Ball Tampering Controversies: Shahid Afridi Chewing the Ball

The recent incident of chewing the ball by Shahid Afridi was indeed unfortunate. Afridi was banned for two T20 matches after this incident. In cricket, players tamper the ball in order to make the situation difficult for the batsmen by gaining the reverse swing with the tampered ball. Mostly, fielders and bowlers tamper balls in frustration and annoyance in case they are loosing the match, maybe.




Instances

- England captain Michael Atherton was accused of ball tampering during the a Test match with South Africa at Lord's in 1994
- Wasim Akram, Waqar Younis and Aqib Javed found tampering balls during Pakistan's visit to England in 1992
- Waqar Younis became the first player to receive a suspension for ball-tampering after a match in 2000
- Tendulkar was suspended for one game ban after getting caught on camera doing something to a ball in a Test in South Africa in 2001
- Rahul Dravid was fined after he rubbed a half-eaten lolly onto one side of the ball during an ODI
- Pakistan Captain Shahid Afridi was suspended for two Twenty20 matches for repeatedly biting the ball in the recent ODI

Well, there are many more allegations of ball tampering in the past -- some had evidences and yet other's couldn't get proved. Ever since the TV telecast has begun, such instances can be easily be caught. While Matches are telecasted Live, we have witnessed such incidents during the match.

Unfortunate, but I don't believe this is the end of the story.