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23 Years Before Ishan Kishan, Even Sachin Tendulkar Was Involved In Ball Tampering Controversy

Sachin Tendulkar scuffs the seam. [Source: @QamarMumtaz/X]Sachin Tendulkar scuffs the seam. [Source: @QamarMumtaz/X]

India wicket-keeper batter Ishan Kishan, part of the current India A setup in Australia, found himself in the middle of a heated exchange with umpire Shaun Craig over a ball-change decision in Mackay today. Not directly accused of ball tampering as an official Cricket Australia statement cited "deterioration" as the reason behind changing the ball, Kishan’s “inappropriate behaviour” could’ve put him in trouble with regard to facing a sanction.

Kishan, 26, is not the first Indian player to be directly or indirectly involved in a ball tampering controversy. In fact, there is some strange relation between Indian cricketers, ball tampering and the month of November.

23 years before Kishan, even Master Blaster Sachin Tendulkar was part of such a dispute. Unlike Kishan, however, Tendulkar was accused of changing the condition of the ball. Subsequently, he was handed a one-Test match ban and fined 75% of his match fee.

For the unversed, all hell had broken loose during and after the second Test match of India’s tour of South Africa 2001 in Port Elizabeth (now Gqeberha). Othan than Tendulkar, five Indian players namely Sourav Ganguly, Virender Sehwag, Harbhajan Singh, Shiv Sunder Das and Deep Dasgupta were also handed with similar punishments for different reasons.

What followed was not only a furore among fans but also in the Indian parliament. Kirti Azad, former cricketer and a Member of Parliament at the time, raised the issue. Elsewhere, protests had erupted on the roads of several Indian cities.

What Really Happened During 2001 Ball Tampering Controversy?

Tendulkar, then 28, was brought to trial for allegedly vandalizing the condition of the ball. While all of this started with the match still in play, Tendulkar’s fault was that he cleaned the ball without informing the on-field umpires.

Caught on camera scuffing the seam, Tendulkar maintained his stance of doing it to remove dust off the ball. Such an act is acceptable but has to be done under the supervision of umpires. Tendulkar failing in his duty to do the same inspired match referee Mike Denness to charge him of ball tampering.

Reactions And Aftermath To The Incident

The Indian fraternity getting angry over the whole episode would be an “understatement”. Denness, whose effigies were burnt in India, also faced charges of “racism”.

“Sachin Tendulkar is above suspicion. Playing cricket for so many years, he has had a blemishless record. I think this allegation is an insult to all Indians,” former BCCI (Board of Control for Cricket in India) President Raj Singh Dungarpur had said as quoted by ESPNcricinfo.

Other notable voices refused to believe that a player of Tendulkar’s integrity brought disrepute to the game. Working as a commentator in the series, former India all-rounder Ravi Shastri was brave enough to even confront Denness in an infamous press conference remembered for the Englishman not giving away anything.

"If Mike Denness cannot answer questions, why is he here? We know what he looks like," Shastri has said.

Barring Sehwag, who was suspended for “excessive appealing”, sanctions of all the remaining five cricketers were removed. As requested by the BCCI, Denness was removed as a match referee for the third Test which ended up becoming an unofficial contest between the two teams.