world.

7. McLaren F1: 240 mph (386 km/h), 0-60 in 3.2 secs. BMW S70/2 60 Degree V12 Engine with 627 hp, base price is $970,000. The fastest car in the 20th century with doors that looks like bat wings. Maybe Batman needs to order one and paint it black
8. Zenvo ST1: 233 mph (374 km/h), 0-60 in 2.9 secs. Twin-Charged 7.0 liter V8 Engine forging 1,104 hp. Base price: $1,225,000. The first Supercar from Zenvo Automotive, a Danish sports car company in pursuit of speed and perfection. This 100% Danish made supercar is limited to 15 units and the company even promised "flying doctors" to keep your baby functioning.

9. Pagani Huayra: 230 mph (370 km/h), 0-60 in 3.0 secs. Twin TurboCharged 6.0 liter V12 Engine from Mercedes AMG. It pumps out 720 horsepower to go with its 738 lb ft of torque. It comes with a seven speed auto-manual transmission. Pagani gives the name after the legendary Incan god of wind, Huayra-tata. The starting price is at £849,000, or $1,273,500.
Two at 10th place at 225 mph.
10. Gumpert Apollo: 225 mph (362 km/h), 0-60 in 3.0 secs, 4.2 liter V8 Engine that houses 650 hp. Base price: $450,000. Gumpert claims that the Apollo was designed such that it could drive upside-down in a tunnel with speeds at 190 mph or above. Of course, no one has tested this yet.
10. Noble M600: 225 mph (362 km/h), 0-60 in 3.7 secs. Twin-turbocharged 4.4-liter V8 Engine with 650 hp. Base price is $330,000. The Noble M600 also happens to be a very cool car. Its inconspicuous design sports a slender and contoured body which does not scream out for attention at every second of the d

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Bangladesh players to consult psychologist

Bangladesh's senior players will have three sessions with a psychological skill development coach later this month. The BCB is also looking to hire short-term specialist coaches for all age groups to rectify specific problems in batting and spin bowling.

Bangladesh's recent poor form had prompted this move. They had won only two T20s and drawn a Test match against Sri Lanka since January, during one of their busiest and most high-profile seasons. Defeats to Afghanistan in the Asia Cup and Hong Kong in the World T20 were the low points.

BCB chief Nazmul Hassan has said that apart from speaking to prospective coaches, he has agreed to hire Ali Khan, a psychological skill development coach. He will have sessions with the Bangladesh players on April 24, 27 and 28.

"We are looking for spin and batting coaches," Hassan said. "Yesterday I gave the approval for a psychologist. Our team did well but just after losing to Afghanistan, their morale broke down. The same thing happened after losing to Hong Kong. Previously, we used to fight even after losing.

"We want to keep the head coach and the rest of the coaching staff, but at the same time we want to hire top ex-players to do some specialist camps for all ages, kids and seniors. These are in addition to the regular coaching system."

Hassan added that Saqlain Mushtaq's plan to be with the Bangladesh team only during tours was not feasible for the BCB. Saqlain, the former Pakistan offspinner, was hired for 100 days last year but he has since joined West Indies as their assistant coach, and his last stint as Bangladesh's spin consultant was during the Zimbabwe tour last year.

"It is hard to get a good coach. Saqlain Mushtaq was available but he said he wants to coach the team when they are on tour. What will he coach during a tour? He won't come to Bangladesh, which is a big problem," he said.

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Top 10 Most Unbeatable Cricket Records

Cricket is a game piled high with records and statistics. I've picked ten that ought to be unbeatable and stand the test of time.

1. Don Bradman's 99.94 Test Career Batting Average

In 80 Test cricket innings, Don Bradman-- aka 'The Don' -- scored his runs at an average of 99.94. The next guy on the Test Batting Average  managed a tick over 60. We can do all sorts of mathematical comparisons with these numbers but they would all show one thing: Bradman is the best batsman the game has seen. That Test average of 99.94 is a number you need to know, a kind of shorthand for Bradman's exceptional talent. Just for good measure, his overall first-class average of 95.14 is unlikely to be beaten either.

