In today’s Era, Cricket is a game filled with money. The introduction of T-20 leagues and franchisee cricket has incorporated fame into it. Cricketers are now blessed with a financial boom. But the conditions were not the same for all. Every Cricketer has not been that lucky. Let us look at the cricketers who were good in their game but ultimately not able to live life to their liking:
1. Janardan Navle
First Indian to face a ball in a Test match for India and was also the first wicketkeeper of India. He was called by Wisdon “a first-rate wicket-keeper and very quick in all that he does.” He worked as a security guard in a sugar mill in the later stages of his life.
2. Arshad Khan
He was the Pakistan Bowling allrounder in the late 90s to early 2000s. He played a key role in squaring test series against India in the Tour of 2005. After retirement, he was spotted to be running a cab in Sydney due to financial problems.
3. Adam Holliacke
The bowling all-rounder from England played Intl cricket in the late 1990s. He played only 3 test matches but the highlight of his career was ODI from 1996-99. He captained England to victory in the Sharjah Cup in 1999. He and his brother Adam Holliacke were both part of the England Cricket Team. His brother, unfortunately, died in an accident at a very young age. After retirement from cricket, he pursued his family business, which suffered severe losses due to the recession in 2008 and was declared bankrupt. He also tried his luck in MMA.
4. Matthew Sinclair
The New Zealander was the first one to score a double century on debut. But his promising career never took off. He remained in and out of the team due to irregular performances. Due to cricket, he was not very qualified. Due to this, he faced many troubles in finding a non-cricketing job. He worked in a sports shop for some time and then became a real estate agent.
5. Dattaram Hindlekar
Indian Wicket-keeper who has the first-choice Wicketkeeper for the England tour of 1936 and 1946. Unfortunately, Injuries kept his career at bay. He is one of the four players to have batted at every position in test cricket, the other three being- Wilfred Rhodes, Syd Gregory and Vinoo Mankad. Later he worked in Bombay port trust for Rs 80/- a month. He died at a very early age of 40.
6. Wally Hammond
In his obituary, he was described as one of the four best batsmen in the history of cricket by Wisdom Cricketer’s Almanac. In 85 Test Matches he played for England he scored 7249 runs at a healthy average of 58.45. After his Cricket career, he tried his luck in Business and later in a motor garage but nothing worked in his favour.
7. Paul Strang
Bowling all-rounder from Zimbabwe was a permanent member of the side in the 1990s. He was the part of Zimbabwe team in the 1999 World Cup in which they defeated Kenya, India, and South Africa to reach the Super 6 stage. He also has the best bowling figures in Test matches for Zimbabwe bowler (109-8 against New Zealand). The Political instability in Zimbabwe affected his career. He suffered financial losses and even attempted suicide.
8. Tony lock
The English Slow Left arm bowler was the first in the world to complete 10,000 runs in first class without even one hundred. He had 2844 first-class wickets and 174 wickets in 49 test matches he played for England. Later in life, he was accused of several sexual abuse cases which ultimately affected him financially and mentally.
9. Graeme Pollack
The South African great, ICC Hall of Famer, is considered one of the best batsmen. He averaged second-best after Sir Don Bradman for a long time (now ranks three after Adam Voges). His career was cut short at the age of 26 due to the boycott of South African teams all over the world as a repercussion of Apartheid. Later, He suffered losses in the Brokerage business. And diagnosed with cancer.
10. Chris Cairns
The Star All-rounder from New Zealand was the backbone of their team in the 90s Era. He was considered one of the best short-format allrounders of all time. Due to his contribution, New Zealand was able to lift the first ever ICC title, i.e. ICC Champions Trophy 2000, which was also the tournament in which Yuvraj Singh debuted. His valiant 102* against India ensured this feat. Besides that, also there were several memorable performances of which he is reminded. But his bad phase started after he played in ICL. Match-fixing charges were imposed on him. In the earlier phase, he gained some cost and damages though sue against than IPL commissioner Mr Lalit Modi. But later on, Legal charges took a toll on him and went bankrupt.
