‘Education or Passion towards the game?’ a recurrent question that almost every cricketer must have struggled to answer in his early days of schooling. This topic is quite debatable. Sometimes it’s your need to choose the game as your career and sometimes it’s your passion that drives you to follow your dream career cricket with complete hard work and dedication.
No one ever said that it is easy to choose. So the protagonists of all times have always believed and recited that your conscience is your guide. Make sure that you follow it because not everything in this world will connect to your inner voice. If something connects, then it’s special for you.
It is said that to become successful in your life there is no mandatory requirement of having a degree or some other higher education qualifications in your hand. There are few people who proved it right. Let’s have a look at the educational qualifications of Indian Cricketers who proved it right.
1. Virat Kohli
The Captain of the Indian cricket team Virat Kohli was born on November 5, 1988. He started his schooling at Vishal Bharti Public School class 12th. In ninth grade, he shifted to Saviour Convent in Paschim Vihar to help his cricket practice, from where he completed his twelfth-grade studies.
In a fun interview, a few years back, Kohli joked about how bad he was in mathematics.
“So in math, we used to have exams and the maximum marks we could get is 100, right. I used to get 3, I was that good. I did not understand, why someone would even want to learn math,” said Kohli.
2. MS Dhoni
Former Indian skipper, Mahendra Singh Dhoni hails from Jharkhand. He studied at DAV Jawahar Vidya Mandir, Ranchi, Jharkhand where he initially excelled in badminton and football and was selected at district and club level.
MS Dhoni is a B.COM dropout. He was not able to appear for his final exams because of his Cricket commitments. St. Xavier’s college decided to award him an honorary doctorate degree after he led India to win the World Cup in 2011.
3. Shikhar Dhawan
Shikhar Dhawan is one of the most reliable openers for the Indian Cricket Team in the Limited overs format of the game. He was born on 5 December 1985, in Delhi.
Dhawan completed his studies up to grade twelfth from St. Mark’s Senior Secondary High School, Delhi. He started learning cricket at a very early age. Since his childhood, he has trained under renowned coach Mr, Tarak Singha at the Sonnet Club.
4. Rohit Sharma
Talented and Flamboyant Indian opener Rohit Sharma was born in Nagpur on April 30, 1987. He is regarded as one of the best batsmen in the world at the moment in the limited-overs version. He is also the Vice-captain of the Indian Limited overs format team.
Rohit did his early schooling at Our Lady of Velankani School. He later shifted to Swami Vivekananda International School on the advice of Dinesh Lad, coach of the SVIS team, whom Rohit impressed which his off-spin bowling. Rohit is also an Alumni of Rizvi College, Mumbai where he studied till Grade 12.
5. Suresh Raina
Former left-handed India batsman Suresh Raina was born and raised in a military background. He is also an exceptional fielder, some even rate him as the best fielder of all time in world cricket.
Suresh firmly decided to play cricket at the age of 14. He shifted to Lucknow to attend the specialist government Sports College. He then completed his B.Com graduation with correspondence from Delhi University.
6. Murali Vijay
India opener, Murali Vijay was born in Madras on April 1, 1984. He started to play cricket at the age of 17. Vijay last played a test match for India in 2018 against Australia.
Monk, as he is called by his teammates, is highly qualified and holds a post-graduate degree in Economics.
7. Ajinkya Rahane
Ajinkya Rahane is called as the crisis man of the Indian team. He is also the vice-captain of the Indian Cricket Team in Test format. This middle-order batsman was born June 6, 1988, in Ashwi KD, a small village in Maharashtra.
Ajinkya started playing cricket at a very early age. He completed his secondary education from SV Joshi High School, Dombivali. He did his graduation with a Bachelor of Commerce from Rizvi College in Mumbai.
8. Ravichandran Ashwin
Ace India bowler Ravichandran Ashwin, is one of the most successful bowlers for India in the longer format of the game. Ashwin was educated at Padma Sheshadri Bala Bhavan and St. Bede’s Anglo Indian Higher Secondary School. His time at the St. Bede’s was particularly important for his cricketing career, as it had a cricket academy.
The Indian bowling all-rounder is a B.Tech graduate in Information Technology from SSN College of Engineering.
9. Yuvraj Singh
All-rounder Yuvraj Singh played a key role in India’s World Cup campaigns in the year 2007 and 2011. He was considered one of the best fielders in world cricket and his ability to play shots all over the park made him a rare talent.
Yuvraj Singh studied at the DAV Public School in Chandigarh and completed his graduation degree in commerce from DAV College, Chandigarh.
10. Gautam Gambhir
Gautam Gambhir, the former left-handed opening batsman for India was born in New Delhi on 14 October 1981. He started playing cricket at the age of 10. His 97-run knock in the finals of the ICC World Cup 2011, help India to win their second 50-over World Cup.
Gambhir received his schooling from Modern School, New Delhi, and graduated from Hindu College, University of Delhi.
11. Hardik Pandya
India’s fast bowling all-rounder, Hardik Pandya was born and brought up in Gujarat. He and his brother, Krunal Pandya were enrolled in former India wicket-keeper Kiran More’s cricket Academy.
Hardik could not complete his studies due to poor financial conditions because of which he had to drop out of school in grade ninth.
12. Sachin Tendulkar
Sachin Tendulkar, arguably the greatest batsman of all time in World Cricket was born in a Maharashtrian family in Dadar, Mumbai on April 24, 1973.
Tendulkar attended the Indian Education Society’s New English School, Bandra before shifting to Sharadashram Vidyamandir (English) High School, where his Ramakant Achrekar was the school team coach. He has studied till SSC.
13. Anil Kumble
Anil Kumble is regarded as the biggest match-winner for India of all time. The Karnataka right-arm leg spinner completed his primary education from the Holy Saint English School and his high schooling from National High School Basavanagudi.
Anil completed his pre-university college education from National College Basavanagudi and graduated B.E from Rashtreeya Vidyalaya College of Engineering in Medical Engineering.
14. VVS Laxman
Elegant Indian Batsman VVS Laxman was born in Hyderabad on 1 November 1974. In 2002, he was named as one of Wisden’s five Cricketers of the Year. In 2011, Laxman was awarded the Padma Shri award, India’s fourth-highest civilian award.
Laxman studied at the Little Flower High School, Hyderabad. He later joined a medical school for his undergraduate studies.
15. Rahul Dravid
Rahul Dravid is often referred to as “The Wall of Indian cricket” because of his solid batting technique. In July 2018, he became the fifth Indian cricketer to be inducted into the ICC Hall of Fame.
Rahul did his schooling at St. Joseph’s Boys High School, Bangalore, and earned a degree in commerce from St. Joseph’s College of Commerce, Bangalore.