5 cricketers who became captain of their cricketing idols

Whenever an individual decides to pursue his dreams he will always set goals and work hard for it. Still, sometimes it might not be enough as they will also need some inspiration during this adventurous journey. Most of them get it from the personalities who have travelled a road similar to them. Eventually, they make it to the top and if they are lucky enough they will also get to meet their heroes.

Similarly, in cricket, there are players who idolize their cricketing heroes. They will try to emulate them and assimilate the characteristics of their idols and if luck plays its part then they will also get the chance to play with them. Surprisingly, some of them also got the opportunity to lead them and that is not a luxury a cricketer gets every day.

Here’s the list of 5 cricketers who became captain of their cricketing idols :

1. Angelo Matthews – Kumar Sangakkara

Nowadays, it is very disheartening to see the Sri Lankan cricket team languishing at the bottom of the rankings. Even after having a rich cricketing history and multiple world championships to their name, the country has been on a downslide since the retirement of their greats. In particular, the team has been unable to fill the void left by Kumar Sangakkara. After his exit, the country has seen a tough time in the international circuit including their former skipper, Angelo Matthews.

Once termed the successor of Sanga, Matthews hasn’t lived up to his billing. In recent times, he has been in and out of the side and has often let down the team in important tournaments. The right-hander had all the attributes to carve out his legacy in the Sri Lankan cricket and that’s why he was handed over the captaincy as early as in 2012. Only at the age of 24, Matthews proved his mettle with his impressive man-management skills.

Thereafter in 2014, he led the island nation to a historic Test series win in England. More importantly, the event played out while captaining his idol, Sangakkara. After the game, Kumar heaped praises on Matthews and everybody expected him to take the country’s cricket to new heights. In all, Angelo captained his idol in close to 90 games including in his last international game in 2015.