Established batsmen who have surprised as bowlers

Every team wants a good set of all-rounders as they both bowl and bat. Good all-rounders are a rare commodity which is why most players are either bowling-all-rounders who are bowlers and can bat or batting-all-rounders who are batsmen and can also bowl.

If a team has a few batsmen who can bowl, it helps with the team balance. They can give three to four overs and also pick up odd wickets and break crucial partnerships.

At times some not so established bowlers have bowled for fun or to break crucial partnerships and have even gone onto pick wickets for their team.

Here is a list of some players who are not so established bowlers at the international level but still have wickets to their name.

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#1 Rahul Dravid

Rahul Dravid scored thousands of runs for India with the bat. He also did wicket-keeping for some time and was an excellent slip fielder. But what people don't know is that he has even bowled a few overs for India. He has a Test wicket to his name and four wickets in ODIs.

In an ODI series with South Africa, due to the dismal performance from the bowlers, Saurav Ganguly asked Rahul Dravid to a bowl and he didn't disappoint by picking crucial wickets of Gary Kirsten and Lance Kluesner and ended the match with figures of 2/43.

# 2 VVS Laxman

VVS Laxman was an excellent middle order batsman for Indian. He also bowled some overs for India. His off break fetched him two wickets in Test matches.

He bowled 324 deliveries in his Test career. Adam Sanford was his maiden Test wicket and Mohammad Sami his second and the last Test Wicket.

#3 Faf Du Plessis

The South African captain has also bowled in both Test matches and ODIs and his leg break has fetched him two wickets in ODIs.

He has bowled 13 overs in Test matches without having any wicket. In ODIs, he has bowled 32 overs.

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#4 AB De Villiers

De Villiers has seven wickets in ODIs and two wickets in Tests

De Villiers, popularly known as Mr. 360, can play shots in any part of the ground. He has also kept wickets and was an excellent fielder.

Surprisingly, he has also bowled and has seven wickets in ODIs and two in Test matches. He was a medium pacer and bowled 32 overs in ODIs and 34 in Test matches. His maiden wicket in ODIs was of Tom Latham.

#5 Brian Lara

Lara will always be remembered for his batting but it need not be forgotten that he also bowled a few overs in international cricket. His leg breaks fetched him four wickets in ODIs. He has the best figures of 2/5 in ODIs. He has bowled 10 overs in Tests and 8 overs in ODIs.

#6 Sunil Gavaskar

the first player to score 10 thousand runs in Test matches has also bowled some overs of medium pace and picked one wicket in ODIs and one in Test matches. Zaheer Abbas was his maiden wicket in international cricket. He has best figures of 1/10 in ODIs and has just bowled 20 deliveries in ODIs. In test matches, he has bowled more than 60 overs.

#7 Ricky Ponting

Ponting was a fine medium pacer. He has five wickets in Test matches and 3 in ODIs. He has bowled close to 100 overs in Test matches with 1/0 being his best figures. In ODIs, he has bowled 25 overs with 1/12 being his best figures.

#8 David Warner

Warner has picked 4 wickets in Test matches

Warner has bowled both in ODIs and Test matches. He has picked 4 wickets in Test matches. He has just bowled a single overs in ODIs. In Test matches, he has bowled more than 50 overs of leg break. Kirk Edwards from the West Indies is one of his scalps.

#9 Alastair Cook

Cook has bowled 18 deliveries in Test matches. He has been dismissed by Ishant Sharma lot of times but Ishant Sharma was his first and last Test wicket. He got this wicket when he brought himself to the ball to break a frustrating ninth wicket partnership for India.

#10 MS Dhoni

Dhoni is an excellent seam bowler and had bowled on quite a few occasions. He almost had Kevin Peterson as his first Test Wicket. But he took his first wicket against West Indies in ODIs. Travis Dowlin was his maiden wicket in ODIs. He has bowled six overs in ODIs and 16 overs in Test matches.

#11 Virat Kohli

Virat Kohli may be the best batsmen of the current generation but what people may not know is he is medium pace bowler with an awkward action. He has 4 wickets in T20 internationals and 4 in ODIs. In ODIs, he got the wicket of his first ball. He bowled a leg-side wide and Kevin Peterson was out of his crease and was stumped by Dhoni. In the 2016 T20 world cup semi-final against West Indies, he picked a crucial wicket of Johnson Charles of the first delivery he bowled but India still lost the match.

#12 Adam Gilchrist

Gilchrist has rolled his arm over during an IPL match for Kings XI Punjab

Gilchrist never bowled in any international match. But in his last match in the IPL, he bowled a single delivery and got Harbhajan out on that ball.

It was last league match of Kings XI Punjab and Mumbai Indians needed close to 50 runs in the last over with one wicket remaining. Gilchrist brought himself to bowling and Harbhajan while trying to send the ball out of the park was caught at long on.

#13 Brendon McCullum

McCullum has also bowled in Test matches and has one wicket to his name. He bowled both off-break and medium pace. He has bowled 175 deliveries in Test matches. His first and the last Test wicket was Pakistan's current captain Sarfraz Ahmed.

#14 Murali Vijay

Vijay's off break has fetched him one wicket in ODI and one in Test matches. He has bowled 330 deliveries in Test matches and picked a wicket against England. In ODIs, he has bowled six overs in which he picked a wicket.

#15 Mark Boucher

Boucher for South Africa has bowled just 8 deliveries in Test matches and picked one wicket. The Batsman he got out was Dwayne Bravo who was batting on a 100 plus score. He has a wicket to his name on the last delivery he bowled in international cricket.

#16 Inzamam-ul-Haq

Inzamam-Ul-Haq was known for his batting but he bowled close to 10 overs in ODIs and picked three wickets. Although his action was questioned by the umpire and no-balls were also given. He was right-handed batsman but he was a slow left-arm bowler.

#17 Mahela Jayawardene

Jayawardene bowled quite a few overs in international cricket. He has picked six wickets in Test matches and eight wickets in ODIs. One of his scalps was S Ramesh. He bowled medium pace in close to 100 overs in Test matches and 100 overs in ODIs.