Ashleigh Gardner with Georgia Voll | Murali Vijay with Nikita Vanjara (Source: X.com)
Australia women’s cricket vice-captain Ashleigh Gardner has found herself at the centre of a major personal controversy after he estranged wife, Monica Wright, publicly accused her of infidelity and identified a teammate as the person involved in the alleged affair.
Wright recently took to Instagram to allege that their marriage broke down due to Gardner’s affair with national teammate Georgia Voll.
However, this isn’t a solitary case of cheating in the cricket fraternity. Infidelity cases in cricket often make headlines.
While love stories and betrayals never miss the chance to amuse their readers. But, on the other hand, the one who faces betrayal goes through tremendous turmoil in their life.
That being said, in this article, take a look at five other cricketers who have been accused of infidelity.
Murali Vijay to Yash Dayal: Cricketers Who Allegedly Cheated in Their Relationships
5) Sourav Ganguly
Lovingly called ‘Dada’ by many, former Indian cricket captain Sourav Ganguly’s personal life garnered a lot of media attention in the early 2000s. The ace cricketer, who was married to his childhood sweetheart, Dona, went on to have an affair with actress-turned-politician Nagma.
The affair was one of the biggest topics of discussion in the media, which led to several controversies. But despite being smitten with each other, the duo called it off.
Reflecting on the relationship, actress Nagma discussed the reasons behind the separation and the need to prioritise careers. Speaking about the same in an interview with Savvy, Nagma said:
“There was a career at stake, besides other things, so one had to part. One had to weigh a lot of things, rather than be on an ego trip and insist on being together. A smaller interest had to be sacrificed for bigger interests.”
4) Mohammad Azharuddin
One of India’s most successful captains, Mohammad Azharuddin, made headlines in the 1990s for his high-profile affair with Bollywood actress Sangeeta Bijlani while he was still married to his first wife, Naureen. The couple also had two sons, Mohammad Asaduddin and Mohammad Ayazuddin.
To marry Bijlani, Azharuddin divorced Naureen in 1996. His second marriage to the Bollywood actress also ended in a divorce in 2010.
The breakdown of his 14-year marriage to Bijlani was widely speculated in the media to be tied to his alleged closeness with Indian badminton player Jwala Gutta.
However, both Azharuddin and Gutta consistently and strongly denied these rumours, maintaining that they were purely professional associates and close friends.
3) Yash Dayal
Royal Challengers Bengaluru pacer Yash Dayal has been in the headlines since 2025 but for all the wrong reasons. The pacer’s cricket career has been heavily affected due to ongoing legal battles involving serious allegations of sexual exploitation.
Dayal was booked under Section 69 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) following allegations of sexual exploitation under the false pretext of marriage.
Also read: Indian Cricketers Who Have Been Booked In Criminal Cases Linked To Women In Last 5 Years
A woman from Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh, filed an FIR claiming she was in a five-year relationship with Dayal and was financially, mentally, and physically exploited.
2) Shane Warne
Shane Warne is arguably one of the greatest cricketers of all time. However, the Australian great, too had some flaws.
The late Shane Warne’s infidelity case follows a series of high-profile, tabloid-fueled affairs that consistently dogged the legendary Australian cricketer’s personal life.
His serial womanising was heavily documented, often leading to temporary exiles, public apologies, and the ultimate breakdown of his marriage.
In the year 2000, Warne's reputation took a massive hit when he was caught engaging in explicit messaging with a British nurse while still married. The scandal was compounded by the fact that it led to his removal from the vice-captaincy of the Australian team.
Later, Warne's 10-year marriage to Simone Callahan officially ended in divorce in 2005 after his affairs with multiple women were exposed. Callahan had relocated to the UK with their three children to salvage their relationship, only to be confronted by a barrage of press detailing his unfaithfulness.
After attempting to negotiate, Callahan discovered a text message meant for another woman mistakenly sent to her phone, confirming Warne's continued infidelity. This caused the couple to separate permanently by 2010.
Between 2010 and 2013, Warne was engaged to British actress Elizabeth Hurley. This relationship made international headlines when it was revealed that Warne had sent flirtatious text messages to another woman while he was with Hurley.
1) Murali Vijay
One of the most infamous cases of cheating and betrayal that has ever marred the cricket fraternity. It was when Dinesh Karthik’s first wife and childhood friend, Nikita Vanjara, betrayed him with another cricketer, Murali Vijay. And according to a report in Lokmat News, Nikita was also pregnant with her first son at the time.
The scandal unfolded in 2012 during a domestic Vijay Hazare Trophy match when Karthik discovered the affair. Despite the severe personal fallout, the divorce was finalised peacefully by Dinesh Karthik and Nikita Vanjara which led to the latter eventually marrying Murali Vijay.
While in this case, Vijay might not have cheated on his partner, but he definitely broke the unsaid ‘Brocode’ by being romantically involved with his bestfriend’s wife.
The situation caused significant personal and professional turmoil for Karthik, resulting in him losing his spot in the national team and the Tamil Nadu Ranji captaincy to Vijay himself.
However, Karthik has since built his life, marrying international squash star Dipika Pallikal in 2015, while Vijay and Nikita have built a family together.
Also read: Virat Kohli's Close Ally Hints Rift Between Gautam Gambhir And Ajit Agarkar
