10 famous Indian cricketers and their fathers’ occupations

In India, cricket is worshipped by people, and many aspire to play the sport professionally. With the advent of franchise leagues in every state and also the Indian Premier League (IPL), opportunities to make a career in the sport have increased. 

However, cricket is not a very affordable sport for many in the country. While some Indian cricketers come from privileged backgrounds, others have to make many sacrifices in order to realise their dreams. On this note, let’s take a look at 10 famous Indian cricketers and their fathers’ occupations.

10 famous Indian cricketers and their fathers’ occupations:

10. Suresh Raina and Trilok Chand Raina

Trilok Chand Raina, Suresh Raina‘s father, is a retired military officer who hails from Rainawari in the State of Jammu and Kashmir. Suresh’s steely resolve on the cricket pitch is understandable. The southpaw played 18 Tests, 226 ODIs, and 78 T20Is in his career, scoring close to 8000 runs in international cricket and picking up 62 wickets.

9. Irfan Pathan, Yusuf Pathan, and Mehmood Khan Pathan

The Pathan brothers grew up in Vadodara’s Jama Masjid, where their father, Mehmood Khan Pathan, worked as a muezzin. He also had a second job, where he would work in a seven-hour shift in a chemical factory nearby. Mehmood was asked to vacate his one-room tenement because the mosque management felt that he did not take proper care of a copy of the Quran in 2005. However, he believes that he was fired because the authorities were jealous of him and his sons.

8. Shubman Gill and Lakhwinder Gill

Current Indian Test captain Shubman Gill‘s father, Lakhwinder Gill, was a farmer who wanted to play cricket. However, Lakhwinder could not realise his dream, and he switched his focus to making Shubman an international cricketer. He used to bowl 500 to 700 balls every day to his son. The Gill family relocated to Mohali to give the right-handed batter access to better training facilities.

7. Sachin Tendulkar and Ramesh Tendulkar

The legendary Sachin Tendulkar‘s father, Ramesh Tendulkar, was a Marathi-language novelist and poet. He was a professor at Kirti M. Doongursee College in Mumbai in the 1960s. Ramesh named his son after his favourite music director, Sachin Dev Burman. Sachin lost his father in May 1999 after the latter suffered a heart attack at 68.

6. Rohit Sharma and Gurunath Sharma

Rohit Sharma‘s father, Gurunath Sharma, served as a caretaker at a transport firm’s storehouse in Bhandup. They used to live in a single-room house in Dombivli. The family faced financial hurdles, even leading to Rohit spending a considerable amount of his childhood days with his uncles and grandparents. The 38-year-old is now one of the richest cricketers in the world.

5. Hardik Pandya, Krunal Pandya, and Himanshu Pandya

Hardik Pandya and Krunal Pandya’s father, Himanshu Pandya, ran a small car finance business in Surat, which he shut down and shifted to Vadodara when his younger son was five to provide better cricket training facilities. Himanshu began working as a loan consultant in Vadodara. His sacrifices laid the foundation for Hardik and Krunal to play international cricket for India.

4. Sourav Ganguly and Chandidas Ganguly

Sourav Ganguly was born to one of the richest families in Kolkata. His father, Chandidas Ganguly, ran a successful printing business. He sent Sourav to England to play Minor County during the late 1980s. Chandidas took up various roles at the Cricket Association of Bengal, starting as assistant secretary in 1974-75. He went on to become treasurer, secretary, vice-president, and member of the trustee board. However, he stopped going to the organisation after his son was dropped from the Indian team in 2005.

3. Yuvraj Singh and Yograj Singh

Yograj Singh played one Test and six ODIs for India. The fast bowler was not happy with the lack of opportunities he got to represent the nation, and he shifted his focus to making his son, Yuvraj Singh, a cricketer who would win India many matches down the line. Yograj made his son go through a rigorous and demanding training routine. Yuvraj revealed that his father made him practice for six hours. His mother thought that the strict techniques would take the life of her son. However, the hard work paid dividends as Yuvraj went on to become one of the finest white-ball cricketers in international cricket. Yograj has a cricket academy, where he trains aspiring youngsters to reach the next level.

2. MS Dhoni and Pan Singh Dhoni

MS Dhoni‘s father, Pan Singh Dhoni, served in a junior management role at MECON, a public sector unit under the Ministry of Steel. Pan Singh was not very supportive of his son taking up sports as a career, as he wanted him to focus on studies. However, Dhoni managed to convince his father to give him a chance to pursue his dreams and it paid dividends.

1. Virat Kohli and Prem Nath Kohli

Virat Kohli‘s father, Prem Nath Kohli, was a criminal lawyer by profession. His father was more like a mentor to him, providing the legendary batter with guidance and support in his early years. Despite financial struggles, senior Kohli enrolled his son in a cricket academy when he was 10 years old, showing immense support for the youngster’s passion. Prem breathed his last in December 2006, passing away due to a stroke.