6 Indian cricketers who joined politics

After making a name for themselves in the cricketing world, cricketers often look for other professions after retirement. While the majority of them stay close to the profession by becoming a coach or commentators, others prefer to start their own business or decide to spend time with their families and shoot commercials for income. However, a section of the cricketers have decided to join politics in recent times to serve the people of the country.

When it comes to overseas players, Shakib Al Hasan recently contested in Bangladesh’s Lok Sabha Election, while former Pakistan pacer Wahab Riaz held the position of caretaker Sports Minister earlier in the year. When it comes to India, multiple cricketers have come forward in the last few years. It has now turned into a trend as cricketers from across the country have joined politics and have contested elections. Here are five prominent Indian cricketers who are currently active in politics.

Today, let's have a look at six notable cricketers who have chosen politics as their second innings - 

6. Kirti Azad

Kirti Azad, a member of the 1983 World Cup winning team, joined politics and was elected to Parliament on a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) ticket. He served as a Member of Legislative Assembly (MLA) from Delhi’s Gole Market, before contesting for Lok Sabha Elections in 2014. However, his political career turned into a nightmare after he was suspended from BJP for openly targeting union finance minister Arun Jaitley over alleged irregularities and corruption in Delhi District Cricket Association (DDCA).

He later joined the Indian National Congress in February 2019 and fought the general election in the same year but lost to BJP candidate Pashupati Nath Singh by 4.8 lakh votes. After that, he joined the All India Trinamool Congress and will be fighting the upcoming Lok Sabha Election from the Bardhaman-Durgapur constituency in West Bengal.