When discussing the most popular cricketers, some names shine at the top. Here, we’ll mention the top 15 most popular cricketers in the world.
Cricket, the second most popular game, holds a special place in the hearts of millions. People’s love and passion for cricket is incredible.
With time, brilliant cricket players are emerging around the globe. Cricket is followed by 2.5 billion people, and this number is continuously increasing day by day.
They all have millions of fans and are well-known personalities. This article will highlight a brief overview of the top 15 most popular cricket players in the world.
Sachin Tendulkar
Sachin Tendulkar, full name Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar, was born on April 24, 1973 in Mumbai, India. He was the former Indian Cricket Team’s Captain.
Sachin holds the record of the best batsman in the world. He also has a record of being the top runner in the world by scoring 18,000 runs in ODI matches and 15,000 in Test matches.
Sachin made his first Test debut in 1989 against Pakistan. At that time, he was just 16. He is the one batsman who made maximum centuries while playing international matches. Tendulkar has the record of holding the most man-of-the-match awards while playing international matches.
Mahendra Singh Dhoni
M.S Dhoni, full name Mahendra Singh Dhoni, was born on July 7, 1989, in Ranchi, Bihar (now Jharkhand), India. Mahendra is a well-known former Indian cricketer due to his exceptional performance as a batsman and primarily as a wicket-keeper.
He remained Indian National Cricket Team captain from 2007 to 2017. He currently has the captaincy of Chennai Super Kings in IPL.
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His nicknames are MSD, Thala, Mahi, and Captain Cool. Under his captaincy, India won multiple matches, including the 2007 ICC World Cup T20, 2011 Cricket World Cup, and 2013 ICC Champions Trophy.
He was the only Captain among all cricket teams who made his team to win all three of the Cricket World Cups. He is the number one wicket-keeper all over the world.
David Warner
David Andrew Warner is an Australian International Cricketer born October 27, 1986, in Paddington, Australia. warner had been the Captain of the Australian National Cricket Team. He is a left-handed batsman with an exceptional ODIs and Test Matches record.
He holds the record of the first batsman in Australia and 8th all around the globe who made his century in his 100th ODI match. Warner also made a record-making triple century of 335 scores (not out) in a single match while playing a test match against Pakistan in 2019.
He then became the second-highest individual score maker from Australia and received the Allan Border Medal for his performance.
Sir Donald Bradman
Sir Donald George Bradman was an Australian International Cricketer born on August 27, 1908, in Cootamundra, New South Wales, Australia, and died on February 25, 2001. He was a right-handed batsman and regarded as the best-ever cricketer of the 20th century.
He is also known as “The Don”. His batting average of 99.94 is one of his most outstanding records. He made 699 runs for Australia in a Test International match.
Wally Hammond
Walter Reginald Hammond, born on June 19, 1903, in England and died on July 1, 1965, in South Africa, was the Captain of the England Cricket Team who played for Gloucestershire and England. He was regarded as the best English batsman of the world in his time.
He played 634 First class matches and made 50,511 scores. His batting and bowling average was 56.10 and 30.58, respectively.
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In 1921-22, Hammond also played football for Bristol Rovers F.C. Although he played as a professional footballer, he was passionate about cricket. Moreover, people started to criticize him for playing two games simultaneously. Soon, he left football and started to focus only on cricket.
Chris Gayle
Christopher Henry Gayle, born on 21 September 1979, in Kingston, Jamaica, is a player of the West Indies International team. He is also known as “Universe Boss”. He has set multiple records in all cricket formats.
Gayle holds the record of being the only player who made triple centuries. He made triple hundreds in Test Match, double hundreds in One Day International Cricket, and hundreds in T20Is. He also established the record as the only player who made 14000 runs and 1,000 sixes in Twenty20 Cricket history.
Shahid Afridi
Sahibzada Mohammad Shahid Khan Afridi was born on 1 March 1977 at Khyber Agency, Pakistan. He was the former Captain of the Pakistan International Cricket Team.
Afridi was regarded as an all-rounder cricketer, a right-handed batsman, and a right-handed leg spinner. He is among the best batters in history and has set many unbreakable records.
His nicknames are “Boom Boom” and “Lala”. He is the number one cricketer who made the most sixes in One Day International. He also has the record for the highest strike rate of 117.00 in One Day Internationals and the longest sixes in history at 158m.
