Cricket is considered one of the most-watched games in the world. Some cricketers started as great batters and have continued to score thousands of runs for their country. Some started their career as bowlers, and have taken hundreds of wickets of the best batsmen. What if we tell you some cricketers are the top-best batters currently but started as bowlers? Here is a list of some batters who kickstarted their careers in cricket through balling.
1. Steve Smith
Steve Smith, the former Australian captain, is considered one of the best batsmen in all formats. Smith is often compared to the legend Don Bradman and is also one of the few batters with a double century. However, he started off his career as a bowler, a right-arm leg spinner! His best bowling figure is 3/16 in the ODIs.
2. Sanath Jayasuriya
Sanath Jayasuriya hails from Sri Lanka and is a Sri Lankan cricketer and a former captain. He is the third batsman to be known as the ‘master blaster.’ Jayasuriya is one of the legends to have a triple century in the test format. The ‘master-blaster’ is the only cricketer with more than 10000 runs, and 300 wickets in the ODIs. His best balling in the ODI is 6/29.
3. Shahid Afridi
Shahid Afridi hails from Pakistan. The former skipper began as a leg-spinner, and has taken 541 wickets in his international career. Today, he is well-known for his aggressive batting style. He has scored a century in just his second international match in just 37 deliveries. He also holds a record for hitting the most sixes in ODIs.
4. Rohit Sharma
Rohit Sharma, known as the hitman, is an Indian captain. Sharma initially started as an off-spinner and was a lower-order batsman. His bowling stats may not be impressive enough. However, he is known today for his fierce batting, being the only player with three double centuries. His highest was 264 in the ODIs.
5. Kevin Pietersen
Kevin Pietersen is a cricketer from England. He was initially selected as an off-spinner in the national team but only has 17 wickets from 240 international matches. However, he settled as a batsman, and now has more than 10000 runs in ODI and Test. His top score is 227 in the Test.
6. Cameron White
Cameron Leon White is a former Australian captain who is a right-arm leg spinner. His best bowling figure is 3/5 in the ODIs. However, he achieved heights in his career for his batting. Although he has played many international matches, he has scored over 2000 runs in the ODIs in just 88 games.
7. Shoaib Malik
Shoaib Malik is a Pakistani player and a former captain. He was initially an off-spinner and has also taken more than 150 wickets in the ODIs. Later, he focused on his batting and scored hundreds of runs for his country. His highest score is 245 runs in Test cricket.
8. Shane Watson
Shane Watson is an Australian all-rounder. He started as a right-arm medium-fast bowler. Initially, he was a middle-order batsman but with immense practice got promoted to the top order. Watson has taken over 250 wickets and has more than 10000 runs in all the formats combined. In T20, he was considered the best batsman in the world.
9. Nasser Hussain
Nasser Hussain is a former cricketer who also was the captain of England. Hussain initially started his cricket journey being a leg-spinner when he was in school. However, as time progressed, he was made a top-order batsman. He also has a double century, 207 runs, in Test cricket.
10. Shaun Pollock
Shaun Pollock is from South Africa and a former captain of the South African team. He began his professional career as a bowler and has taken over 800 wickets in Tests and ODIs combined. He has scored over 7000 runs in the 400 matches he has played. He holds a record for scoring the most Test centuries for batting at number 9.
