Cricket and Cinema – Iconic Cricketers Who Became Movie Stars

IPL and Cinema have always shared an intimate bond; from cricketers marrying movie stars to actors attending stadiums to support their favourite teams/players, it is clear that IPL and Bollywood share an inextricable connection. Sit back and enjoy the fiery pace of the Today IPL match live on iplcinema.com in crystal clear HD.
Many cricketers have ventured into acting. Here are a few notable ones.
Yuvraj Singh Cricketers
Cricket and cinema go hand-in-hand in India. A national obsession, Indians will sacrifice any activity just to watch their favorite star play the game. Many former cricket players are now trying their luck in movies – some have had much greater success than others.
Yuvraj Singh, one of the finest cricketers ever to grace our shores, also dabbled in acting. Beginning his career as a child artist and appearing alongside Yograj Singh in Punjabi films, Yuvraj later voiced one of the characters from 2008 animated movie Jumbo. Although suffering from lung cancer himself in 2012, he rallied his strength and made a successful comeback to cricket; even founding YouWeCan for cancer patients.
After the 1983 World Cup, cricket’s popularity skyrocketed and Bollywood took advantage of it by casting cricketers in leading roles. Sunil Gavaskar sang and danced his way into a Marathi language film while Salim Durani, famous for hitting sixes at fans’ request, did a more melodramatic flick called Charitra.
Ajay Jadeja
Cricket and cinema have always gone hand-in-hand, from romantic comedies featuring cricketers romancing B-town beauties, to heartrending dramas like Kai Po Che! depicting cricket with nationalistic fervor. From classics such as Lagaan to heartbreaking dramas such as Kai Po Che!, cricket films remain one of the most widely beloved themes.
Some cricketers have made cameo appearances in movies, while others have become full-fledged actors with various degrees of success. Sachin Tendulkar made his biographical movie appearance while Ajay Jadeja made his Bollywood debut with Khel and later Pal Pal Dil Ke Ssaat; additionally he featured as lead role in Tamil film Chithiram Pesudhadi 2.
Recent trends show a cricketer making their big screen debut as part of an ensemble cast, such as in 83, which will see several former cricketers play prominent roles alongside Ranveer Singh, Deepika Padukone, Pankaj Tripathi, Tahir Raj Bhasin, Saqib Saleem and other actors slated for release by 2021.
Dwayne Bravo
Cricket and cinema have always shared an intimate bond; movie stars often crowd stadiums to support their favorite teams/players while Indian athletes often try their luck at acting.
Bravo is no stranger to Hollywood movies; he has appeared in such films as Hattrick featuring Paresh Rawal, Rimi Sen, Nana Patekar and Danny Denzongpa as well as making an appearance in Tamil film Cobra as a cameo appearance.
He made another brief appearance in Adam Sandler and Drew Barrymore’s comedy Blended where he bowled an exchange game against five Brooklyn T-shirts for five, slowing his fast bowling pace for this role.
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Sachin Tendulkar
Sachin Tendulkar, an icon in cricketing lore, is often met with great reverence by fans wherever he goes. Widely considered one of the greatest batsmen ever and still the highest run scorer ever in cricket history. Tendulkar excelled as a comprehensive batsman, offering exceptional balance, economy of movement, precise stroke making and the intangible quality only found among true geniuses: anticipation.
As is common with prominent figures from sports, he has also made movie appearances. Khel-No Ordinary Game and Raaz both featured him, while Haathi Mere Saathi included lip-syncing scenes with some songs featuring him as well. Stay updated with the latest news, car reviews, cricket matches, travel guides and financial advice with Pioneer EPaper. Your one-stop destination for all things informative and entertaining!
Huma Qureshi and Sonakshi Sinha. His next role will be playing himself in a biopic directed by James Erskine. JioCinema released a special advertisement with Sachin Tendulkar telling fans they can watch all the action unfold live only on JioCinema; four-cam viewing options and comprehensive statistics will all be accessible on JioCinema during TATA Indian Premier League 2023 season!
Salil Ankola
Salil Ankola never had an impressive cricketing career, yet made sure his talents made an impression off-field. He made appearances in movies like Kurukshetra, Pitaah, Chura Liya Hai Tumne Silence Please… The Dressing Room and Riwayat. Additionally he played Milkha Singh’s coach in Farhan Akhtar’s Bhaag Milkha Bhaag film.
While most ex-cricketers make cameo appearances in films, others opt for full-fledged acting careers. Sunil Gavaskar may be best-known among those who made this leap; but current players have also tried their luck at acting.
Some have achieved success while others have fallen short. Dale Steyn, one of the world’s premier bowlers, appeared in Adam Sandler’s movie Blended but was forced to tone down his pace for this role, which required bowling gentle full-tosses on screen despite making a young boy purchase five Brooklyn T-shirts using fast deliveries from him. Later returning to his original profession and becoming one of India’s chief selection committee members.
Mohsin Khan
Mohsin Khan was instrumental in Lucknow Super Giants’ victory against Mumbai Indians on Tuesday and dedicated it to his father who had just been released from hospital the previous day.
Mohsin decided to leave cricket behind and become an actor in Bollywood movies such as JP Dutta’s Batwara and Mahesh Bhatt’s Saathi before turning more towards direction in filmmaking and entering the industry as a director.
Mohsin Khan, best known for his role as Kartik in Star Plus’ Yeh Rishta Kya Kehlata Hai, has made multiple successful music videos and recently shot a romantic ballad with Nidhi Shah for release this Wednesday. The song showed Mohsin’s electric chemistry with Nidhi Shah.
Mohsin has also made his mark on TV with roles on Love At Dandiya Nights, Ritesh and Samar Sareen. Additionally he starred alongside Neeta Shetty and Divya Agarwal from Bigg Boss OTT winner for an extremely popular music video that garnered much praise.
Brett Lee
Following Lagaan’s success, more and more cricketers began appearing in Bollywood movies. Some notable examples are Sunil Gavaskar who sang and danced his way onto the silver screen in a Marathi film and Salim Durani who played an Afghani cricketer who would regularly hit boundaries at will. Unfortunately not all cricketers would go on to pursue long-term acting careers while some simply dabbled.
Brett Lee was one such cricketer. A member of India’s national team and recipient of an Allan Border medal for his achievements on the pitch, this Wollongong-born Australian fast bowler topped speed charts at 161.1 km/h with his speed bowling style; making batsmen shudder from his pace and aggression on the field.
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