Friendship Day Special: Cricketers who are the best of friends on and off the field

Friendship is essential in any walk of life and the game of cricket is no exception. There have been a few cricketers who have are the best of friends since their childhood days and some developed a close bond by being a part of the same team.

On the eve of friendship day, here is a look at some of the close friendships in the game of cricket:

Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene:

It is no secret that Sangakkara and Jayawardene have been the best of buddies on the cricket field. Be it the ups and downs on and off the field, they have seen it all.

The duo have known each other since more than two decades. From being rivals in school to best of mates, they have many records in international cricket to their credit.

The duo batted 293 times together in international cricket for a total of 13,368 runs, more than any other pair in cricketing history.

Sangakkara and Jayawardena also share the record for the highest partnership in Test cricket when they added a mammoth 620 runs against a strong South African team in Colombo in 2006. The biggest achievement for the duo is the World T20 win in 2014 when Sri Lanka beat India in the finals. Their friendship bond has grown even stronger as the duo have entered into various ventures post-retirement.

Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir:

Sehwag and Gambhir share a good camaraderie off the cricket field too

Sehwag and Gambhir not only formed a formidable opening pair for India in their prime but also share a good camaraderie off the field. After playing for Delhi and India, their friendship has grown in the last decade.

The duo were one of the main reasons when team India attained the number one ranking in Test cricket in 2009. For the records, Gambhir and Sehwag have scored 3854 runs in test cricket in 70 innings which stands 11th in test cricket history.

It was hard to image an Indian team without the duo. However with both losing faith with the selectors due to lack of form and fitness, cricket fans around the world will never see them batting together in international cricket. But their friendship will last forever.

Courtney Walsh and Curtly Ambrose:

Ambrose and Walsh share a good rapport even after retirement

The West Indies duo of Ambrose and Walsh were best of friends off the field.

Ambrose on his retirement quoted the following for Walsh:

“I am going to miss my great partner and friend. We have gone through a great lot together, good and bad, ups and downs. He was so eager and happy for me to join him in the "400 club". Man, I am going to miss him terribly."

The duo were a deadly combination opening the bowling and were a nightmare for the opponent batsmen. They were one of the most successful pair opening the bowling in the 1990s.

Walsh picked up 519 test wickets for Australia and Ambrose bagged 405. Their combined tally comprising of 924 Test wickets.

Andrew Flintoff and Steve Harmison:

Harmison and Flintoff have been the best of mates

since

two decades

Flintoff and Harmison have been the best of mates ever since England’s under 19 tour to Pakistan two decades ago.

The duo have always supported each other on and off the field. They formed a lethal pair bowling together and played an integral part in England’s Ashes wins over Australia in 2005 and 2009.

The duo with their pace and swing troubled many a batsman, especially in English conditions. To date, they remain the best of friends even after quitting the game.