2. Muttiah Muralitharan's 1347 International Wickets

Murali was only 20 when he first bowled for SiriLanka.. He turned a few heads with his unusual style, not to mentioned sparked a few controversies., but it soon proved effective as he baffled batsmen around the world. Nearly 20 years later, he had 800 Test wickets, 534 one-day international wickets -- both records -- as well as 13 Twenty20 International wickets. For someone to challenge Muralitharan's numbers, they would have to be capable of bowling for long periods of a match, remain injury-free for two decades, and be consistently amongst the best bowlers on the international circuit. It's conceivable, but they will have to be as freakish as Murali.

3. Jack Hobbs' 61,760 First-Class Runs

The game we call cricket simply is not the same game that Sir Jack Hobbs dominated in the early part of the 20th Century. Matches were longer, conditions tougher, and international schedules were limited (of Hobbs' 834 first-class matches, only 61 were Tests). It was a game for gentlemen of leisure, not an intensely physical sport played by professional athletes. It's fitting, then, that Hobbs was by all accounts a true gentleman, and his favourite pastime was to score copious amounts of runs. The game has moved on from Hobbs' era, making his 61,760 first-class runs a relic rather than a realistic target, but he will always be remembered as a legend of the game.

4. Jim Laker's Test Match Bowling Figures of 19/90

That shorthand stands for 19 wickets, 90 runs. In other words, out of 20 Australian wickets to fall at Old Trafford in 1956, England off-spinner Jim Laker missed only one. Ten wickets in a Test match is considered an exceptional achievement; 19 victims is absurd. By comparison, Laker's England colleagues sent down 123 overs between them and only managed one wicket. Ten wickets in a Test innings has been repeated -Kumlay did it in 1999. - but 19 in a match? We'll almost certainly never see it again.

5. Wilfred Rhodes' 4204 First-Class Wickets

Like Jack Hobbs, Wilfred Rhodes played in a less strenuous era, such that it was possible for him to bowl his slow left-arm spin for England well into his fifties. 4204 career wickets.

It isn't entirely surprising that Australia were capable of this feat during their recent golden years. They managed 16 consecutive Test match wins twice, first between 1999-2001 under Steve Waugh and second between 2005-2008 under Ricky Ponting, and nobody would have doubted that they had the talent and desire to do it. However, the real problem with beating this record is the weather. Cricket relies on sunny skies more than most other sports, and the conditions in which Test cricket can be played are strict. A team even playing 16 consecutive Tests without weather interruption is unusual, let alone winning them all. If it ever happens again, you can chalk it up to luck just as much as to skill.

7. Chaminda Vaas' One Day International Bowling Figures of 8/19

left-arm pacer Chaminda Vaas scalped the best one day international bowling figures of all time in 2001. Vaas is still the only player to take eight wickets in a one day international. It's possible, of course, that someone in the future could take nine or even ten, but to do so would be miraculous given the batsman-centric nature of ODIs.

8. Graham Gooch's 456 Runs in a Test Match

In 1990, England captain Graham Gooch hit the highest peak of his prolific career by scoring 456 runs in one test against india. His 333 in the first innings would have given him glory enough, but he then went out and smashed a quick 123 in the second innings as England chased a win, which they duly managed. Super-long innings are becoming rarer and rarer in Test cricket as the influence of Twenty20 extends to the longest form of the game, so it's hard to see Gooch's mark being surpassed.

9. Phil Simmons' Economy Rate of 0.3 in a One Day International

If you bowl out ten overs in a one-dayer, the yardstick for a good performance to finish with an economy rate of less than four runs per over (that's under 40 runs conceded in 1992 against Pakistan.

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Marriage Biography of Umar Akmal

These days that is great news for fans of the club right-handed batsman and Wicket Cricketer Guardian “Umar Akmal ‘has married’ Noor Amna ‘who is the daughter of former leg spinner Abdul Qadir. Umar Akmal Wedding pics are as follow.

Umar Akmal Marriage With Noor Amna Wedding Pics

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