Spot-fixing and betting cases In the
2012 IPL spot-fixing case, the BCCI imposed a lifetime ban on
Deccan Chargers player
TP Sudhindra and suspended four other players. In a
sting operation,
Pune Warriors India player
Mohnish Mishra was recorded alleging that IPL franchise owners paid players
black money, over and above their salaries. Mishra later apologized for his "frivolous and incorrect statements". In the
2013 IPL spot-fixing and betting case, Delhi police arrested
Rajasthan Royals players
Ajit Chandila,
Ankeet Chavan and
S. Sreesanth on charges of spot-fixing; they received lifetime bans from the BCCI. The police also arrested
Gurunath Meiyappan, the team principal of
Chennai Super Kings and son-in-law of then BCCI president
N. Srinivasan, for illegally betting on IPL matches and passing team information to bookmakers. In 2015, the
Lodha Committee, appointed by the Supreme Court of India, banned Rajasthan Royals and Chennai Super Kings for two years. Meiyappan and Rajasthan Royals co-owner
Raj Kundra were found guilty of betting and banned from any involvement with the game. Justice
RM Lodha said, "Disrepute has been brought to cricket, the BCCI and the IPL to such an extent that there are doubts abound in the public whether the game is clean or not."
Strategic timeouts In the
2009 season, the IPL introduced the "strategic
timeout", a seven-and-a-half minute break at the end of the tenth over in each innings. Teams and players, including
Sachin Tendulkar, disapproved of it for interrupting the flow of play, while critics labelled it a "commercial use of an extended drinks break" as every 10-second advertisement slot was sold for over ₹5 lakh. IPL stakeholders have described strategic timeouts as unavoidable, as they provide the BCCI with sponsorship revenue and allow broadcasters additional time for advertisements.
Incidents with players During the 2008 season, Mumbai Indians player
Harbhajan Singh slapped
S. Sreesanth at the end of a match, resulting in Harbhajan being fined and banned from the remaining games of the season. Years later, Harbhajan apologized to Sreesanth on television. In 2010, the BCCI banned
Ravindra Jadeja from the IPL for one year after he violated league guidelines by negotiating a more lucrative contract with other teams instead of renewing his contract with the Rajasthan Royals.
Team ownership controversies In April 2010, IPL commissioner
Lalit Modi revealed that
Sunanda Pushkar, who was described at the time as a "close friend" of the Minister of State for External Affairs
Shashi Tharoor, held
sweat equity shares in
Rendezvous Sports World (RSW), the proprietor of the newly auctioned franchise
Kochi Tuskers Kerala. Since Tharoor had mentored RSW's successful bid for the Kochi franchise, members of his
Indian National Congress party demanded his resignation. Pushkar gave up her 4.7% sweat equity estimated to be worth ₹70 crore, while Tharoor resigned over charges of
conflict of interest and allegations that Pushkar was acting as a proxy for him. Tharoor married Pushkar in August later that year. In April 2010, the BCCI president
Shashank Manohar claimed in a press conference that the IPL Governing Council did not know the true owners of the Rajasthan Royals (RR) and Kings XI Punjab (KXIP). He stated that during the franchise bidding process, only
Preity Zinta had initially come forward to bid for KXIP, but the franchise agreement was later signed by a different company in which she held no ownership stake. He cited similar irregularities in the bidding process for RR, adding that the BCCI's permission had not been sought before the owners of RR sold a part stake to
Shilpa Shetty and
Raj Kundra, and that the mandatory 5% share transfer fee had not been paid. Both franchises were briefly terminated in October 2010 over alleged violations of the franchise agreement, before the terminations were overturned by the
Bombay High Court in December 2010. In April 2010, former BCCI president
A. C. Muthiah filed a Supreme Court petition against Chennai Super Kings (CSK) owner
N. Srinivasan, claiming that the then-BCCI president Srinivasan altered BCCI's rules to allow himself to purchase an IPL team and that owning an IPL team was a case of
conflict of interest. A few months later, Indian media, citing an alleged leaked e-mail, accused former IPL commissioner
Lalit Modi of helping Srinivasan's team buy
Andrew Flintoff in the 2009 player auction. During a hearing of the
2013 betting case in which Srinivasan's son-in-law and CSK's team principal
Gurunath Meiyappan was suspended by the
Lodha Committee, the Supreme Court criticized Srinivasan for owning an IPL team while serving as the BCCI president. As of 2024, Srinivasan's family was reported to exercise control over
Chennai Super Kings Cricket through a significant ownership stake; his daughter
Rupa Gurunath often appears in stadiums during CSK's games.
