Five Cricketers Whose Life Story Can Make For A Blockbuster Movie

Making biopics on famous sports personalities has become a trend in the past few years. The likes of Milkha Singh, Mohammad Azharuddin, MS Dhoni, Mary Kom have all had their biographies being displayed on the silver screen.

But what about others? If you talk specifically about cricket, there are a lot of other cricketers whose initial struggles in life and the rise to eventual fame and of course a multitude of controversies, can be adapted on the 70 mm screen.

Here’s a look at five cricketers whose life story can make for a blockbuster movie:

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Glenn McGrath

He was a boy who, they shrugged off, as someone who ‘couldn’t bowl’. Too thin, they said. Too tall, they uttered. No better than a broomstick, they declared.

And, yet two decades later, Glenn McGrath went on to become a benchmark for greatness; someone who people thought was destined for greatness.

But, as they say, champions make their own destiny. And, so did Glenn McGrath.

Motivated by burning desire to one day don the baggy green, a 16-year-old McGrath silently trained each day, bowling against a 44-gallon drum, with the sole focus being on being ‘boring’ i.e perfecting line and length

McGrath was eventually spotted by Doug Walters, who he took him to Sydney where the fast bowler used to live in an old caravan, often surviving on eating one Mars a day.

From that position to then becoming an all-time legend, McGrath’s story is of a person who defied every obstacle laid in front of him whether it was his early rejection, his wife’s battle, and eventual demise due to breast cancer, multiple injuries and almost every time came out trumps.

And, if there is one cricketer whose life story deserves to be shown on the silver screen, surely Glenn McGrath got to be that person.

Yuvraj Singh

Another cricketer that defied every odd stacked against him throughout his career. There is a reason why Yuvraj Singh went on to become one of the greatest middle-order batsmen of all time and also why he always made a mark when the chips were down on a big stage.

That is because adversity has always brought a beast out of the 2011 World Cup winner.

From bearing the burden of carrying his father’s dream of one day representing the Indian cricket team from a very young age to enduring the pain of what eventually turned out to be a rare germ-cell cancer and still giving his everything he had to help India win the World Cup and from overcoming the life-threatening disease and making a comeback into the Indian team followed by on-field disappointments and the eventual axing from the team, Yuvraj Singh’s life thus far has all the ingredients for a movie that will make you laugh and cry your heart out.

Shane Warne

Turn. Vicious turn. Booz. Drugs. Extra-marital affairs. Sex scandals. A fall-out with teammates. Match-winner.Connoisseur’s delight. Tactical genius. You can try all the adjectives describing Shane Warne and his rather colorful life and career that you want but even they wouldn’t suffice, such as the larger than life persona of Shane Keith Warne.

From getting kicked out of the football club as a teenager to becoming an overnight sensation with that ‘ball of the century’ in 1993; from getting involved in sex and drug scandals to having an infamous fall-out with Steve Waugh to becoming the first bowler to claim 700 Test wickets and then leading a rookie Rajasthan Royals unit to IPL glory in 2008, Shane Warne’s life is tailor-made for the silver screen. And, apparently, he wants Leonardo de Caprio to play his character.

Sourav Ganguly

From allegedly refusing to carry drinks during his maiden series in Australia in 1991-92 and subsequently getting dropped to making a resounding comeback four years later with back-to-back hundreds in his first two Tests; from becoming one of India’ greatest-ever captains’, someone who went instilled a cutting edge to the team to getting ousted both as player and captain in 2005 to once again staging a comeback for the ages a year later and eventually becoming the boss of BCCI- Sourav Ganguly’s life is another perfect recipe for a blockbuster movie.

The movie will give an opportunity to the fans to delve into the untouched layers of Dada’s life, giving them an insight of what he went through mentally and how he motivated himself to fightback despite getting with roadblocks throughout his life.

And, as fans, we can’t wait.

Hansie Cronje

Ahh! Hansie Cronje, a hero that turned into a ‘villain’ and someone whose life was cut short due to a tragic plane crash in June of 2002, two years after getting banned from all cricket following his admission to having played a role in match-fixing.

From becoming one of the greatest-ever captains that this beautiful game has ever seen to succumbing towards his penchant for hard cash and leather jacket, Hansie Cronje’s whirlwind fall is one of the tragic stories in cricket, something that brings to light the darker side of the game, the stranglehold of the bookies on cricketers back then, and how even the best in the business can stutter if they aren’t surrounded by good people.

Hansie Cronje’s rise to fame and the eventual fall is a perfect case study on what one shouldn’t do when he or she is at the height of their powers. And, making a movie on it could serve as a great learning curve on the young cricketers of today.

Also Read: The Beginning Of The End For Hansie Cronje