10 Cricketers who played another innings as musicians

Cricketers are fun characters wherever they go. It is not a rare sight to see the players dance to the beats of music or perhaps even be creating one on various occasions. Some cricketers have their unique celebratory moves on the field as well. While this is restricted to some players on the field, others take it to a whole new level. Cricketers can indeed be the all-rounders to impress their fans. We have recently scene videos of Virat Kohli singing at a function and Shane Watson creating his own covers for some popular tracks. You will be surprised to know that the world of cricket boasts of players who have actually tried their hands as popular musicians and professional singers. From being a part of a band to being the playback singers for the movies, the cricketers have done it all. Here is a list of such 10 cricketers who are great singers and have mesmerized with their vocal charm: 1. Brett Lee: Australian cricketer, Brett Lee plays guitar. (Photo by AMAN CHOPRA/AFP/Getty Images) The former Australian fast bowler Brett Lee was undoubtedly the poster boy of the last decade. Lee had the looks of a movie star and certainly gave the film stars a run for their money. Lee was the protagonist in a movie named ‘Unindian’. Talking about his singing skills, one can never forget his collaboration with Indian singer Asha Bhosle. He sang the duet titled “You‘re the one for me”. He even sang a couple of lines in Hindi and definitely wooed a lot of female fans in India. Prior to this, he was a part of a band named ‘Six and Out’ along with his brother Shane Lee and former cricketers Richard Quee, Brad McNamara and Gavin Robertson. Their song, based on the Scott Muller incident of 1999, became an instant hit and was titled “Can’t bowl, Can’t Throw”. He was the bass guitarist for the band and his brother, Shane, was the pianist. Also check out – 10 Cricketers and their hidden talents 2. Sanjay Manjrekar: Former Indian batsman Sanjay Manjrekar had confessed in an interview about his penchant for Bengali music. Post retirement, Manjrekar had no hesitation in taking the microphone in his hand and landed a few playback singing contracts for Bengali movies. It was Sanjay Kanhade, a sports journalist, who inspired Manjrekar to record an album after his retirement. He eventually released an album titled ‘Restday’ in which he sang all the favourite songs of the team and it was Javagal Srinath who helped him in getting the playlist right. However, he didn’t continue his singing career any further and turned up to be a commentator thereafter. Well, that sounds fair enough. He is still lending his voice, be it for playback singing or for the commentary. Also read – 19 Most funny bloopers in cricket commentary 3. AB de Villiers: AB de Villiers. (Photo Source) Only if you thought that you knew enough about AB de Villiers, you are about to be proven wrong. AB de Villiers is a gifted musician too. His singing credentials, to go with his multi-talented sports skills, have earned him a lot of fans too. AB has performed at the annual ICC awards night too. AB released his debut song in collaboration with singer Ampie Du Preez in the year 2010. The song was titled ‘Maak Jou Drome Waar’ that means make your dreams come true and was big hit in his native land. AB, during his visit to India for IPL 9, also sang a melodious song for his wife and the video became a huge hit on the social media. Earlier, during a talk show hosted by the former Royal Challengers Bangalore owner Siddharth Mallya, AB de Villiers beautifully sang a couple of lines of the popular Indian track ‘Yeh dosti hum nahi todenge’, that means we won’t break this friendship. Also read – 5 reasons why AB de Villiers is the Super Man of Cricket 4. Henry Olonga: Henry Olanga. (Photo Source) Former Zimbabwean fast bowler, Henry Olonga, has a sad end to his cricket career. A career that began in 1995, lasted just 8 years before he resented the Mugabe Regime in Zimbabwe in 2003 and subsequently called his retirement from international cricket. Olonga, who was the first black player to play for Zimbabwe, is a true patriot at heart. No wonder why his maiden song was titled ‘Our Zimbabwe’ and was a big success back in his homeland. Olonga, after retiring from international cricket, is now pursuing a career as a cricket commentator and singer and released an album Aurelia in 2006. His autobiography, Blood, Sweat and Treason, was released in July 2010 by Vision Sports Publishing and was longlisted for the William Hill Sports Book of the Year 2010. His last international appearance for Zimbabwe came in ICC World Cup 2003, when he, along with Andy Flower, wore black bands to mark the ‘death of democracy’ in Zimbabwe. 