Cricketers' autobiographies that "sparked" controversies

New Delhi: Seldom one sees an autobiography by a cricketer not generating controversies or refresh an old debate that was dead long ago. Recently unceremoniously dropped from the side England cricketer Kevin Pietersen's autobiography not only created stir in English cricket circle but also started a barrage of attacks and counter attacks from persons mentioned in the book.Now latest addition to this unsavory tradition is legend Sachin Tendulkar's autobiography “Playing it my way.” Just a couple of days before the official launch of his autobiography, it has opened the Pandora box. Going by Sachin's nature one never imagined that he would come out so openly about former India coach Greg Chappell whose tenure was marred with all kinds of controversies.Sachin's claims against Chappell in the book raised the old 2007 controversy once again when it was said that Chappell made Ganguly quit his captaincy.In the same way, Shoaib Akhtar's autobiography also hit the headlines when he claimed that Sachin feared of his bowling.Controversy seems to be the key to sell a cricketer's autobiography, be it Sachin, KP or Shoaib Akhtar.India TV looks out for 11 such cricket autobiographies:Jim Laker – Over To MeIn his book, 'Over To Me' published in 1960, Laker was critical of Peter May's attitude towards his county side Surray, his captaincy of the England team and the English team management during the tour to Australia in 1958-59.The great England offspinner Jim Laker announced his retirement during England's 1958-59 tour of Australia. The inevitable autobiography that followed, Over To Me, came out early in 1960. It contained stinging criticism of Peter May, Laker's captain at Surrey and England, and was also pretty rude about Freddie Brown, a Lord's grandee who had been the manager of that unsuccessful 1958-59 venture.While reviewing it, John Arlott behold that it was a pity that the book had such a piercingly grave tone by a bowler with 193 wickets in 46 Tests, esteemed as possibly the best off spinner of all time and holder of the famous 19 for 90 record at Old Trafford during his Golden Summer of 1956, certainly had a better time in the game than the book suggested. The book got him into trouble with both MCC and Surrey, his county.Dennis Lillee - Back to the MarkArguably Australia's greatest fast bowler, Dennis Lillee made headlines with some of the assertions in his first volume of his autobiography, Back to the Mark, in 1974. Talking about his attitude to opponents, he wrote: "I try to hit a batsman in the rib-cage when I bowl a purposeful bouncer, and I want it to hurt so much that the batsman doesn't want to face me any more." Purists were appalled. Lillee was unconcerned.Ian Botham – Head OnBotham continued his relationship with controversy with the publication of his book, Head On.Not unexpectedly Ian Botham's autobiography was explosive. He admitted to drug misuse and playing entirely different sort of cricket in the field. The great England all rounder had a standard of living in harmony with his larger than life image and feats on the field.It contained many anecdotes that belonged to the commercial grouping including the charge that Pakistan bowlers interfered with the ball. Of course his admittance that he smoked marijuana also ensured that the book would be a best seller.John Wright – Indian SummersThe New Zealander may have coached India for just 5 years but that didn't stop him writing the controversial book, 'John Wright's Indian Summers'. The Kiwi's opinion on a change of captaincy when Sourav Ganguly was leading team India irked the fans of the Bengal Tiger.He has prudently abstained from cheap shots and score settling, which often depreciate the appeal of such books. Most disturbing was the answer to Ganguly's evaporating captaincy. Those who proposed Dravid as captain were seen to despise Ganguly, and those sticking with Ganguly were thus anti-Dravid.Michael Hussey - Underneath the Southern CrossUnderneath the Southern Cross shed light on a poor team culture and his bewilderment at some of the more recent management decisions and actions. He also confirmed that Gurunath Meiyappan “ran” the Chennai Super Kings; a fact contested by Gurunath himself when embroiled in a gambling scandal. He also lamabasted Tendulkar for forgetting to shake hands after a match during India's tour to Australia in 2007-08, Hussey noted: "You don't forget to shake hands after an international match. Perhaps Sachin wasn't a god, just another human like the rest of us."Herschelle Gibbs – To The PointThe 2010 offering from the South Africa opener Herschelle Gibbs, To The Point, was reported to have sold out in two days after a string of dramatic serialisations in which he attacked Cricket South Africa and accused teammates of smoking marijuana. Gibbs also revealed deep divisions in the team.He discussed his team-mates equally openly. Most of them accepted it but, as Gibbs admitted recently, Graeme Smith and Jacques Kallis didn't like it much. Perhaps it is no surprise that, after upsetting the captain and the senior allrounder, Gibbs never