Kumar Sangakkara
Kumar Chokshanada Sangakkara was born on 27 October, 1977, in Matale Sri Lanka. He had been the Captain of the Sri Lanka National Cricket Team. He remained a well-known wicket-keeper-batsman in the world.
Kumar holds the record of 2nd highest runner and has scored 18426 runs in his One Day International Matches. He also won several awards, including ICC Cricketer of the Year in 2012.
Babar Azam
Babar Azam is Pakistan’s current National Cricket Team Captain born on October 15, 1994, in Lahore, Pakistan. He also has the Captaincy of Peshawar Zalmi in PSL. He is considered the number-one batsman in the world at that time.
Babar Azam had a great passion for cricket from a very young age. He chose cricket as his career due to his cousins Umer Akmal, Kamran Akmal, and Adnan Akmal.
His international career started in 2008 when he was selected to play in the U15 World Championship. Later, he played in the U19 World Cups in 2010 and 2012 and became the top run-scorer for Pakistan. He holds the record of top batsman in ODI matches, top 3rd in T20, and top 4th in Test matches.
For more details about Babar Azam check: Babar Azam Net worth in Rupees
Virat Kohli
Virat Kohli is an Indian International Cricketer born on November 5, 1988, in Delhi, India. He had been the Captain of the Indian team from 2014-2022. Kohli was regarded as the number one batsman in the ICC in 2014.
He has the record of scoring 20,000 runs while playing International matches in a single decade. Virat has played more than 500 matches for the Indian Team.
Shoaib Akhtar
Shoaib Akhtar is a Pakistan International Cricketer with a record of being one of the fastest bowlers in the world. Akhtar was born on August 13, 1975 in Rawalpindi, Punjab, Pakistan.
He remained the former commentator of the matches and is also known as “Rawalpindi Express.” He has the record of delivering the fastest ball at 100mph during the ODI against England in the 2003 World Cup.
Sir Vivian Richards
Isaac Vivian Alexander Richards, born on March 7, 1952, in St John’s, Antigua, was a part of the West Indies International Cricket Team from 1971 and retired in 1991. He is considered one of the greatest batsmen in history who made their names due to their exceptional performance.
Richards established multiple records in his career. He holds the record of being the number one cricket player who made his fifties in consecutive twelve matches, including test matches and ODIs.
In his all One Day Internationals, he has made the record of the number one player who made 1000 runs and took 50 wickets and 50 catches.
Ricky Ponting
Ricky Thomas Ponting was born in Launceston, Tasmania, on December 19, 1974. Ponting was the former Captain of the Australian International Cricket Team from 1995-2012. He has also been the Cricket Coach of the Australian team and also the commentator. Ricky is also known as Punter.
He has the record of being the number one captain who played 230 matches in his ODIs matches as a captain. He also holds the record of the fifth player who played the most matches (506) in his career, including all cricket formats.
Brian Lara
Brian Charles Lara was born May 2, 1969, in Cantaro, Trinidad. Lara was a former International player of the West Indies International Cricket team. He is widely regarded as one of the top batsmen in the world who set multiple non-breaking records.
Lara made a record of being the only batsman in history with the highest scores in first-day and test cricket. He made 501 not out in First-day cricket and 400 not out in Test Cricket.
Brett Lee
Brett Lee was born on November 8, 1976, in Wollongong, New South Wales, Australia. Lee was an Australian Cricketer who was popular due to his fast bowling. Lee is regarded as Aurtalian 4th famous bowler who finished his career by taking 310 wickets in his test matches and 380 in ODIs.
Under his leadership, Australia won several ICC matches, including the 2003 Cricket World Cup, the 2007 Cricket World Cup, the 2006 ICC Champions Trophy, and the 2009 ICC Champions Trophy.
Conclusion:
The above list is not in a particular order; it is written by going through different journals. There are hundreds of the most popular cricketers in the world. Of course, all of them could not be mentioned in a single article.
Each of the players has made extraordinary progress in his career. That is the reason they are known all around the globe. If you want to mention the most popular cricketer in the world, write in the comment section. Thank You.
FAQs
Who is the most popular in cricket history?
Sachin Tendulkar is regarded as one of the most popular cricketers in history based on several records he has made in his career.
Who is the number one batsman in the world?
Babar Azam from Pakistan is currently ranked as the number-one batsman globally.
Who hit longest six in history?
Shahid Afridi holds the record of hitting the longest sixes in history at a 153-meter distance.