Dubai: Cricket has always been regarded as a gentleman's game but, over the years, there have been many players who have stolen the attention of fans across the world with their bad-boy image.
Interestingly, some of them have also backed up their antics with amazing skill. Flawed character may have eventually led to the ruin of many a talent but some still survived to make a mark in the game.
Ian Botham is hailed as Britain's finest sportsman and his heroics in the 1981 Ashes series are still talked about with reverence. However, there were many traits in him that would not have made the ideal impression on a rising cricketer. Botham enjoyed his drinking binges and in 1986 became the first cricketer to be punished for drug use.
He got suspended for two months for using cannabis. It's another matter that he still went on to retire as one of the greatest allrounders the game has ever produced.
Unquestionable ability
Shane Warne, the legendary Australian leg spinner who went on to break all records, was no different. He smoked heavily, had a short temper and loved to be a woman's man. He even got caught for using a class of drugs classified as diuretics and was banned from cricket.
Even after his retirement, while playing in the Indian Premier League (IPL), he continued to sport the bad boy image. In the just-concluded IPL, he had a public spat with a state association secretary and got fined.
Warne still managed to cut it as a brilliant captain in the IPL but was not considered to lead Australia in the long term on account of the negative perception about him rather than his abilities as a player.
Pakistan's Shoaib Akhtar who holds the world record for the fastest delivery in the history of the game has done everything that defies the spirit of cricket.
He got caught for using banned drugs, tampered the ball, abused opponents, allegedly smoked cannabis in a night club, allegedly slapped former Pakistan coach Bob Woolmer and also hit his teammate Mohammad Asif with a bat.
Yet Akhtar was a genuine match-winner although in the end his indisciplined lifestyle eventually caught up with him.
England's Andrew Flintoff was undoubtedly a great allrounder. It was his splendid performances that ended Australia's dominance in the Ashes series.
Unfortunately, he had a weakness for alcohol and was spotted at 3am on a pedalo boat off the coast of St Lucia after England played their first World Cup match in the West Indies. However, despite all these bad traits, he may have gone on to break many records had it not been for a nagging knee injury.
Temperamental stars
India's Yuvraj Singh is one of the most talented players the country has produced but he will also rank high among the bad boys. A weakness for the night life and indiscipline has often set him back and even cost him his place in the team. He holds the record for six sixes in an over and is hailed as one of the finest hitters in the contemporary game.
He was ajdudged the man of the final in the World Cup final earlier this year. Despite being senior to Mahendra Singh Dhoni, his bad image has resulted in him not being considered as India's captain.
Andrew Symonds of Australia is no different. He was sent home from the Twenty20 World Cup due to many alcohol-related incidents. From being a match-winner he lost his place in the team.
India's Shantakumaran Sreesanth too has earned a negative reputation with his inability to rein in his temper. He pushed the limits of sledging to new heights and even forced captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni not to consider him in the team.
Despite his temperament he remains one of the finest bowlers in Test cricket. There are many cricketers who have succeeded in checking their vices to become great players.
Topmost among them is Australia's Ricky Ponting. In 1999, he was even dropped from the Australian squad due to his addiction to alcohol and following an incident at a Sydney night club.
An altercation at the night club saw Ponting knocked out with a black left eye. He was time and again caught for breaking the team's curfew but soon recovered from his excesses to be recognised as one of the contemporary game's greatest batsmen and captains.
New Zealand's Stephen Fleming who went on to become that country's most successful captain after breaking into the team as a 22-year-old was caught in 1995 for smoking marijuana with teammates Matthew Hart and Dion Nash. Fleming later went on to become a role model for his peers.
