After reading the headline, cricket fans may believe this piece is about Thangarasu Natarajan or Hardik Pandya. However, this article is not about players who were low financially at the start of their careers and made millions after success in cricket.
GameToday Talks article is about the players who worked hard to get a position in the squad initially, but after failing badly. They then went on to become the most remarkable cricket superstar in history.
Are you curious to know who those cricketers are? Then all you need to do is peep into the article and read further.
Steve Smith
Steve Smith began his initial career as a leg spinner before becoming the Australian cricket team’s captain.
In his International career against Pakistan, he batted sixth and scored eight runs while also picking up two wickets as a leg spinner.
No one might have predicted that he would one day be the best batsman in the world.
Smith has had a difficult time performing Test and ODI cricket. From January 2011 to March 2013, he had been out of Test cricket for two years to work on his technique before being picked for the India trip in March 2013.
Smith appeared in a few one-day internationals during that period, but Ricky Ponting and the committee were unsure what to make of him. That was evident in the six places where he batted, with the No. 7 seat being the most prominent.
Perhaps this is why he lost so frequently throughout this time. Nevertheless, the captain and selectors continued placing him in the baby chair at six or seven, and he performed like it.
This “new technique” is rather old-fashioned. The majority of today’s players are the front merchants. Due to this change, Smith will have more time and alternatives to play his shots.
It also improves his bat planes and, more crucially, lets him play later in the game. Smith seemed to make better decisions about which balls to defend and attack. It also prevents him from being hit in the pads, which was a significant weakness in previous years.
Rohit Sharma
The current Indian team’s best opener is Rohit Sharma. Only batsman in history to hit three international double centuries in one-day internationals.
However, did you know that Rohit made his debut in 2007 but only scored 61 runs in four innings?
Rohit exhibited some toughness in the CB series in Australia in 2008, but he could not earn a position in the Indian team. As a result, Rohit was left out of the Indian team for the 2011 World Cup.
After a succession of poor performances, our ‘Hitman’ struck rock bottom in 2012. Rohit failed to score in double digits in the whole Sri Lanka trip in July 2012, scoring only 13 runs.
He only hit 168 runs at an average of 12.92 in 2012, with a single fifty. Even though it was his poorest total in a calendar year in his career, Dhoni showed trust in him. He sat on the sidelines, and India has realized the benefits of his decision.
It’s fair to assume that Rohit Sharma’s professional career began in 2013. However, the Mumbai Indians’ IPL triumph was a crucial turning point that opened the path for them to achieve higher heights in the future.
Even during the 2013 Champions Trophy, he was promoted to the top of the order. He was then given a chance to begin the innings for India.
Rohit Sharma possesses 4616 runs at an average of 55 in 94 One-Day Internationals since 2013. He also had three double-tons during this time, making him the one and only player to accomplish this milestone.
Rohit Sharma’s move up the order was the most delicate possible thing that could happen to him, and it has revolutionized the way he views the game.
Tillakaratne Dilshan
Dilshan played at numbers 6 and 7 and was regarded as an average player. However, he became the finest Sri Lankan in run chases.
If you ask a casual Sri Lankan cricket supporter to name the best batsman the country has ever produced, Dilshan is unlikely to be mentioned. So, why is he so underappreciated?
He is an ambitious opening batsman as threatening as anybody in the game, especially in shorter forms; therefore, his game style cannot answer. Is it because of the aesthetics?
He was undoubtedly behind Mahela Jayawardene and Kumar Sangakkara, who were more fashionable and visually beautiful. He isn’t, though, Alastair Cook or Graeme Smith.
His test record is solid, but he hasn’t quite reached the pinnacle of batsmanship, but as a white-ball performer, he is unquestionably among the greatest.
Despite his excellent batting record, he was also one of the best catchers in the game for a long time. His off-spin is just as underappreciated as the rest of his game. But, especially in situations that suited his bowling style, his contribution has been essential to his team.
James Anderson
Swing bowling is a demanding sport, and not all artisans make it through to tell their tales. Because of the terrible blow in his shoulder blade induced by abuse of his rotor blade, James Anderson can hardly brush correctly.
It’s not simple to charge in with a long stride and belt those bullets at the batters on the other end over and over again. It’s a challenging profession, and those who have made it this far aren’t exactly at ease.
However, this is not a narrative about the people who created it. It’s about those who started but gave up in the end. International cricket isn’t something you do in your spare time. It’s uncomfortable, painful, and time-consuming.
Thilan Thushara Samaraweera
At a match against India in Sharjah in 1998, Samaraweera was named as an off-spinner. However, he was not allowed to bat in his first match despite his batting abilities and was assigned to bat at number ten.
Moreover could not get a place in a squad due to Muralidharan’s supremacy as a spinner. But he had put a lot of effort into his batting talents, and in 2001, he reached his test debut in Colombo, scoring 103 runs.
Due to his consistency, Samaraweera earned a regular spot for his steady right-handed batsman, but he is also a talented off-spinner.
He made his debut as an off-spinner but owing to the presence of Muttiah Muralitharan. As a result, Thilan was unable to get into the team. In 1998, he played a few ODIs, but he couldn’t play Test match cricket until August 2001.
After putting in a lot of work on his batting, he was rewarded with a century on debut against a tough Indian team, which helped Sri Lanka win the series 2-1.
Thilan is a tenacious and gifted player who is firm in defence and has a variety of appealing stokes when he is at his best. In addition, he has incredible tolerance and a calm demeanour that few people will ever forget.
His hundred against India on the SSC grounds in 2001 will speak for itself.
He added three more centuries to his tally following five Tests, all on his SSC home field. With the retirement benefits of Hashan and Aravinda de Silva Tillakaratne, he had to patch ‘holes’ in the middle order, which he did well.
He was dropped from the side after a dismal Test Series in England, in which he struggled to meet double digits in any of his four innings. However, before being called up for the first Test against Australia in Brisbane, he was named captain of Sri Lanka’s ‘A’ squad.
When Kumar Sangakkara reappeared to the lineup for the second match in Hobart, he was immediately dropped. Following that, Thilan was left out of the side to face England in the first Test in Kandy.
Thilan is one of those players that would never surrender without a fight.
With a good batting performance in the Premier League Cricket Tournament, he battled his way back into the Sri Lanka Test team. As a result, he secured a spot for the West Indies tour, where he played with tremendous grit and commitment to recording a valuable century and a half and century in the two-Test matches.
At the beginning of the initial stage, we saw a significant shift in the way people played cricket. The athletes have put more effort into improving every area of their game.
The committee has also worked hard to develop a pool of cricketers to strengthen the bench strength and replace national team players. But unfortunately, as a result of his bad performances, he was forced to leave the squad.
Many cricketers throughout history have made an early impact on the international stage and have gone on to represent their country for long periods. However, a few cricketers have performed well during the current days but have fallen short of their promise in their initial stage.
GamePlan Today Talks hope you have a deeper understanding of the “Zero to Hero Cricketers”. We will meet all the cricket addicts in our next article.