Steve Smith's Biggest Scandals: 3 Moments That Made Headlines

Steve smith's controversies [X.com - @stevesmith49]Steve smith's controversies [X.com - @stevesmith49]

Steve Smith, arguably one of the greatest players of this generation is known for his calm demeanour on the field. Unlike other Aussie cricketers, he is calm and composed and has always led from the front.

However, even the nicest people have a dark past, and Smith, has one too. Throughout his illustrious career, Smith has been involved in some of the biggest scandals, and one of them led to him getting banned from the game of cricket.

In this article, we look at 3 of the biggest controversies surrounding former Aussie captain, Steve Smith.

3) Smith was accused of removing Rishabh Pant's guard mark

During the infamous 2020-21 Border-Gavaskar series, Smith was accussed of removing Rishabh Pant's guard mark during the third Test in Sydney. India needed 407 to script an improbable victory and Pant held the key for a depleted Indian side marred with injuries.

During the Sydney game, a video went viral which showed Smith, shadow-batting during the drinks break, thus removing the guard mark, and forcing Pant to retake the same. He was lambasted for his actions and received considerable flack for what he did.

2) When Smith had a brainfade moment Vs India in 2017

Smith led Australia in the 2017 Border-Gavaskar series, which India won by the barest of margins: 2-1. While the cricket was competitive throughout the tour, the series is still marked by Smith's brainfade moment during the second Test in Bengaluru.

In the game, he was dismissed lbw by India's Umesh Yadav, and after briefly discussing with his partner, Peter Handscomb, Smith was seen glacing at the Aussie dressing room, asking whether to review the lbw decision or not. The act of seeking advise from the dresing room during the game is prohibited and India skipper Virat Kohli also intervened as the matter escalated.

After the match, Smith admitted that his actions were a "brainfade", a momentary lapse in judgement.

1) When Smith cheated to win - the Sandpaper gate incident

The Smith-led Australian side travelled to South Africa for a 4-match Test series. Entering the third Test, the series was evenly poised at 1:1, and in a desperate attempt to win the contest, Australian team did the unthinkable.

Australia's Cameron Bancroft was shown on the television coverage and on screens at the ground appearing to rub the ball with a small yellow object. After Bancroft saw what happened on the live screen, he attempted to hide the object, but it was too late.

The umpire's intervened and Bancroft was questioned for his actions. During the press conference at the end of the day's play, Bancroft, alongside captain Steve Smith that he altered with the ball  using a short length of yellow adhesive tape. To everyone's surprise, Smith stated that he knew about it and was also involved in the activity alongside David Warner.

For their actions, all three players, Smith, Warner and Bancroft were suspended by Cricket Australia.