10 Cricketers who played other sport

A few years ago a rumour about AB de Villiers took the internet by storm. It said that the South African was prolific in several sports other than cricket like Rugby, Badminton, Hockey, etc. But he cleared all the myths in his autobiography that he has represented his nation only in cricket. Considering the maverick he is; the skills and fitness De Villiers has shown on the cricket field, many fans believed it to be true.

But there are some cricketers who have showcased their crafts on different sporting platforms. A selected few even represented their country in a sport other than cricket. Their hobby, or choice or just the fondness towards the game gelled with an opportunity drove these cricketers to try their hand in another sport.

Here we look at 10 cricketers who have played a sport other than cricket

1. Yuzvendra Chahal – Chess

Wrist spinners have become a must-have commodity in limited-overs cricket. India is blessed to have a luxury of such a kind. One of the leading spinners in modern-day cricket is Haryana’s, Yuzvendra Chahal. He has become Virat Kohli’s go-to spinner, at any stage of the game. Chahal has the ability to chip out wickets in the powerplay, in the middle-overs, and in the death as well.

Chahal is also a former chess player and has played for India at junior levels. He won the National Under-12 Championship in Kolkata, 2002. He also represented the nation at Asian and World U12 Junior Championships. Chahal wanted to build a career in Chess but lack of sponsorship became an obstacle in his path. However, he continued honing his cricketing skills in his hometown, Jind. His father built him a playground using their agricultural land.

The leg-spinner was bought by the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) in 2014 and has gone from strength to strength over the years. He scalped 23 and 22 wickets in the 2015 and 2016 season, respectively. Chahal’s brilliant performances in the IPL earned him a national call-up. His 6/25 against England in 2017 in Bangalore is the best bowling figures in T20 internationals by an Indian.

The 29-year-old has a tally of 100 IPL wickets, which is a large testament to his knack of picking wickets as RCB play their home games at the Chinnaswamy Stadium. Chahal has become a vital cog of the Indian team in the limited-over format and will be looking to improve more in the years to come.