10 Famous Cricketers And Their Past Professions

It is the hard work of the cricketers that take them to the topmost level of the game. However, some times only the hard yards put into practice doesn’t yield results for them. Meanwhile, some of the famous players have struggled in their respective careers before making it big in the game.

The players have put in the hard work and subsequently, they have managed to rise from the ashes. In fact, it is never easy to change one profession and play cricket at the topmost level of the game. It takes a lot of courage and guts to come out of the bubble and make the ends meet. We take a look at 10 famous cricketers and their previous profession before playing cricket.

Here are the 10 players.

Mitchell Johnson

Australian fiery fast bowler Mitchell Johnson was a truck driver before he breathed down the neck of the world-class batsmen. In fact, Johnson will keep on practising and he eventually made it big in his career. Johnson had great pace in his armoury and troubled the batsmen throughout the world. Johnson was one of the successful fast bowlers and bowled with great success. The southpaw seamer scalped 313 wickets in the Test format whereas he took 239 wickets in the One Day format.

Brad Hodge

The former Australian batsman Brad Hodge was the Petrol pump employee before he made it big in cricket. However, Hodge didn’t have a long career for the Australian team as he made his International debut at the age of 31 years. In fact, Hodge later went to coach Kings XI Punjab in the IPL. The right-hander scored 575 runs in the 25 ODI matches for Australia.

Dwayne Leverock

Dwayne Leverock is well remembered for his acrobatic catch of Robin Uthappa in the 2007 World Cup. The Bermuda player was a policeman before he made his career in cricket. However, the right-handed batsman didn’t have the best of careers in cricket. He could only score 111 runs in the 32 One Day Internationals he played for Bermuda. The left-arm spinner scalped 34 wickets and played two T20Is.

Sheldon Cottrell

West Indies talisman fast bowler Sheldon Cottrell impressed with his skills in the ongoing ICC World Cup 2019. Cottrell was the leading wicket-taker for the Windies as he took a dozen wickets in the edition. Furthermore, Cottrell had gulped a fine catch at the boundary ropes to dismiss Steve Smith. Cottrell is a Jamaican Defence Soldier and he celebrates his dismissal with a salute to pay tribute to the force. The southpaw seamer had made his debut in the penultimate Test match of Sachin Tendulkar’s career.

Shane Bond

New Zealand’s gun fast bowler Shane Bond was a policeman before he joined the cricket team. Bond was New Zealand’s best fast bowler as he bowled with a brisk pace. However, Bond’ career was cut short by the regular injuries. Bond had a glittering career as he scalped 147 wickets in the 82 ODI matches he played. The talisman pacer bowled with a stunning average of 20.88. Furthermore, he took 87 scalps in the 18 Test matches he played. Bond took 25 wickets in the 20 T20I for the Kiwis.

Ian Chappell

Australia’s former skipper Ian Chappell is one of the best ever captains to have played the game. However, Chappell had played baseball at a good level before he took cricket more seriously. In fact, Chappell took Australian cricket to great heights during his leadership. The right-hander played 75 Test matches in which he amassed 5345 runs at an average of 42.42.

Nathan Lyon

Australian off-spinner Nathan Lyon has an inspiring story. In 2010, Nathan Lyon moved to Adelaide and worked as a member of the ground staff team at the Adelaide Oval. Since then, Nathan Lyon had played consistently for Australia. Lyon has savoured great success in the Test format of the game. The off-spinner has snared 343 wickets in the 86 Test matches for his national team. Lyon has taken 29 wickets in 28 ODI matches and he is also part of Australia’s World Cup squad in 2019.

Yuzvendra Chahal

India’s leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal played chess and represented India at youth levels. Consequently, Chahal went on to use the same guile while bamboozling the best batsmen in the same. Chahal is a regular member of India’s One Day side. The talisman leg-spinner has taken 83 wickets in the 48 One Day matches he has played for the Indian team. Chahal has also taken 46 wickets in the 31 T20I.

Joe Dawes

Joe Dawes had served as an undercover agent in Queensland police. In fact, he served his duty for a period of eight years. Dawes also served as the bowling coach of the Indian team. However, Dawes could not make his debut for the Australian side. Dawes scalped 285 wickets in the 76 First class matches.

MS Dhoni

MS Dhoni is one of the inspirational rags to rich stories. Dhoni served as a ticket collector (TTE) at the Kharagpur railway station before he took the cricket world with a storm. MS Dhoni is regarded as one of the best captains to have embraced the game. Dhoni had led India to 2007 T20 World Cup, 2011 World Cup and the Champions Trophy.