Slow over rates Field umpires sometimes penalize teams by restricting them to having only four fielders outside the 30-yard area, or match referees penalize captains and team members by reducing their match fees, but these measures have not solved the problem. Games often run at a slow speed and finish late. During the
2024 season, Rishabh Pant, captain of Delhi Capitals, and Shubman Gill of Gujarat Titans were fined ₹12 lakhs each for their teams' slow over rates during matches against Chennai Super Kings. Millions of viewers feel that IPL matches should be fast-paced.
Security issues Ahead of the
2009 season, the Indian government declined to provide security for the IPL, citing that central security forces would be engaged in the
general elections. As a result, the BCCI shifted the season to
South Africa. A similar decision by the Indian government in
2014, when the IPL again coincided with the
general elections, led to the opening 20 matches being held in the
United Arab Emirates, with the tournament returning to India on 2 May 2014. On 9 May 2025, the
2025 season was suspended for one week during the
India-Pakistan conflict. As several airports in North India were closed, the
Indian Railways organized special
Vande Bharat Express trains for players, support staff, commentators, production crew members, and operations staff on the request of the BCCI.
Exclusion of Pakistani and Bangladeshi players Following the
November 2008 terrorist attacks in
Mumbai by Pakistan-based terrorist group
Lashkar-e-Taiba, geopolitical tensions surged between India and Pakistan. The aftermath of the attack led to the exclusion of Pakistani players from playing in the IPL, as none of them were picked by any team during the
2009 IPL auction. While they had been selected by several teams for the inaugural
IPL season in 2008, their
contracts were terminated before the 2009 edition, and have been excluded for subsequent editions. Among the critics of the BCCI and IPL owners has been retired cricketer and former Pakistan prime minister
Imran Khan, who stated that they "take it out on Pakistan players". He accused the BCCI of "arrogance" but also stated that "Pakistan should not worry about it". Certain Pakistani players, including
Hasan Ali and
Sohail Tanvir expressed disappointment about not getting an opportunity to be a part of the IPL. In addition to the exclusion of Pakistani players from the IPL, India refused to play with Pakistan in any bilateral series and pulled out from the
2009 series. For the
2010 IPL season auction, as no franchise bid for any Pakistani player, it led to major protests in Pakistan. As a result of not being selected, several players such as
Shahid Afridi and
Abdul Razzaq expressed disappointment, while former leg spinner
Abdul Qadir stated that Pakistan should form its own league. Subsequently, it led to the formation of
Pakistan Super League, which had its first season in 2016. During the
2025 IPL auction on 24 and 25 November 2024 at Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, 13 Bangladeshi players were registered, out of which 12 were auctioned. However, none of the players were sold, prompting a backlash from Bangladeshi fans and cricketers. After the auction concluded, the exclusion of Bangladeshi players was largely supported by Indians following the
violence against Hindus in Bangladesh in the aftermath of
resignation of
Sheikh Hasina on 5 August 2024. Following the
2026 IPL auction in December 2025 at Abu Dhabi, controversy arose after
Kolkata Knight Riders bought Bangladeshi cricketer
Mustafizur Rahman, due to the geopolitical tensions caused by the
violence against Hindus and
lynching of Dipu Chandra Das in
December 2025. Following an outcry and widespread condemnation across India, the BCCI on 3 January 2026 requested the team to release Rahman. The incident led to the
Bangladesh Cricket Board request the
International Cricket Council to shift their matches against India in the
2026 Men's T20 World Cup, co-hosted by India and Sri Lanka, to be solely held in Sri Lanka, similar to that of Pakistan's. Due to unresolved disagreements between the ICC and BCB, the Bangladesh team was later officially replaced by the Scotland team. == See also ==