A sportsman is at the mountain top of his ability for only a limited period. Once the prime of their career is over, they start looking for different career options. Some try to complete their education and some try to follow their childhood passion. Cricketers are no different as once they touch 35 years of age, they start to wonder what next after cricket.
Many past cricketers have tried their hand at commentary and have been successful in making that transformation. However, this is relatively easy as they just have to speak their hearts out about the things they love the most. However, some former cricketers life completely changed after Cricket as they decided to change their profession.
Here is the list of five cricketers who chose different profession after retirement:
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5. Brett Lee
We all know how devastating Brett Lee was with the ball in hand on the cricket field. The Australian has over 300 wickets in both Tests and ODIs. He made every batsman dance to his tune when he bowled at a speed of over 150 kph. Once the Aussie superstar decided to hang his boots, he became a singer, actor and musician.
Lee, who was already popular in India became more popular when he sang a song with legendary singer Asha Bhosle. Their song “You’re the one for me’ was extremely liked by fans all over. He was also part of a movie named ‘UNindian’ that was released worldwide in 2015.
Brett Lee was the main lead of this movie which was shot in Sydney. The fast bowler also is a passionate guitarist and likes to entertain his fans with this talent of his.
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4. Curtly Ambrose
Arguably the greatest fast bowler of all time, Curtly Ambrose is next in this list. When batsmen saw him running to bowl, they had their hearts in the mouth. The tall 6 ft 7 inches fast bowler from Antigua has 405 Test and 225 ODI wickets to his name in his legendary career. A great entertainer during his career, Ambrose became a musician after his retirement.
Ambrose has always said that music was always his passion and he decided to continue with it after his playing days. He was part with a Band called ‘Big Bad Dread and the Bald Head’, in which he plays the guitar. Ambrose and his band make their songs and entertain everyone by doing a number of performances.
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3. Shoaib Akhtar
The ‘Rawalpindi Express’ Shoaib Akhtar is one of the most popular cricketers to ever play the game. Regarded as the fastest bowler to ever play the game, Akhtar was a treat to watch in full flow. He scared the opposition batsmen as he made them look like cats on a hot tin roof. Once the fast bowler retired from international Cricket, he tried his hand at commentary. The people soon realised that he has strong views and opinion about the game.
Shoaib Akhtar then decided to create his own YouTube channel and talk about cricket. Akhtar’s channel became extremely popular as fans, especially from the sub-continent, loved his views on Cricket. Shoaib Akhtar currently has 2.14 million subscribers on his channel and it is growing with each passing day.
Even after retiring from the game the Pakistani bowler still grabs attention with his statements which he makes on YouTube.
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2. Andrew Flintoff
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The hero of the famous 2005 Ashes series, Andrew Flintoff is next in this list. The England all-rounder is considered to be one of the best all-rounders in cricket. Flintoff notched up more than 7000 international runs and picked over 400 wickets across formats.
After retiring from the game, he chose a different profession altogether. Flintoff shocked everyone when he became a professional boxer. He completely changed his physique by training intensely to become a professional boxer. In 2014, the 6ft 4 inch Flintoff defeated Richard Dawson in the boxing ring who was unbeaten in his career till then.
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1. Imran Khan
He has to take the top spot in the list of cricketers who chose different profession after retirement. Coming in at No. 1 is the former Pakistan captain Imran Khan. He led Pakistan to glory in the 1992 World Cup and made Pakistan World Cup champions. He came from retirement only to win the World Cup so that he can build a cancer hospital in Pakistan. Once his cricket career was finally over, he then went on to become a politician. Imran Khan is now the Prime Minister of Pakistan.
In 2018, he became the 22nd Prime Minister of Pakistan and made history. Imran who had leadership traits from the beginning of his career made a successful transition from cricket to politics. The people of Pakistan loved him when he played cricket and continued doing the same when he came into politics.