Cricket is one of the most celebrated and watched sports from all around the world. Many players have showcased significant performance in the field of cricket. These players have been awarded with the title of Godfather of Cricket for their development and significant contribution in the field of cricket. In this article, we will discuss different players who are awarded these titles.
Define “Godfather of Cricket“.
The title “Godfather of Cricket” is given to different legendary players for their significant sportsmanship and contribution in the field of cricket. While Sachin Tendulkar is referred to as the ‘god of cricket’ and virat kohli has earned the title of ‘king of cricket’, the title of god-father is associated with several players from all around the world such as Sunil Gavaskar, M.S. Dhoni, Kerry Packer and a few more.
Donald Bradman
Don Bradman also known as Sir Donald George Bradman, is a former Australian cricketer Batsmen. He has also earned the title of Godfather of Cricket for his legendary cricket skills. He has a served tenure of 20 years in cricket in which he scored 6,996 runs in 52 test matches at an average of 99.94. This score is considered as one of the greatest achievements by a sportsperson playing cricket. For his legendary cricket career became one of the most recognised celebrities of Australia. He also received the title of country’s first celebrity.
Sir Viv Richards
Sir Viv Richards whose full name is Sir Vivian RIchars, hails from Antigua. His reign was from the 1970s to 1980s when he played for the West Indies. He was very well known for his aggressive batting style and fast bowling style. He was close to an average of 50 in tests and a strike rate of 90 on an average in his ODIs.
In 121 test an187 ODI matches, he scored around 6540 and 6721 runs respectively. He has around 35 centuries from which 24 are in Tests and 11 are in ODis. truly he is the God father of cricket.
Sir Garfield Sobers
Sir Garlfield Sobers who was born in the year 1936, is regarded as an all rounder player in West Indies. He has scored over 8,000 runs in Test cricket matches and has scored a legendary 365 runs against pakistan. His record stayed for around 36 years. Talking about his bowling expertise, he can bowl both fast and medium and even spin.
William Gilbert Grace
William Gilbert Grace is a former English cricketer who is also given the title of Godfather of Cricket. He is referred to as one of the top and legendary players of England. Grace has played a significant role in the development of cricket. His tenure was from 1865 to 1908 in which he scored around 54,000 first class runs in 44 seasons. In his reign he captained England, the Gentlemen, Gloucestershire, Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC), the United South of England Eleven (USEE), and many other recognised teams. He is widely recognised for his technical innovations and massive influence in the field of cricket. Hence, he is well deserved for this title of God father of Cricket.
Sachin Tendulkar
Who among us is not familiar with the Godfather of Indian cricket, Sachin Tendulkar. He ruled Indian cricket for around 2 decades. He is also referred to as the Master Blaster. He has played 200 test matches where he scored 15921 runs. He has played 463 ODIs where he has scored 18426 runs with 49 centuries and 96 half centuries. He not only inspired the generations of cricket but also elevated the Indian cricket team at the global level. He can also be called the Godfather of Modern Cricket.
Kerry Packer
Kerry Packer is an Australian media tycoon who earned the title of Godfather of cricket in the late 1970s. Packer played a very significant role in reforming the game of cricket. In the 20th century, he received recognition and was referred to as one of Australia’s most powerful media proprietors. He also founded the World cricket series, for which he received worldwide fame.
His move changed the world of cricket drastically by increasing the salary of players, triggered bidding wars, introducing colored jerseys and the concept of limited overs in cricket. This made a significant impact on the young minds and attracted a lot of young cricket fans. He also played a significant role in saving the cricket from financial turmoil in India. These are the several reasons why Kerry Packer is referred to as the God of Cricket.
Sunil Gavaskar
The former Indian cricket player Sunil Gavaskar who has served from 1971 to 1987. He has earned the title of Godfather of Cricket from his fast bowling skills and best opening batters. He scored an impressive average of 65.45 while he dominated a four pronged West Indies fast bowling attack. He became the first batter in the test series he scored 10,000 runs. In his Overall career, he scored 10,122 runs in 125 test matches. In 80’s, he was recognized as one of the best opening batters of all time by the Indian cricket fans. For all these significant reasons he recorded the title of God father of Cricket.
M.S. Dhoni
In the modern era of cricket, M.S. Dhoni also known as Mahendra Singh Dhoni. He was the former captain of the Indian cricket team and also earned the title of Godfather of Cricket and God-father of Team India. After the reign of legendary Indian cricket players including Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, Sourav Ganguly and Anil Kumble retired, MS Dhoni guided the Indian cricket team to achieving new heights in the world of cricket.
Under his captainship, India won the T20 world cup in 2007. Four years later, under his captainship team India won the ICC ODI world cup for the second time in the year 2011. He also led the team India for the Champions Trophy held in England and Wales in 2013. Later, Virat Kohli was handed over the Indian team captaincy. He still participated in the limited overs format, after some years he also gave up the captaincy in ODI and T20 formats. After his retirement, Dhoni guided Virat Kohli to improve his skills and leadership qualities. After this, he was named as India’s mentor for the T20 world cup 2021.
Summing Up
To conclude, we can say that the term God-father of Cricket is given to the legendary players of cricket from all around the world. This title is earned by them for their technical batting and bowling skills. In this article, we have discussed some of the players who are awarded with this title.
