CRICKET
5 Indian cricketers who have appeared in movies
Cricketers enjoy massive popularity in India.
No wonder, the film industry has tried to leverage their fame and cast them in movies.
Let’s look at 5 Indian cricketers who have appeared on the cine screen.
1. Kapil Dev
Kapil Dev is the greatest all-rounder India has produced.
Famously known as the Haryana Hurricane, he is the the youngest captain ever to win a World Cup.
He is the only cricketer to have scored over 5,000 runs and taken more than 400 wickets in Test cricket.
Kapil made cameo appearances in the films like Dillagi… Yeh Dillagi, Iqbal, Chain Khuli ki Main Khuli and Mujhse Shaadi Karogi among others.
In 2021, a biopic on Kapil titled 83 was also made which starred Ranveer Singh in the titular role alongside Deepika Padukone and Pankaj Tripathi. Kapil had a brief cameo in the movie as a spectator.
Yuvraj Singh
Yuvraj Singh is an ODI legend who helped India win the 2011 World Cup.
He scored 362 runs and scalped 15 wickets which helped him bag the Player of the Tournament award.
In 2012, Yuvraj was conferred with the Arjuna Award, India’s second-highest sporting award by the Government of India.
He has worked in a Punjabi film as a child artist named Mehndi Shagna Di. The film was released in the year of 1992 and Yuvraj was just 11 years old.
Apart from acting in a film, he has also worked as a voiceover artist. He gave his voice to a character in the animated film Jumbo which was released in 2008.
Vinod Kambli
Vinod Kambli was a left handed batter known for precocious talent and played many vital innings for India in the 90s.
He has appeared as a commentator on various television channels and worked with a Marathi News channel as a cricket expert for the 2019 Cricket World Cup.
He has also been a part of various reality shows and has done a few serials.
Vinod Kambli has also appeared as an actor in a few films like Annarth, Pal Pal Dil Ke Ssaat, and a Kannada film, Bettanagere.
Ajay Jadeja
Ajay Jadeja is one of the most prominent players from the ‘90s to have played for the Indian cricket team.
One of his most memorable innings was his explosive cameo in the 1996 Cricket World Cup quarter-final in Bengaluru against arch-rivals Pakistan.
He played 15 Test matches and 196 One Day Internationals for India.
Later, Jadeja acted in the 2003 movie Khel alongside Sunny Deol and Sunil Shetty in the lead.
Known for his flamboyance, he also acted in the 2009 movie, Pal Pal Dil Ke Ssaat, directed by V.K.Kumar.
Ajay was also a contestant on the celebrity dance show Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa.
Later, he did a cameo in Abhishek Kapoor’s film Kai Po Che! as himself in a cricket commentator role.
Sunil Gavaskar
Sunil Gavaskar is acknowledged as one of the greatest opening batters of all time.
Gavaskar is a recipient of the Arjuna Award and the civilian honour of the Padma Bhushan.
He also dabbled in movies and played the lead role in the Marathi movie Savli Premachi.
Later, he appeared in a guest role in the (1988) Hindi movie Maalamaal with Naseeruddin Shah and Satish Shah in key roles.