Ahead of the 19th season, take a look at the top controversies that earned the IPL negative headlines

There is no doubt that the Indian Premier League (IPL) has played a revolutionary role in shaping the T20 format of cricket. Indeed, India has benefited the most from the league, but the league has also influenced other domestic T20 leagues around the world. However, with positives followed the negatives, because no sport or league is free from controversy, and unfortunately, the IPL has also had its share of tough times.

Ahead of the 19th season, check out the controversies that painted a poor picture of the IPL.

Spot-fixing scandal

Sreesanth will be 37 when his ban ends, but he is still confident of bowling "beautiful outswingers and beautiful inswingers" https://t.co/q8oHU7rvUt pic.twitter.com/pFOR704wVG

— ESPNcricinfo (@ESPNcricinfo) August 21, 2019

In 2013, Rajasthan Royals’ (RR) players Sreesanth, Ajit Chandila and Ankeet Chavan were arrested by Delhi police on charges of spot-fixing. The investigation led to charges of spot-fixing and corruption against RR co-owner Raj Kundra and Chennai Super Kings (CSK) team principal Gurunath Meiyappan. The entire incident led to the banning of the Rajasthan Royals and Chennai Super Kings from the IPL for two years.

Slap Gate incident

Lalit modi released an unseen video of bhajji sreesanth slapgate #slap #bhajji #sreesanth #ipl #IPL pic.twitter.com/CIEm3Bt7cs

— Crickmemes (@Cricktracker07) August 29, 2025

In the very first season of the IPL, Harbhajan Singh slapped Sreesanth in one of the games between Punjab and Mumbai. This led to Singh being banned from the remainder of the league, and he was not paid his salary. Not to forget, even the BCCI took cognisance of the unacceptable behaviour and banned Singh from five One-Day internationals.

Ban on SRK

First match of KKR against MI in wankhede.

Need SRK to come and celebrate like this after we beat their asses.pic.twitter.com/bodVH5dFfH

— 🦉 (@Flicks_it) March 11, 2026

Shah Rukh Khan is not only one of the biggest movie stars in Bollywood but is also an integral part of the IPL, given his heavy involvement as the owner of the Kolkata Knight Riders. During one of the games versus the Mumbai Indians in 2012, SRK was involved in a heated exchange with one of the security guards at the venue. The incident led to SRK's ban from the Wankhede Stadium in 2012, which remained in place until 2015.

Ashwin’s Mankading and MCG’s flip-flop

Ashwin mankading Buttler https://t.co/VOspbhkLD9 pic.twitter.com/3IZUWe7enS

— Rohan AD (@RohanAD6) February 24, 2026

In 2019, Ravichandran Ashwin had mankaded Jos Buttler, and Buttler was legally given out by the umpires. The action triggered debate, and MCG gave its opinion, stating that Ashwin was correct. However, the next day, the MCG flipped its statement, saying, "The pause was just too long and therefore not within the spirit of cricket.”

Dhoni’s outburst

Throwback to when MS Dhoni lost his cool and entered the field to argue with Umpire over a no ball, Umpire had to change his decision after this.

I am saying this again and again that Ms Dhoni is the boss of BCCI.

pic.twitter.com/e8YyMwQwWw

— 𝐧𝐨𝐛𝐛𝐢𝐞𝐬𝐪𝐮𝐞² (@RibelRana07) February 17, 2026

Chennai’s former skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni is known for his calm composure on the field. However, during a match versus the Rajasthan Royals, an angry Dhoni left his dugout and walked onto the field due to an umpire's decision. It happened that a delivery to Santner was called a no-ball by the umpire. However, the square-leg umpire revoked the decision. Dhoni was unhappy with the decision and decided to speak to the umpire. India’s former skipper was fined 50 per cent of his match fee.