Cricketers Whose Career Changed Dramatically After Taking New Roles

Cricketers Whose Career Changed Dramatically After Taking New Roles; Well, as they say, life is a mixture of all uncertainties. It can surprise by helping us to boost ourself to top of our goals and it is the same thing, which can pull you down without any mercy. It connects to the game of cricket as well, in fact, it best suits to International Cricket, as you never know, who is the next superstar in the game.

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Well, we dug out a few cricketers, who entered into International cricket as specialists in certain positions but ended up having a different role, which worked like a magic for them. A few of those cricketers went on to become legends while a few of them are the best in the world at the moment.

Cricketers Whose Career Changed Dramatically After Taking New Roles:

– Scott Styris: Spinner to Middle-order batsman

Yeah, the former New Zealand cricketer, who is known for his exploits with the bat in the middle-order isn’t a batsman to start with. He was assigned to take the role of an off-spinner by the board, however, soon, he showed his calibre with the bat and went on to become the better player for Kiwis in the middle.  In total, he scored 9 centuries. He had a glorious 2007 World Cup too for the Black Caps before quitting in 2011.

– Ravindra Jadeja: Specialist batsman to all-rounder

Surprised? Yeah, the stylish southpaw also enters into the chart, as the left-handed cricketer is also one of those players, who entered into the team for a different role. Jadeja was initially named in the squad as a middle-order batsman, who can bowl a bit. Later, he became a bowler, who can bat a bit. Such has been the transformation. However, after a few initial setbacks, he worked hard to become the best in both sections of the game. He is a complete all-rounder for India at present.

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– VVS Laxman: From Opening to batting down the order

Yes…!!! The very very special batsman also makes his name to the chart. The right-handed batsman is one of the best red-ball players to grace the game. However, it all came when he played down the order. Earlier, he used to open innings for the team. Despite some repeated poor showings, he continued in the same role and was also dropped.

However, change in the batting from opening to number 3 worked like a magic for him. In the 1999–2000 season of the Ranji Trophy, he broke the record for most runs in a Ranji season, with 1415 runs.

He was hailed as a hero for a supreme knock of 281* against Australia batting at No.3. That particular match was won by India, despite following on. Later, he moved to the number 5 position and made it his own.

– Sanath Jayasuriya: From Spinner to Opener

The world cricket would have missed a genius like Sanath Jayasuriya if things haven’t fallen in place. Much to the surprise of all, the left-handed cricketer from Sri Lanka was first given a call-up for his bowling exploits. He was considered as a bowler, who can bat a bit for the team.

Jayasuriya served Sri Lanka as a handy all-rounder and started his career at the No.6 and No.7 slot. Later, after his explosive aggression came to the fore, he was promoted as an opener. Since then, it was a revelation for Sri Lanka.

Jayasuriya held the records for the fastest fifty (against Pakistan in 17 balls), fastest 100 (against Pakistan in 48 balls) and fastest 150 (against England in 95 balls) in ODI cricket. After almost 19 years, the record was broken with a new set of rules came into existence.

– Virender Sehwag: From Middle-order to Opener

The swashbuckling opening batsman Virender Sehwag is a masterstroke from Sourav Ganguly, which worked like a wonder. For a man who started off as a middle-order batsman in 2001 in Bloemfontein, it was all about hand-eye coordination and keeping it simple that has earned him over 8,000 runs in Test cricket, of which close to 4,000 have come in foreign conditions.

He was promoted to a makeshift-opener on the tour to England. Sehwag scored 84 in the new role at Lord’s and then a century in the second Test at Trent Bridge. He scored 195 against Australia on Boxing Day at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. Virender Sehwag simply changed the face of the opening role with his blistering batting technique.

– Steve Smith: From Spinner to Batsman

Who would have expected that a leg-spinner would rule the batting charts in ICC Test Rankings? From being a leg-spinner to one of the best batsmen in the world cricket, Steve Smith story is a perfect blockbuster script.

He made his Test debut at Lords in July 2010 against Pakistan in the 2010 Test series played in England. He was selected primarily for his bowling, and batted down the order, usually at No.7 or No.8. Smith played three Tests in the 2010–11 Ashes series, this time as a batsman, at the number six spot.

The 26-year old was initially criticized for his unorthodox batting method and was not expected to do well in the longer forms of the game. But his superb hand-eye coordination and exemplary footwork took him to another level. Steve Smith would retire as a legendary batsman for Australia.

– MS Dhoni taking captaincy reigns:

Mahendra Singh Dhoni taking the captaincy reigns is one of the best things happened to Indian cricket. The way he led the Indian team is always an exemplary story for the young generations. Under him, India won every possible ICC title such has been his aura as a skipper.

“Dhoni was the best choice,” said the chairman of selectors Dilip Vengsarkar. “He has all the qualities of a captain. He has been around with the team for some time and is also an explosive batsman.”

After a fine performance in the limited-overs format, he was given captaincy in Test format as well. All in all, it was the move, which changed the face of Indian cricket completely.

– Rohit Sharma: From Middle-order to opener:

Rohit Sharma’s exploits as an opener have seen him emerge as an indispensable asset for India in limited-overs formats. But the Mumbai batsman was not accustomed to batting at the top at the start of his career. This change came only at the 2013 Champions Trophy.

Before that tournament has begun, Rohit was a regular middle-order batsman and his inconsistency had seen him in and out of the team on multiple occasions. But it all changed when captain MS Dhoni asked him to open the innings during their first group game against South Africa.

If Sehwag being promoted to open is the masterstroke of Ganguly, Rohit Sharma opening innings for India is the masterstroke of MS Dhoni.