5 Cricketers Who Began Their Career As Bowlers But Turned Into Explosive Hitters

Cricket, like any other sport, consists of enormous twists and turns. While specialist cricketers cause a turnaround using their skills, at times, their hidden abilities also end up erupting. On many occasions, a frontline bowler has crafted handy or game-changing cameos with their bat to guide their side to improbable victories.

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Over time, such cricketers have nurtured their concealed talent and became a reliable match-winner for their respective teams. Certain teams have also utilized them as pinch-hitters at the top-order to take advantage of the fielding restrictions. With the advent of the T20 format and its revolution, such multi-faceted roles are becoming very prevalent.

We take a look at five cricketers who began as bowlers but became explosive hitters:

Isuru Udana:

Sri Lankan cricket has been going downhill for quite some time now. However, cricketers like Isuru Udana, Lasith Malinga, Angelo Mathews, and Kusal Perera have managed to craft some stunning victories once a while. Left-arm pacer Isuru Udana remains the one to watch out for in the near future.

The 32-year old is known for bringing the cutters and cunning variations in pace during death overs. The slower balls out of the back hand have garnered plenty of success for him. And Udana is a whirlwind batsman down the order too.

The Balangoda-born made an unbeaten 84 off 48 balls against South Africa during the second T20I at Centurion in 2019. From 83-7, the right-handed batsman took Sri Lanka to 164 in pursuit of 180. His strike rate in T20 internationals is a daunting 144.65 and 128.55 in all T20s. It would be exciting to see what Udana can pull off if promoted to the opening position.

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Sam Curran:

Sam Curran shed light on himself when as a 20-year old and two months into international cricket, played integral roles with bat and ball against India in a winning effort. The 2018 home Test series of five matches saw Curran plundering 272 runs at 38.86 with two fifties and snapping 11 wickets at 23.55.

The Northampton-born bowling all-rounder bagged an IPL contract with the Kings XI Punjab the following year for a sum of INR 7.20 crores. While Sam Curran performed reasonably well with the ball, his blazing knock of 55 against Kolkata was eye-catching.

The left-arm seamer clattered those many off 24 deliveries at number six, comprising of seven fours and two sixes. Hence, the youngster, having a strike rate of 152 in international T20Is deserves an opportunity higher up the order for England.

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Rashid Khan:

Rashid Khan has emerged as one of the best leg-spinners in the shortest format today and is also one of the most sought-after players by franchises around the world. The leggie has plied his trade in the IPL, BBL, MSL, Vitality Blast, PSL, and many more.

Along with having a ripping googly, wrong’un, and a deadly flipper, the 21-year old is a hard-hitting batsman down the order. Rashid’s strike rate is 125.38 in international T20s which goes up to nearly 150 in all T20 matches with a solitary half-century. With 296 wickets in 211 T20 fixtures, he sits at eighth in all-time wicket-takers.

David Willey:

A left-arm swing bowler, David Willey became part of England’s white-ball plans after their 2015 World Cup debacle. While Willey couldn’t remain consistent, he was majorly preferred due to his prowess with the bat as well. Despite being in and out of the side, David Willey kept showcasing his magic with the bat in franchise cricket.

In the Natwest T20 blast of 2017, the 30-year old smashed a hundred off 49 deliveries and eventually ended with 118 off 55 balls at number three for Yorkshire.

The southpaw hammered John Hastings for 34 in the 17th over of that innings as well. The Northampton-born has a strike rate of 131.74 in international T20 cricket that elevates to 139.78 in the domestic circuit.

Sunil Narine:

Sunil Narine tops the list as in the last three years he has undergone a remarkable transition as a pinch-hitter. Perhaps, it all began in the 2016-17 edition of the Big Bash league while starring for Melbourne Renegades. Narine scored 21 off 13 deliveries while opening the innings that consisted of three fours and a six.

But the transition completed in the following year when Kolkata Knight Riders promoted him up the order too. Since the 2017 season of IPL, the off-spinner has been consistently striking well above 150 and formed a deadly combination with Chris Lynn.

The 32-year-old has bagged three fifty-plus scores while opening the batting at a strike rate of 183.91.

Narine’s overall T20 strike rate is 146.95. With the ball, the Trinidad & Tobago spinner has 379 scalps in 336 games at 20.36 with 11 four-wicket hauls and a solitary fifer. He is also one of the two cricketers along with Shane Watson to win the player of the tournament twice in IPL.

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