6 lucky cricketers who got their break when others missed out due to Injuries

In sports, along with skill, luck also plays a major role in determining an athlete's career graph. Over the years, there have been a number of cricketers who have had their fair share of luck to get a place in the team. But many of them couldn't utilize their chances and were soon sacked from the team owing to their poor performances.

And then there is another category of players in cricket, who got their windfall when other players missed out due to injuries. These players have made the most of those opportunities to consolidate their position in the team. So, let us now take a look at 6 such famous cricketers who actually got a push in their career when they took someone else's place in the team.

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#6 Cheteshwar Pujara

Cheteshwar Pujara

During the first Test of 2010/11 Border-Gavaskar trophy at Mohali, VVS Laxman suffered a sore back while playing a match-winning knock against Australia. In his absence, Cheteshwar Pujara received his maiden Test cap. Batting at number 5 in the first innings, Pujara failed to impress. But in the second innings, the Saurashtra batsman was promoted up the order to bat at number 3. Justifying his skipper's decision, Pujara scored a match-defining knock of 72 off 89 balls while chasing 207.

After Rahul Dravid's retirement in 2012, Pujara made number 3 his own by giving numerous match-defining knocks. Now the 30-year-old is one of the vital cogs of Virat Kohli's Test team.

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#5 Andrew Strauss

Andrew Strauss

During the 2000-01 season, the English opener Marcus Trescothick was performing extraordinarily for his team but he was not getting any support from the other openers to complement his form. The arrival of Michael Vaughan put a check to that long-lasting wait.

However, prior to their first Test against New Zealand at Lords in 2004, Vaughan injured himself in the nets. In the absence of Vaughan, Andrew Strauss made his debut. The 41-year-old grabbed the opportunity with both hands to hit a century on his debut. Later he went on to become one of the most successful captains of England.

Representing England in 100 Tests and 127 ODIs, the southpaw scored in excess of 12000 runs with the help of 27 centuries in both formats combined.

#4 Michael Hussey

Michael Hussey

After putting all the hard work for 11 years in the domestic circuit, Michael Hussey got a chance to wear the Baggy Green on 3rd November 2005 against England when their regular opener Justin Langer got injured. Just in his second appearance in the Baggy Green, Hussey scored 137.

Making the most of the opportunity, the 43-year-old went on to become one of the greatest match-winners for the Kangaroos in all three formats of the game till 2012. Representing Australia in 79 Tests, 185 ODIs and 38 T20Is, Hussey scored 13000 runs with the help of 22 tons 72 half-centuries in all formats combined

#3 Virat Kohli

Virat Kohli

Just six months after winning the 2008 ICC U-19 Cricket World Cup in Malaysia, Kohli got his maiden ODI call for the India tour of Sri Lanka. Though he wasn't set to play the first match at Dambulla, an injury to India's regular opener Virender Sehwag in the nets resulted in Kohli getting his ODI cap. Kohli opened the innings in the absence of Viru in all the five matches of the series and ended up as India's second highest run-getter, scoring 159 in 5 innings with the help of a fifty.

Within a very short of time from there on, Kohli went on to consolidate his position in the star-studded Indian line-up in all three formats and the rest is history. The Indian superstar has thus far scored in excess of 18000 runs in international cricket with the help of a staggering tally of 58 tons in all the formats combined. It just took him a few years to become one of the most successful captains of India.

#2 Vivian Richards

Vivian Richards

During the early 1970s, Lawrence Rowe, the former West Indies cricketer, was so good at number 3 that he made Richards wait for his debut for several years. Had it not been for Rowe, we would have witnessed the greatness of Viv much earlier.

With Rowe getting injured in 1980, Richards took charge at the number three position and went on to become one of the greatest batsmen of all-time. Representing Windies in 121 Tests and 187 ODIs, the Antigua-born cricketer amassed in excess of 15000 runs with the help of 35 tons and 90 half centuries.

#1 Rahul Dravid

Rahul Dravid

The ankle injury to Sanjay Manjrekar ahead of the second Test against England in 1996 at Lords, paved the way for Rahul Dravid's debut. Batting at number 7, Dravid went on to score 95 on his debut. Dravid was India's 3rd highest run-getter in that series with 187 runs in 3 innings.

After mesmerizing one and all in his debut series, Dravid went on to become the most dependable batsman for India in both ODIs and Tests for 16 years. With more than 24000 runs and 48 tons in international cricket, Dravid without a doubt is one of the greatest players to have ever graced the gentlemen's game.

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