played another Test.In the age of modern media, this was probably one of the most controversial autobiographies released. Ricky Ponting – At The Close Of PlayWest Indies great Michael Holding criticised former Australian captain Ricky Ponting over revelations in his autobiography that prompted a public spat with current skipper Michael Clarke.Holding, now a prominent cricket commentator, said it was "unfortunate" that Ponting had broken the traditional dressing room code of silence in the book, which was released last month.Ponting's book raised concerns about Clarke's attitude when he was deputy captain and offered an unfavourable appraisal of his ill-fated relationship with bikini model Lara Bingle.It has been criticised by another former Australian captain Mark Taylor and by spin great Shane Warne, who suggested Ponting was jealous of Clarke.However Ponting has rejected suggestions he betrayed the sanctity of the dressing room, saying his autobiography was motived by a desire to tell his side of the story, not sell books.Adam Gilchrist – True ColorsThe Aussie wicketkeeper batsman authored 'True Colours', his autobiography. His take on Sachin Tendulkar and the cricket board of Australia for the monkey-gate scandal was considered to have been a sharp remark.Taking a swipe at Tendulkar for his role in the monkeygate scandal, Gilchrist said: "Tendulkar, who'd said at the first hearing that he hadn't been able to hear what Harbhajan had said - and he was a fair way away, up the other end, so I'm certain he was telling the truth - now supported Harbhajan's version that he hadn't called Symo a 'monkey' but instead a Hindi term of abuse that might sound like 'monkey' to Australian ears.The Indians got him off the hook when they, of all people, should have been treating the matter of racial vilification with the utmost seriousness."He later apologised to Tendulkar under intense media pressure. Shoaib Akhtar - Controversially YoursPakistan cricket's enfant terrible Shoaib Akhtar has stirred controversy, questioning the class and temperament of India's batting stalwarts Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid.In his autobiography "Controversially Yours", the temperamental Pakistan speedster has accused Tendulkar of being scared to face his scorching pace on a slow Faisalabad track.He also claimed that Tendulkar and Dravid were not match-winners nor did they know the art of finishing games.However in an interview, he denied all such claims and said, “I don't need to clarify things but I would never do anything to create controversy to sell my book. My story is there, I have opened my heart out so read my book.”“Sachin has over 18,000 runs and is about get 100 centuries... cannot say he is not a good cricketer or that he is scared. What I felt at that moment on that day is what I have written. Read book... don't pick up lines and write,” he added.Kevin Pietersen - KP: The AutobiographyKevin Pietersen in his autobiography has accuses England of having a bullying culture and said that he was a victim of that culture. However many of current team members like Stuart Broad, James Anderson, Alastair Cook denied such claims by the former England captain.He also targeted the coach Andy Flower, accusing him of building a regime instead of a team.Alastair Cook hitting back at Pietersen, strongly defended Andy Flower and said KP has tarnished an era of cricket. Flower was believed to be hurt and angered by Pietersen's attack on his legacy and astonished that anyone could accuse him of condoning a bullying culture.However, Australian cricketer Ricky Ponting backed Pietersen and says he has seen 'pointing of fingers' and 'expletives' from bowlers James Anderson and Graeme Swann after fielders made mistakes.Sachin Tendulkar – Playing It My WayPerhaps the only autobiography which raised the controversy before its official launch.Tendulkar has claimed that the former Indian coach Greg Chappell visited his house and tried to convince him to take over the captaincy from Dravid.He said, “Just months before the World Cup in 2007, Chappell had come to see me at home and, to my dismay, suggested that I should take over the captaincy from Rahul Dravid. Anjali, who was sitting with me, was equally shocked to hear him say that ‘together, we could control Indian cricket for years,' and that he would help me in taking over the reins of the side,”Reacting to this, Chappell said he was stunned by the claims. He said he enjoyed a pleasant afternoon at Tendulkar's home and the captaincy issue never came up for discussion.Tendulkar, in the book, said that he was shocked by Chappell's suggestion and the lack of respect shown to Dravid.Tendulkar is scathing in his criticism of Chappell, who was the national coach from 2005 to 2007, describing him as a “ringmaster who imposed his ideas on the players without showing any signs of being concerned about whether they felt comfortable or not”.However, Zaheer and Harbhajan supported Tendulkar's version of the events, stating that they too had been victims of Chappell's dictatorial style of functioning.The autobiography was officially released on November 5.