The rules and regulations are quite strict in cricket. It is a must for any player to abide by the laws of the game. Over the years, we have seen several instances that prove that no one else is above the game. For example, Cricket Australia banned two of its best cricketers, Steve Smith and David Warner for 12 months after the ball-tampering incident. This shows the importance of values and virtues in this sport.

While this is all one side of the coin, there are several cases where the players were banned due to extremely uncanny reasons. Right from former Indian captain Kapil Dev to Pakistan’s legendary all-rounder Shahid Afridi, there are several cricketers who faced a ban due to weird reasons. It is quite tough to decipher the logic behind these decisions.

Here are five cricketers who were banned due to weird reasons:

1. Kapil Dev | Playing aggressive cricket

Kapil Dev. (Photo by Bob Thomas/Getty Images)

Former Indian captain Kapil Dev is known for his fitness levels. During his 16-year-long career, the ‘Haryana Hurricane‘ hardly missed a game of cricket. Furthermore, he also led India to their first 50-over World Cup in 1983.

On 132 occasions where he had an opportunity to represent India in Test match cricket, Kapil Dev missed out only once. And that too because he was banned for one match as he tried to play aggressive cricket. In the 1993-94 season, in a Test match against England, he walked in to bat when India’s score was a few runs shy of 100 in the second innings.

While he was expected to take the responsibility and bat sensibly, he decided to unleash his beast mode. Kapil edged the second ball that he faced that ran away for a boundary. He attempted a big shot again off the next delivery and got out. The management was irked by his attitude and blamed him for the loss in the match. Thus, he was banned for one game.

2. Shahid Afridi | Biting the ball

Shahid Afridi ball tempering. (Photo Source: Twitter)

Shahid Afridi, fondly known as Lala, was known for his aggressive character of the field. The former Pakistan all-rounder was always in the face of the opposition and enjoyed playing mind games. But on one instance, he did something sheepish that resulted in a ban.

During a five-match series against Australia, Afridi was spotted biting the ball. While walking with Rana Naved-ul-Hasan, he performed this action. The laws state that: ‘any attempt to change the condition of the ball through illegal means is a violation of the players’ code of conduct and is liable to punishment.’

Thus, the ICC considered it as an act of breaching the laws. He has handed over with a two-match ban in T20Is. Later, Shahid Afridi accepted that this was a mistake on his part and apologised for the same.

3. Ravindra Jadeja | Throwing the ball at the opponent

Indian cricket captain Virat Kohli instructs teammate Ravindra Jadeja. (Photo by LAKRUWAN WANNIARACHCHI/AFP/Getty Images)

This is one of the most recent incidents and truly a silly reason for a ban. Indian all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja is an extremely important part of the Test set-up. He not only bowls accurate lines and lengths but also makes important contributions with the bat down the order.

During a Test match against Sri Lanka in 2017, Ravindra Jadeja was accused of inappropriately throwing a ball at the opponent player. After delivery the final ball of the over to Dimuth Karunaratne, Jadeja collected the ball and tried to hurl it back towards the keeper. However, it went in the direction of the batsman and narrowly missed him.

The on-field umpire considered that the ball was thrown in a dangerous manner. Thus, the all-rounder was handed over three demerit points. Jadeja earlier had three demerit points as he was accused of damaging the pitch by running in the middle of it in the series against New Zealand. So the tally reached 6 points and he was banned for the next game. Jadeja tweeted a famous movie dialogue after the incident.

pic.twitter.com/Qzxtn3cqrp

— Ravindrasinh jadeja (@imjadeja) August 7, 2017

4. Andrew Symonds | For fishing

Andrew Symonds . (Photo by Paul Kane – CA/Cricket Australia/Getty Images)

Throughout his career, Andrew Symonds was marred with several controversies. The Australian was an important part of the team during the squad of the 2000s. Not only was he lethal with the bat but he could also bowl some handy off-spin.

Furthermore, Symonds was lightning on the field and quite athletic and agile. But due to his carelessness, Andrew Symonds was once banned. In 2008, ahead of the three-match ODI series against Bangladesh, the entire squad was called for a team meeting.

Andrew Symonds wasn’t aware of this and left for fishing. Thus he missed the meeting and this incident was followed by strict action. He was suspended and sent back home for a month to prove his commitment towards the Australian team.

5. Shoaib Akhtar | Hitting teammate with a bat

Shoaib Akhtar. (Photo by Hamish Blair/Getty Images)

Than any of the above-mentioned incidents, this was a slightly more serious offence. Because he failed to keep control on his temper, Shoaib Akhtar also had to miss out on the inaugural edition of the T20 World Cup. According to reports, there was a heated argument in the Pakistan dressing room.

Things soon got quite serious and out of control. Shahid Afridi abused the Rawalpindi Express when he was holding a bat. The words used by the all-rounder were sufficient to agitate Akhtar and he charged towards Afridi to hit him with the bat. However, he ended up hitting another teammate, Mohammad Asif, in the process.

As a result, Shoaib Akhtar was immediately banned and sent back home. Akhtar, later, stated that he acted that way due to the words used by Afridi against his family. He said that even though he wanted to hit Shahid Afridi, he ended up Asif on his thighs by mistake. Akhtar also apologised for his conduct.