Who doesn’t love a comeback story? Sports fans are generally romantics, and there is nothing that captivates the imagination and warms the heart more than seeing an athelete overcome adversity and return successfully. Every Indian cricket fan will remember Sourav Ganguly’s comeback in 2006, after a nasty fall-out with coach Greg Chappell, Sourav Ganguly was dropped from the squad. He was part of a ridiculous ad, where he said “Mera naam Sourav Ganguly hai. Bhule toh nahi?” that caused ridicule while reducing some ardent fans to tears. He made a courageous comeback the following season against South Africa, in South Africa and was named ‘the man of the series’. This is just one example of many, who have made successful comebacks to the squad. Cricket is a sport littered with injuries, and competition for places is always high, thus we have seen plenty of comebacks.
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It’s been the season for comebacks, we take a look at 5 successful that we have witnessed this season:
1) Ashish Nehra, India
India’s comeback man for all seasons, Ashish Nehra leads the list. It seems like he has been around for ages – constantly battling critics and injuries, soldering on and doing this thing. Nehra was remarkable for India in the 2011 World Cup, where he formed a formidable partnership with Zaheer Khan. It almost felt like the Indians were watching the 2003 World Cup all over again, having to rub their eyes in disbelief. Disaster struck again however, as he picked up an injury in the semi-finals against Pakistan.
Read: Ashish Nehra picks up his latest injury
The squad for India’s tour of Australia in early 2016 was announced and Nehra was back! This time in the T20 squad, making a comeback after a whole 5 years. He wasted no time, picking up a wicket in his very first game and playing in a very successful series where India trounced Australia 3 – 0. This was followed by a very successful couple of months, representing India in both the Asia Cup and the World T20. He picked up 5 wickets in the Asia Cup at an average of 13.20 and 5 wickets in the World T20 as well. This was followed by a successful IPL campaign with the Sunrisers Hyderabad where he ended up champion. A champion comeback!
2) Ambati Rayudu, India
Another comecback man, Ambati Rayudu is next on the list. The reasons for his exclusion from the Indian squad constantly seem to be beyond logic, as he has always impressed when given the chance to play. He was part of the touring party for Zimbabwe in 2015, where he made a mark in the 2 ODIs he played, scoring 124* and following it with an innings of 41. Little would he have imagined then, that the next time he represents India in ODIs would be in Zimbabwe again, the following Summer!
Read: Ambati Rayudu: The man who refuses to give up
He was ignored for the T20 squad that toured Australia, the Asia Cup and the World T20. Upon his comeback, in Zimbabwe this season, he scored a 50 in his very first innings, remaining unbeaten on 62, and following that with an innings of 41 where he was unbeaten again. His performances in the T20s weren’t as impressive, but he will be hoping that the selectors took note of his performance upon his comeback.
3) Mohammad Amir, Pakistan
Has a cricketer ever grabbed as many headlines as Mohammad Amir did as a teenager? He broke out as an absolute sensation, his skill with the ball belying his young age. He had a remarkable start to his career, he hit the big stage during Pakistan’s run to the final in the 2009 World T20 where he was incredibly impressive. He followed this up by picking up six wickets on Test debut against Sri Lanka. He became the youngest bowler, at 18, to pick up 50 Test wickets. Then, his world came crashing around him in February 2011, when he was handed a five-year ban following investigations by an ICC tribunal for his involvement in spot-fixing.
Read: Mohammad Amir 2.0: Beginning of his rise to superstardom
After being cleared to play cricket in September 2015 after he co-operated with ICC in spreading their anti-corruption message, the stage was set for him to make his return in January 2016 in Pakistan’s Tour of New Zealand. He took 3 wickets on his return to the ODI side, showing that he hadn’t skipped a beat. He lit the Asia Cup up in lights, especially impressive in his performance against India. For Amir, he will be part of Pakistan’s touring party of England later this year. At only 24, he has a long road ahead of him.
4) Farveez Maharoof, Sri Lanka
Cricket fans born in the 90s and who watched a lot of cricket in the 2000s are ceratinly enjoying a sort of throwback watching Sri Lanka take on England as the duo Farveez Maharoof and Upul Tharanga take the field for the Lankans. Last seen in action in the 2012 Asia Cup in Bangladesh, the bowling all rounder made a comeback to the Sri Lanka setup a whole 4 years later when he played Ireland recently.
He immediately put on an all round performance, scoring 29 and picking up a wicket helping his team to a win. On the back of this performance, he’s made his way into the squad against England, where he got off to a good start in the first ODI, picking up another wicket and scoring 31. The next couple of games haven’t been as successful for Maharoof but he will be glad with the effort he put it.
5) Aaron Phangiso
Aaron Phangiso, the slow left-arm orthodox bowler has had a roller-coaster career. He broke onto the scene in the Champions League T20 in 2012, where he picked up 10 wickets and earned a break with the South African squad in the limited overs setup. Not a great turner of the ball, he relied on his ability to contain the batsmen. However, over the years he lost out to Imran Tahir in the race for a spot in the team.
Further, disaster struck as his action was called into question and declared illegal as it was proved to break the 15-degree limit allowed in early 2016. However, he quickly worked on a remodelled action and was rewarded with a call up to the South African team for the recent tri-series in West Indies where he impressed immensely, picking up 6 wickets in the 3 ODIs he played, including 3 on his return.
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