A wave from the favourite Bollywood star from the VIP gallery of a cricket ground is enough to give some Goosebumps. IPL is enthralling in that way. But too much light has its share of darkness too. IPL is no exception!
1. The 2012 edition ended in a controversial note as King Khan was banned from the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai. There was a major issue between Wankhede stadium officials and Bollywood star and Kolkata Knight Riders owner Shah Rukh Khan. According to Khan, the security guards at the stadium shoved his daughter Suhana and other kids. He demanded an apology from the Mumbai Cricket Association. The MCA officials said that Khan was drunk and banned him from entering the stadium for five years.
2. The co-owners of Kings XI Punjab Preity Zinta and Ness Wadia were real-life partners but ended their relationship eventually. Both maintained their professional relationships and continued to co-own the team. But, in 2014, it became chaotic when Preity Zinta filed a police complaint against Ness Wadia. The latter was accused of molesting & manhandling Preity Zinta. According to Zinta, Nadia even threatened to kill her. All well that ends well and the two still jointly own the team along with two more partners.
3. An IPL match during 2015 IPL saw the present Indian captain Virat Kohli stepping out of the players’ area to meet girlfriend Anushka Sharma. Although it was raining and the match was at pause, he violated the BCCI guidelines. As per the BCCI guidelines, players are not allowed to go out of their area to meet their friends or family members during matches. Eventually, the board warned Kohli for his conduct.
4. Deepika Padukone was a familiar face in Royal Challengers Bangalore pavilion during the initial days of the league. She was rumoured to date Vijay Mallya’s son Siddharth Mallya at that time as well. And the senior Mallya owns the Bangalore team. After one thrilling win over KKR, Siddharth Mallya was seen grabbing Deepika Padukone and kissing. It was broadcasted live on national television and obviously resulted in a number of controversies.
5. This was probably the most serious and dangerous controversy considered to the game of cricket. Rajasthan Royals, the underdog team won the first IPL title. A major attraction of the team back then was its co-owner Shilpa Shetty, the Bollywood heroine. Soon the franchise was in deep soup due to betting controversy. It became worse when the co-owner and Shilpa Shetty’s husband Raj Kundra confessed to betting on Rajasthan Royal’s matches as well as matches of other teams through a bookie. Eventually, the team was banned for two years.
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