In India, they say “cricket is a religion”, others term it as “The Gentleman’s Game”, irrespective of such clichés, the emotion and enthusiasm involved in the 22-yards are cherished by cricket fans across the world. Ask a cricketer what he dreams of; I am sure representing his national team would be the obvious answer. Cricketers around the world have braved many difficulties and roadblocks (like poverty, family issues) to successfully chase their childhood dreams.
There are also some players who have bloomed at the top level in spite of having several disabilities and diseases, which proves that sheer self-belief and the will-power can overcome any barrier. We are quite aware of how Indian all-rounder Yuvraj Singh won his battle against cancer and showed everyone what a champion he is on and off the field.
Let us have a look at 5 Cricket who braved their disabilities to become successful:
#5 Bhagwath Chandrasekhar
Poliomyelitis – It is often called polio or infantile paralysis, is an infectious disease caused by the poliovirus.
Part of the famous spin quartet, Bhagwath Chandrasekhar has been instrumental in many memorable wins for the Indian team, home and away. The other contemporaries like Bishan Singh Bedi, Erapalli Prasanna, and Srinivas Venkatraghavan were equally talented as him, yet Chandrasekhar had to overcome a special disability.
He suffered a Poliomyelitis (polio) attack when he was young, which was a major setback as his right-arm was largely affected. Yet the Mysore-born started playing cricket and was inspired by legendary Australian leg-spinner Richie Benaud. His spell of 6/38 against England at the Oval in 1971 helped India to win its first overseas Test series win in England.
Having taken 242 wickets in 58 Tests, he, without a doubt, is one of the best spinners India ever had. The leggy shares a special record with former New Zealand speedster Chris Martin of having scored less runs than the no of wickets taken in their Test careers. The Indian has scored only 167 runs throughout his 5-day career while the ‘Kiwi’ managed to gain only 123 runs compared to the 242 scalps to his name.
#4 Bob Appleyard
Tuberculosis – An infectious disease caused by the bacterium Mycobacterium tuberculosis Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but can also affect other parts of the body.
Bob Appleyard was a Yorkshire-man who braved many perils of life and stood out as an established bowler in English county Cricket who also played 9 Tests for England. Bob was separated from his mother at the age of seven and lost his younger sister who was suffering from diphtheria six years later, followed by the death of his father, step-mother, and two sisters.
Sent to live with his stepmother's parents he never gave up hope on himself and made his career in cricket. But fate had other plans, soon after his successful season in 1951, he fell ill and was hospitalised for 11 months. He was struck with tuberculosis, and everyone thought that curtains were drawn to his promising career.
But as the phoenix rises from the ashes, Bob made a courageous comeback to Cricket in 1954 claiming 154 wickets and even made his Test debut against Pakistan where he took 5 wickets for 51 runs in the first innings.
#3 Mansur Ali Khan Pataudi
Visual Impairment – It is also known as vision impairment or vision loss, is a decreased ability to see to a degree that causes problems not fixable by usual means, such as glasses.
Mansur Ali Khan Pataudi was probably one of the most charismatic captains India ever had, who led India to its first overseas Test series win in New Zealand back in 1968. Seven years prior to that in 1961, he was part of a car accident and a shard of glass went into his right eye and affected his vision.
He played cricket the rest of his career with the usage of a single eye which was indeed quite remarkable. To score a double-century with such complexities against a team like England is even more laudable. The ‘Tiger’ was a class apart from the others, and was burdened with the role of captaincy on his shoulders at a tender age of 21; he was the captain of India in 40 Tests out of the 46 he played in his career.
It was under him that the Indian cricket team was infused with an added self-belief that they could win against the toughest opponents. The bilateral Test series between India and England was named after the Legend a few years ago. The former ‘Nawab’ is still considered as ‘India’s greatest captain ever’.
#2 Len Hutton
Asymmetrical Arms – Lack of equivalent and equality between the two arms, which are supposed to be of similar length.
The name ‘Leonard Hutton’ is taken with all-time greats like Sir Donald Bradman and WG Grace. His record in Test cricket is unparalleled to none. In his fourth Test, he scored a 364-run innings which was the highest individual score for quite some time before Sir Gary Sobers bettered it with a score of 365 against Pakistan at Sabina Park in Jamaica.
During commando training in a gym, he unfortunately, met with an accident and his arm was broken. The surgery was not fruitful and his left arm ended up being by one-and-a-half inches than the right arm. It is hard to imagine someone playing cricket with asymmetrical arms.
The Brit played 79 Tests and scored 19 centuries at an unbelievable average of 56.67! He passed away in 1990 at the age of 74.
#1 Tony Greig
Epilepsy – It is a group of neurological diseases characterized by epileptic seizures, which are episodes that can vary from brief and nearly undetectable to long periods of vigorous shaking.
Former England captain Tony Greig was one a few South-African born cricketers to have played for the England national team. His international career was curtailed due to his loyalty shift toward the World Series Cricket. Standing tall at 6 feet 6 inches, the dynamic all-rounder was a stalwart in the English squad.
Tony was hit by epileptic fit when he was 14, but recovered well with the help of medication, and hardly anyone knew about the weakness for the most of his career. On his return journey to England after their tour to Australia in 1971-72, he suffered another attack at Heathrow Airport following which raised doubts about his ability to take decisions on and off the field.
In the midst of so many problems, he never let his team down and performed exceptionally well having scored eight centuries and taking 141 wickets in the 58 Test matches he played. He led England to a famous Test series win versus India against all odds back in 1976-77 and even scored a century on a tough Calcutta pitch.
Brand-new app in a brand-new avatar! Download CricRocket for fast cricket scores, rocket flicks, super notifications and much more! 🚀☄️
