5 Famous cricketers who endured extreme poverty after retirement

Cricket has become one of the most followed sport in many countries, therefore, cricketers now are considered no less than superstars. In this era, once you have played cricket at the highest level you are quite assured of a financially stable future.

Besides that, many cricketers also earn huge sums by exhibiting their cricketing skills in several T20 tournaments all across the globe. Even the retired cricketers now have multiple ways to earn a living.

However, the conditions of cricketers a few decades ago was completely different. The sport back then was not as commercial as it has become today. There were many who graced the highest level of the game in the past but ran into severe financial troubles post-retirement.

Here we take a look at five such cricketers who spent their worst days of life after hanging up their boots:

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#5 Dattaram Hindlekar

Dattaram Hindlekar, the uncle of the great Vijay Manjrekar, played 4 tests for India as the first choice wicket-keeper between 1936 to 1946. In 1936, he opened the innings for India in the first test at Lord's but suffered a finger injury which later affected his vision. As a result of that injury, he could not play more matches for India.

Later, Dattaram worked in the Bombay Port Trust, earning a mere Rs 800 per month. As a result of insufficient funds, Dattaram died at the age of 40 for not being able to afford proper medical treatment. After his death, his employers organized a cabaret dance to raise funds for his wife and seven children.

#4 Herbert Chang

1982-83 West Indies rebel team to South Africa. Herbert Chang is standing third from right.

Herbert Chang is a former West Indian batsman who played only one test in January 1979 against India before joining the West Indian rebel cricket team to tour South Africa in 1982-83.

As the international cricketing bodies banned South Africa for 23 years from 1969-1992, all the players in the West Indin rebel team were subsequently banned by West Indies from playing cricket for the country.

After being banned Chang played only the first-class cricket. Thereafter, he suffered his worst days of life as he worked in a coal bunker before living the life of a destitute on the streets of Kingston, Jamaica.

#3 Brian Statham

Brian Statham

Brian Statham, an English fast bowler, was one of the greatest bowlers during the 1950s. Besides being genuinely quick, Statham was also an athletic outfielder.

Statham made his test debut on 17th March 1951 against New Zealand and went on to represent England in 70 tests. He was the first bowler in the world to take 250 wickets, a landmark which was later reached by his new ball partner Fred Trueman.

As a result of his contributions towards cricket, on 30th August 2009, Brian Statham was inducted into the ICC Cricket Hall of Fame.

In his last days, Statham could not make enough money and it was Fred Trueman who organized two testimonial dinners to raise money for his old teammate in the late 1980s. Statham, eventually died of leukaemia, a week before his 70th birthday.

#2 Janardan Navle

The 1932 Indian Test team that toured England. Janardan Navle is standing first from right

Janardan Gyanoba Navle was India’s first ever Test wicketkeeper. He also faced the first ball for India in their first test against England at Lord’s on 25th June 1932 at Lords. Navle represented India in two tests and played 65 first-class matches altogether, having scored 42 and 1976 runs respectively.

After retiring from cricket in 1950, Navle spent his last days working as a security guard in a sugar mill and lived in a small flat in Poona. Some sources also say that he died in extreme poverty and was seen begging on the Bombay-Poona highway in his last days.

#1. Wally Hammond

Hammond smashed more than 50,000 runs in his first-class career

Wally Hammond was an all-time English great who represented his nation in 85 tests between 1927 and 1947. Hammond represented Gloucestershire in his first-class career from 1920 to 1951. He was considered to be the best English batsman of the 1930s along with being one of the best slip fielders ever.

His career aggregate of 7249 runs was the highest in Test cricket until surpassed by Colin Cowdrey in 1970. His total of 22 Test centuries remained an English record for 73 years until Alastair Cook surpassed it in December 2012. Hammond also set the record for the highest individual Test innings of 336 not out in 1933 which was surpassed by Len Hutton after 5 years.

Post-retirement Hammond moved to South Africa and joined an automobile company, which went bankrupt a few years later. Hammond then started his coaching career at the Natal University but could not make enough money. When he died of heart attack in 1965, the cricketing world came together to raise a memorial fund for his wife and three children