LISTICLE
Follow UsImran Khan
One of the greatest all-rounders of all time, Imran Khan became the 22nd Prime Minister of Pakistan in August 2018 and held the post till April 2022. Imran scored over 7,500 runs and close to 550 international wickets for Pakistan and also went on to lead his country to a World Cup title in 1992.
In fact, he had initially decided to retire after the 1987 World Cup but then returned to play for his country in 1988 after he was convinced to do so by President Zia-ul-Haq. He made his first-class debut at the age of 16 and, at the age of 19, made his Test debut, which came against England in Birmingham. Overall, he played 88 Tests and 175 ODIs for Pakistan.
Gautam Gambhir
The hero of the World T20 2007 and the 2011 ODI World Cup, top-scoring in both the final for his team, Gautam Gambhir went on to become an elected representative when he won the East Delhi constituency in the Lok Sabha election in 2019. He won the election by almost seven lakh votes. Gambhir had an illustrious international career, featuring regularly across formats.
He was also the No.1 Test batter in 2009. He went on to play 58 Tests, 147 ODIs and 37 T20Is for India between 2004 and 2013 and scored over 10,000 runs, which includes 20 tons and 56 fifties.
Moreover, he led Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) to two titles – in 2012 and 2014. They are yet to win a title since.
Arjuna Ranatunga
Arjuna Ranatunga led Sri Lanka to the World Cup title in 1996 when not many gave the side a chance. He led Sri Lanka in 56 Tests (Won 12) and 193 ODIs (Won 89), which are the most for his side. More recently, he served as the Minister of Transport and Civil Aviation for a year between 2019 and 2019. Before that, he also held the post of Ministry of Petroleum Resources Development, Minister of Ports & Shipping, and Deputy Minister of Tourism.
As far as his cricketing prowess goes, his talent was spotted very early, and after just one first-class match under his belt, he was handed a Test debut in 1982 against England in Colombo, which was Sri Lanka’s first-ever match in the format.
Mashfare Mortaza
Bangladesh’s most successful ODI captain, Mashrafe Mortaza, won 50 of the 88 matches he led, including a quarter-final finish in the 2015 World Cup, when they defeated England to make it to the last eight. Mortaza continued to play on even after being elected as a Member of Parliament from the Narail-2 constituency in 2019, but last played for the national team in March 2020.
Mortaza broke into the Bangladesh side at 18 as a raw fast bowler but had to compromise on pace after a string of back injuries that further limited his appearances. Mortaza’s Test career ended in 2009 after just 36 matches but went on to play 220 ODIs and 54 T20Is for Bangladesh. He ended up with 390 international wickets and was a handy batter as well, notching up close to 3,000 runs.
Sanath Jayasuriya
One of Sri Lanka’s finest all-rounders, Sanath Jayasuriya, is the only player with 10,000 ODI runs and 300 wickets. He was elected a Member of Parliament from Matara and held the position from 2010 to 2015. During this time, he held the position of the Deputy Minister of Postal Services, Deputy Minister of Local Government and Rural Development and also served as the Deputy Minister of Provincial Councils and Regional Development.
Jayasuriya went on to change the way 50-over cricket would be played with his attacking strokeplay, especially during the fielding restrictions and was pivotal in Sri Lanka winning the World Cup in 1996.
Jayasuriya made his debut in 1989 and since then has gone on to play 110 Tests, 445 ODIs and 31 T20Is. He is the fourth-highest run-getter in ODIs with 13,430 runs at 32.36, slamming 28 hundreds and 68 fifties. He was also the first triple centurion for Sri Lanka in Tests when he scored 340 against India in 1997 at the Premadasa Stadium.
While he played his last Test in 2007, he went on to play limited-overs cricket for another four years. He finished with over 20,000 international runs and 440 wickets.
