Five cricketers who got addicted to alcohol and paid huge price for it

Cricketers live a lavish lifestyle and it is no secret. While a few flaunt their wealth with cars and outfits, there have been a few who went the wrong way. Cricketers like Ricky Ponting and Monty Panesar did get addicted to alcohol. There have been many instances when the players have been banned for a match or two with regards to alcoholic incidents.

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While a few managed to make a comeback to the international arena, a few of them had to end their career abruptly only because of 'alcoholism'. We have handpicked five such players who fell into the same trap and had to pay a huge price for it.

1) Ricky Ponting:

Ricky Ponting (Image Source: Twitter)

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Ricky Ponting will go down as one of the greatest batters of all time. Needless to say, he was a great skipper as well. Under his captaincy, the Australian team literally flourished on the field. But the legend was also known for his alcoholism.

This came after a loss against England in Sydney in 1999. The former skipper was so drunk after the loss and had to be put out of the ODI squad after a tussle with a stranger outside a nightclub. Ricky Ponting admitted to this incident later on and vowed to fight against alcoholism.

2) Andrew Symonds:

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Andrew Symonds (Image Source: Twitter)

The 'demon' allrounder gave nightmares to the opponents during his era. There was not a single team that wasn't afraid of his fabulous skills. However, he too fell into the trap of alcoholism and had to pay the price for it.

The former Australian was thrown out of the team after drinking too much in 2009. Symonds over-celebrated a win in a warm-up match against New Zealand in the 2009 20-20 World Cup with too many drinks. He was sent out of the team for the same and never really returned again.

3) David Warner:

David Warner (Image Source: Twitter)

David Warner, the Australian batter, is one of the best in recent times and has made Australia proud many times. The southpaw fell into the trap and faced disciplinary issues during the initial stages of his career.

In 2013, David Warner punched England's best batter Joe Root after getting drunk in a bar. This incident proved to be costly for him and vowed to correct it. In 2016, after clinching the Indian T20 League title for the Hyderabad team, Warner revealed that he had not touched alcohol since that incident.

4) Monty Panesar:

Monty Panesar (Image Source: Twitter)

England's best spinner once, Monty Panesar had hit the headlines because of his alcoholism. It is quite justifiable to say that it ended his career right away. In 2013, the England spinner drank too much at a London club and reportedly peed on two bouncers outside the nightclub.

This incident had a drastic impact on his life and the veteran spinner had to lose his career for it. The cricketer never returned to international cricket after 2013.

5) Jesse Ryder:

Jesse Ryder (Image Source: Twitter)

Jesse Ryder is the last on the list and faced disciplinary issues once. In 2013, he had an ugly brawl with a mob outside a club in New Zealand after drinking too much.

The talented batter got severely injured and was in an induced coma for almost 56 hours. The New Zealander won the battle and came back to life. But never flourished in international cricket after the incident.