3 iconic players who changed cricket forever

Cricket is probably the most difficult game in terms of mental aspects and technical adjustments. Once in every few decades, there comes a player who makes the game look easy to the audience while it isn't.

For a game that is almost 142 years old, only a select few have gone onto becoming icons who would eventually transit the game from generation after generation.

Whether it was with their fielding or bowling or batting, these 3 players have been able to change audiences' mindsets on how to pursue the game. Let us have a look at those three iconic cricketers who changed cricket forever.

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#3 Jonty Rhodes

Well, have you ever seen a Superman in real-life? A flying saucer? Any true cricket fan worth his salt would know the answer to the above-mentioned questions.

More than a decade ago, there existed a man who could fly, but only on a cricket field though. His name was Jonathan Niel Rhodes.

Unarguably the greatest fielder of all time, Jonty Rhodes did some unimaginable things on a cricket field. As if to validate his skills, he was even awarded man of the match just for his fielding efforts. The crazy part is that he was not even in the playing XI in that match. Such was his menace on the field.

Rhodes was a pretty good middle-order batsman himself. He accumulated more than 8000 runs across both Tests and ODIs combined.

But Rhodes will forever be remembered as the one who brought a new dimension to fielding. He was so quick that sometimes he made even good runners appear slow by running them out. He saved countless runs with his fielding itself and endeared himself to fans across the globe.

#2 Shane Warne

Shane Warne

Spin bowling is pure art, one that is very hard to master. However, it seemed like a cakewalk for a certain blonde cricketer from Australia. To call Shane Warne a magician with the ball would be an understatement. The ball, once released from Warne's hand, could do things that other spinners wouldn't even think of attempting.

Warne is the most intelligent bowler ever to have graced the game itself. His idea of the opposition batsman's choice of shots, technique, temperament, skillset, and aggressive nature was unparalleled. He was so ruthless with his planning that he used to have fun destroying the careers of even accomplished batsmen

Warne bowled the ball of the century in 1993 in his first ever Ashes series. In a game that was invented more than a century ago, nobody bowled a ball that could even come close to that special delivery to Mike Gatting. He bowled many incredible deliveries bamboozling and deceiving even technically strong batsmen like Richie Richardson and Andrew Strauss.

When Warne hung up his boots for the final time in his career, he had already revolutionized the game of cricket with his exceptional spin bowling and made it an inseparable part of cricket. And he did that with great panache!

Warne finished his career with 708 Test wickets and 293 ODI wickets. Undoubtedly, he was a once-in-a-century type of cricketer.

#1 Sir Viv Richards

Sir Viv Richards

When Sir Isaac Vivian Alexander Richards arrived at the crease, everybody dropped whatever they were doing and watched with eager anticipation. He arrived into the middle with his elegant walk, rotated his arms around for a bit, adjusted his cap and got himself to dominate the bowler.

Often cited as the greatest and the most devastating batsman to have walked the planet, Richards was truly a maestro who completely changed the art of batting. During his peak, he played every shot that existed in the books aside from inventing some himself.

Richards destroyed almost every bowler that ever stepped onto the cricket field. Such was his menace that bowlers would never sledge him because of his hunger for grabbing the challenges by its collar. The only competition, in terms of bowlers he ever got, came from the legendary Dennis Lillee and the mercurial Bhagwat Chandrashekar.

In his glorious career, Richards scored 8540 Test runs at an average of 50.23. At a time when other players took a whole day to reach three figures, he once scored a Test century off just 56 balls. There is absolutely no doubt that if he were playing in this era, some IPL franchises would even write a blank cheque to get his services.

Many legendary batsmen have credited Sir Viv to be their idol growing up and Sachin Tendulkar and Brian Lara are few of those names.

Richards never wore a helmet in his entire career. He was always seen in his iconic pose - wearing his glorious maroon cap and chewing gum before enthralling the spectators.