10 cricketers who represented their country in other sports

Representing one’s country in cricket is a huge deal and a matter of pride for every single cricketer playing the game. The amount of hard work they put in to reach those great heights is highly commendable.

There are a lot of people out there who find it extremely hard to break into the national teams of their respective countries and eventually fade away without making a mark.

On the other hand, there are people who have represented their country in more than one sport on the international level.

In this article, let’s take a look at 10 cricketers who have excelled in other sports as well.

Jonty Rhodes

Arguably the greatest ever fielder to have played the game, Jonty Rhodes represented South Africa in hockey as well. In fact, he was chosen to be a part of the squad for the 1992 Olympics but unfortunately, the South African side did not qualify for the tournament.

He was asked to be a part of the 1996 edition as well which was held in Atlanta but pulled out due to a hamstring injury.

One of the fittest and hardest workers, Rhodes featured in 52 Tests and 245 ODIs for the Proteas with an average of 35 in both the formats. He was known for his energy on the field and will always be remembered for his diving run out in 1992 to dismiss Inzamam ul Haq.

Currently, he is the fielding coach of the Mumbai Indians in the IPL.

Cotar Ramaswami

At the age of 40, he was the second-oldest debutant for India when they took on England way back in 1936. He played in two Tests and made a mark for himself as he scored 170 runs in 4 innings at an average of 56.66 with one half-century to his name.

Although, before 20 years before he played cricket, he represented India in tennis in the Davis Cup as well. He played the Davis Cup along with Dr. A. H. Fyzee and A. A. Fayzee. India defeated Romania in the first round at Bristol but lost to Spain in Beckenham.

Hailing from Tamil Nadu, Ramaswami left his home in Chennai in 1985 only to never return. He was presumed dead but till date there is no confirmation of his demise.

Yuzvendra Chahal

Yuzvendra Chahal came into the limelight after a successful IPL outing with the Royal Challengers Bangalore in 2015 and 2016. He was their leading wicket-taker in 2016 in the season where RCB reached the final of the tournament.

Due to his successful outing in the IPL, he was handed his debut for the Indian cricket team against Zimbabwe in the T20s. He also played in the T20Is against England earlier this year and achieved reasonable success picking up a wicket in every match.

What many people don’t know is that Chahal was represented India in chess as well before he switched to cricket. He is the only person to have represented India in both chess and cricket and his name is available on the World Chess Federation’s website.

Ian Botham

One of the finest cricketers to have played the game, Sir Ian Botham was undoubtedly the best English cricketer of his generation. He had the ability to take the games away from the opposition on a given day and the English team looked out of sorts when he didn’t play.

He played a total of 102 Tests and 116 ODIs for England in a career which spanned over 15 years. He was even the captain of England for a short while. One of the best all-rounders of the game, he was one of the quickest to 1000 runs and 100 wickets.

He was extremely talented in football as well and a huge fan of the sport. He played as a centre-half Yeovil Town and Scunthorpe United from 1978 to 1985 making 11 appearances for the former.

Rudi van Vuuren

He not only represented his country in two sports but is a renowned doctor as well – a physician. Hailing from Namibia, van Vuuren represented his country in both cricket and rugby in the same year – 2003.

He holds the distinction of playing in the world cups of two different sports in the same year having played in the cricket and rugby world cup 14 years ago.

He holds the record of being the only Namibian to take a five-wicket haul against England. However, he got smashed for 28 runs in a single over against Australia in the same tournament which was the highest runs conceded in a single over in a world cup back then.

He played for Namibia in the rugby world cup as well where his side lost to Romania.

Tony Wilding

Tony Wilding or Anthony Wilding was known more for his tennis abilities rather than his cricketing prowess.

He was undoubtedly the greatest tennis player of his generation with numerous accolades to his name. A six-time Grand Slam winner, Wilding won the Australasian Championship in 1906 and 1909 and then won the Wimbledon four years in a row from 1910-1913.

He also became the first man from New Zealand to win an Olympic medal when he the bronze medal in 1912.He was inducted to the Tennis Hall of Fame in 1978.

He also played for the Canterbury cricket team in the early 1900s where he participated in two first-class matches as a lower middle-order medium-pace batsman and change bowler.

Unfortunately, he passed away in 1915 when he was enlisted to take part in World War I.

Mike Gatting

One of the greatest domestic cricketers to have played, Mike Gatting played an important role in England’s success in the 1980s and 1990s.

He was even the captain for England for 23 Tests between 1986-88. He played a total of 79 Tests for the Englishmen and scored 4409 runs at an average of 35.55 with 21 half centuries and 10 centuries to his name.

Just like Ian Botham, he too showed a keen interest in football and was a part of the Watford Reserves for many years.

Interestingly, he even auditioned to be a goalkeeper for the Watford main team and for the legendary Arsenal as well. Unfortunately, he was denied the chance to enter the team due to his height.

Suzie Bates

One of the most prominent and well-known women cricketers in the world, Suzie Bates has single-handedly led New Zealand to numerous victories over the years. At the age of 15, she was one of the youngest women cricketers to play in the New Zealand’s national women’s cricket league as a part of the Otago Sparks squad.

She has broken many records over the years and was named as the captain of the White Ferns in 2011. She was adjudged as the player of the tournament in the 2013 world cup and was named as the ICC Women’s Cricketer later that year.

A few years before she was handed captaincy, she juggled between cricket and basketball having represented New Zealand in the 2008 Beijing Olympics. However, she decided to give up on basketball shortly after that to concentrate on her cricket career.

Elysse Perry

One of the most talented individuals, Elysse Perry represents Australia in both cricket and football and was the first Australian woman to do so. She was also the youngest ever Australian to play cricket when she made her debut for the national side in July 2007 just before her 17^th birthday.

One of the best all-rounders in the game, Perry has achieved a lot of success with Australia and New South Wales in the domestic league. She was the player of the match in the final of 2010 World T20 when Australia won the title. She has played a total of 83 ODIs and 82 T20s in her career so far.

Her footballing career began in 2008 when she represented Australia in the Asian Cup playing as a defender. She played for the Central Coast Mariners in Australia’s domestic football league in 2008-09 before transferring to Canberra where she was the player of the season in 2009. She has a total of 3 international goals to her name.

Apart from playing two sports, she even hosts the soccer-related show Football Stars of Tomorrow, screened on the digital sports channel One HD.

Ashleigh Barty

One of the best doubles players on the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) circuit, Ashleigh Barty took a break from tennis in 2014 and switched to cricket for a short period of time.

During this time, she was selected to play for the Brisbane Heat in the Women’s Big Bash League for the 2015-16 season and achieved reasonable success batting at no. 6 for the side. She also represented the Queensland Fire in the domestic league.

One of the most prominent doubles players in tennis, she has reached the final of all the four Grand Slams but unfortunately has not been able to win a single title yet. She will be taking part in the final of the French Open doubles on June 11 with her partner Casey Dellacqua in an attempt to win her first Grand Slam

She has also been playing a lot of singles off late and is currently ranked no. 76 in the world.