In cricket, players are supposed to excel at the sport, either with the bat or the ball, depending on their field of expertise. Cricket players entertain us with their early talent on the playground. But in many cases, their talent is not limited to batting or bowling. Over the years, we have seen many cricket players impress us with their exceptional talent in various areas. On that note, here’s a look at a list of the top 10 cricketers players who have exceptional talent apart from playing cricket.
1. Andrew Flintoff
Andrew Flintoff is a former England all-rounder. He was born on 6th December 1977. Flintoff was a right-hand batsman and right-arm medium-fast bowler. Apart from being a cricketer, Flintoff is also a boxer. He had one professional boxing fight on 30th November 2012. He defeated America's Richard Dawson on a points decision.
2. Shikhar Dhawan
Shikhar Dhawan is an Indian opening batsman. He is popularly known as Gabbar and also for his ICC tournaments performance. He is a flute player. He often posts some of his flute-playing videos on his Instagram page. Dhawan took professional training for playing flute in 2016 under Guru Venugopal.
3. Matthew Hayden
Matthew Hayden is a former Australian opening batsman. He has the record for the highest score made by an Australian in tests. He is also a very talented cook. He is the author of the book 'The Complete Matthew Hayden cookbook.' It features tales of his exciting travels and passion for family, friends, fishing, and food.
4. Anil Kumble
Anil Kumble is an Indian coach, captain, former cricket player, and commentator. He played for eighteen years. Anil is one of the greatest bowlers in test cricket. He is a right-arm leg-spin bowler. Kumble is a wildlife photographer. He often uploads pictures captured by him on his social media handles. In 2011, a book published called 'Wide Angle: Candid Moments From My Playing Days’ He was the author of the book, which featured pictures captured by him off the field.
5. Michael Vaughan
Michael Vaughan is a former England cricket captain. He played for his country for nine years. Michael was a right-handed batsman. He was also a dancer. He participated in the show 'Strictly Come Dancing' with his dance partner Natalie Lowe. It got telecast on the BBC channel in the year 2012.
6. Kapil Dev
Kapil Dev is a former Indian cricket captain. Team India, led by him in 1983, won the ICC World Cup title. After cricket, he decided to play golf. Later, he is inducted as a Professional Golf tour of India board member. Kapil won the 60-64 individual age category at AVT Champions tour.
7. Dwayne Bravo
Dwayne Bravo is a West Indies cricket all-rounder. He is a right-hand batsman and right-arm medium-fast bowler. Bravo always entertains his fans through his excellent dancing and singing. In 2016, he released his album called 'Champion.’ It went viral after West Indies won world T20 in the same year and crossed over 100 million views.
8. Yuzvendra Chahal
Yuzvendra Chahal is an Indian leg-spin bowler. He is the first Indian player to take a six-wicket haul in a T20 International inning. Chahal is also a chess player. He represented India at the World Youth Chess Championship. Chahal later gave up the Championship when he didn’t find any sponsor for himself.
9. Brett Lee
Brett Lee is a former Australian right-arm fast bowler. He played for Australia between 1999 and 2012. Brett was the first player in T20 International cricket to take a hat-trick. In 2006, he wrote the song, 'You are the one for me.' In 2015, he starred in the film, 'UnIndian' with Tannishtha Chatterjee. He also plays guitar.
10. Ajinkya Rahane
Ajinkya Rahane is an Indian top-order batsman. He is the 5th Indian Batsman to score centuries in each innings of a Test. Rahane holds a black belt in Karate. He started training when he was nine because he was frail and was very reserved. In earlier interviews, Rahane said that Karate had improved him as a cricketer.
