In a number of cases, cricket players have either become actors or have taken on specific roles in movies. The examples range widely, from Salil Ankola to S Sreesanth, or even Ajay Jadeja and Sunil Gavaskar who have portrayed small roles in films. However, there have been some famous people who started out playing cricket but later switched to acting and took the role full-time.
There are many who dream of becoming a cricketer, but very few actually manage to achieve their goal. Even if they do, not everyone go on to continue in the sport for a long time. There have been many sportsmen who left their game and went on to pursue different roles in their lives. But let us have a look at those-
Actors who started their journey as cricketers before changing fields
1. Hardy Sandhu
Hardy Sandhu, known for his hit tracks ‘Nah Goriye’, ‘Tequilla Shot’, and many others, is known in the film and music industry. But not many know that he started his career as a fast bowler in cricket and represented Punjab’s Ranji team and India’s U19. He had a dream of playing for India, but things did not fall in place.
He would have moved further in the sport but had to pull out due to injuries. Sandhu has played just three first-class games for Punjab, one each against Hyderabad, Baroda, and Uttar Pradesh. He has 12 wickets under his belt from just three games.
All the three fixtures were played way back in December 2005. One of Sandhu’s recent performances in the film industry was his role in Kabir Khan’s film that was based on the 1983 World Cup, India’s first ever major tournament win, where he played the role of Madan Lal.
2. Salil Ankola
Salil Ankola, a tall, alluring, and athletic pace bowler, made a memorable debut for Bombay in 1988–1989, scoring 43 runs and grabbing three wickets in a hat-trick against Gujarat before taking six wickets against Baroda. The impressive performances got him a place on the Indian national side.
He was almost immediately selected for the Indian team, having taken 6/77 in the tour opener against Pakistan in Pakistan in 1989–1990. He then played his first Test match against Pakistan in Karachi, where he took 2/128.
He didn’t play again in that series, and the game in Karachi was his final Test appearance due to injuries that had taken their impact due to the extremely long run-up. He then became irregular in the side. He played a few matches in between but was soon out of the scenario and went on to build a career in the film line.
3. Karan Wahi
Readers would be surprised to learn that Karan Wahi, a well-known figure in the film and television industry once competed for Delhi’s U19 national team. The TV program Remix later served as the actor’s screen debut. Wahi made his Bollywood debut in the film Daawat-e-Ishq, starring Parineeti Chopra and Aditya Roy Kapoor.
Wahi started his cricket career while still in school, playing for St. Mark’s Senior Secondary Public School. He was chosen in 2003 to play for Delhi’s under-19 cricket team together with India legends Virat Kohli and Shikhar Dhawan, but a serious injury prompted him to quit the sport.
The very next year, he changed his path and began his acting career in 2004. Since then, he has been a popular figure in the daily soaps and the Bollywood industry. Like others, Wahi also was an unlucky fellow in the game of cricket.
4. Angad Bedi
The name is known to all, not because of his achievements in cricket, but because of his father’s achievements in the sport. Angad Bedi is the son of former India cricketer and legend Bishan Singh Bedi who played international cricket between 1966 to 1979.
Angad Bedi has been a part of Delhi’s Under-19 team but did not continue the game for long. He shifted his focus to modeling and went on to join the entertainment industry. But the stylish actor played the role of a cricketer in one of the most acclaimed web series Inside Edge.
Angad Bedi, during his cricketing days, played a role exactly similar to that of his father. He was a slow left-arm orthodox bowler and a right-hand batter. He has also expressed his desire to play the sport, on his social media handle, when he posted a picture of himself in a retro India Test kit saying he missed cricket in whites.
5. Vishnu Vishal
Vishal Kudawla, also widely recognized as Vishnu Vishal, is an Indian producer and actor who works in the Tamil film industry. After a brief stint in cricket, he began acting in 2009 and received praise for his performance in the lead role in the sports movie Vennila Kabadi Kuzhu.
After earning an MBA degree in marketing from SRM Institute of Science and Technology, Tamil Nadu, he continued on to play cricket, competing in league matches for the Tamil Nadu Cricket Association (TNCA).
A leg injury put an end to his cricket career, and the actor recalled that while he was bed-bound, he started watching movies and developed an interest in acting. Before he became an actor, Vishnu played professionally for Tamil Nadu in Ranji Trophy contests.
from CricTracker https://ift.tt/iwNqdfc
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