5. Suresh Raina: Suresh Raina. (Photo Source) Stylish left-handed batsman Suresh Raina recently sang a melodious track for a Bollywood movie and marked his ‘debut’ in a new field altogether. The song was titled ‘Tu Mili Sab Mila’ and featured in the movie ‘Meeruthiya Gangsters’. The movie makers were close friends with the Indian batsman and asked him to sing the song. “My wife Priyanka is from Meerut and the Producer of this movie Shoeb Ahmed is a family friend of mine, a few days back he discussed his upcoming movie Meeruthiya Gangsters and insisted that I sing a song for it,” Raina had quoted. “Cricket will always remain my passion and while playing, music has always given me company in between. While listening to music, singing became a hobby and I have been interested in doing something in singing when I am free,” Raina had quoted after the song was released earlier this year. Also check out – Top 10 Highest batting strike rates in a ODI innings 6. Dwayne Bravo: The West Indies all-rounder Dwayne Bravo remains to be the most popular on this list. His singing abilities are not hidden or abstract at all. His recent hit ‘Champion’ was the song of the tournament for the West Indies team that won the ICC World T20 in India this year. Not only did the song catch the minds of his fans but the dance moves became very popular too. Prior to this, he had released his collaboration with Beanniie Man and another solo titled Go Gyal Go. Bravo also has a song under his name in collaboration with Nisha B in the year 2015 that was big hit among his fans worldwide and was titled ‘Chalo Chalo’. If you think that his versatility saw a boundary with Hindi then you are wrong. Bravo went on to sing a good portion of a song in a Tamil movie. The song was titled ‘Yenda’ and Bravo is seen donning traditional Tamil attire in the song and singing his Tamil portion with flair and perfection. He is a champion for sure! 7. Harbhajan Singh: Harbhajan Singh. (Photo Source) Perhaps the most successful off-spinner of India in the last decade, Harbhajan Singh, struck the chords of his fans not with his bowling but with an emotional album dedicated to his mother. The album named ‘Meri Maa’ was released in the year 2013 and featured Harbhajan Singh in the video. Harbhajan was out of the team at that point of time and had just made a comeback to the national side when the song was released. The song was widely appreciated and shot at locations in Punjab. Harbhajan’s love for his mother was evident in his heart touching song. The video also featured popular model Subuhi Joshi in the childhood depiction. Subuhi acted as the mother of a young Harbhajan Singh in the album. The song was a Punjabi number, yet received widespread appreciation from different parts of the country. Also read – 10 Brashest cricketers – The flamboyant stars 8. Mark Butcher: Mark Butcher. (Photo Source) Former England middle-order batsman Mark Butcher has always had an inclination towards music since his childhood. It was way back in 2002 when Butcher sang a self-written song while playing the guitar at the funeral of his Surrey team-mate Ben Hollioake. Hollioake, the English cricketer, had died in an accident. The song was titled ‘You’re never gone’ and was a heart touching song indeed. The song was later released in the year 2010. Butcher has come a long way since then. He formed his own band named as ‘The Mark Butcher Band’ that has 4 other members as well. Their maiden song album was released under the title ‘Songs of the Sun Horse’. Earlier, in the year 2001, he appeared on the ‘Jamie Theakston Cricket Show’ on BBC Radio 5 Live, where he played a live acoustic version of “Grip” by The Stranglers with the former Stranglers’ frontman Hugh Cornwell. 9. Omari Banks: Omari Banks. (Photo Source) Former West Indian player Omari Banks is a popular Anguillan musician. It was after 6 years of his retirement that he started his professional singing career and is now a reggae music star in the Caribbean. Banks’ first single was titled “Move On” and was released on iTunes in the year 2012 as a part of Bankie Banx’s album Just Cool. The song was a biographical ballad that described his transition from a cricketer to a musician. Omari Banks and his band Eleven performed at the Miss Anguilla pageant in August 2011 as part of Anguilla’s Summer Festival. His album Move On (Deluxe Edition) was released in 2015. He garnered so much popularity that he has been doing shows in the Europe and in parts of the world too, with some of the greatest modern day musicians. 10. Curtly Ambrose: Curtly Ambrose. (Photo Source: Getty Images) Legendary West Indies pace bowler Curtly Ambrose had a spectacular career to boast of. But his love for music was an undying one. He performed as a bass guitarist for a reggae band for quite some time. He formed his own band along with former teammate and captain Richie Richardson. It was after his retirement that he pursued his career in music. Ambrose takes the role of the bass guitarist in the band and Richardson is the rhythm guitarist of the band. The band is named ‘The big bad dread and the bald head’. They have performed at various events and spreading their musical charm. Ambrose later went on to coach the West Indies team and on a personal level, participated in the inaugural All Stars XI held in the USA. He performed at the All Stars concert and was also a part of the band named ‘Spirited’. Also check out – Top 10 Most stylish modern day cricketers

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10 Cricketers who played another innings as musicians

5. Suresh Raina:

Also check out – Top 10 Highest batting strike rates in a ODI innings

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