Every aspiring cricketer dreams of playing for his country in some manner. Therefore, all players attempt to do their best in their respective roles to ensure they get selected in the team. It is commonly seen that most players who grown up to become international stars are either gifted with talent or work hard on one aspect of the game to become the ultimate master.
It is extremely rare for players to get a chance in the team on the basis of one skill-set or role and then they master another skill and gain prominence in that subsequent skill.
Therefore, this list is very unique where we look at 5 players who became part of the team bases on their bowling competence but eventually went onto earn plaudits as batsmen.
Steven Smith
Smith is currently the world’s best test batsman and averages above 60. His unique stance and mannerisms make him a different class of batsman. In the past few years, he has dominated bowlers both at home and abroad. However, he began his career in the Australian team as a leg-spinner and was often compared to the legendary Shane Warne. He came down to bat at no. 8 but with the course of time, he improved his technique and rose up the batting line-up. Today he is the fundamental pillar of the Australian batting lineup and is compared to the great Don Bradman.
Sanath Jayasuriya
He is today known as one of the world’s best-opening batsmen and has formed an exclusive club of destructive openers with Sehwag and Gilchrist. However, initially, in the team, he was not rated as an accomplished batsman. In the first half of the 1990 decade, Jayasuriya could hardly manage to average 30 and it was his left-arm spin that kept him in the team. The 1996 World Cup was the turning point of his life when he heavily scored runs and eventually became the main opener of the team.
Cameron White
The Australian batsman captained the T20 team of the country and had a decent career as a middle-order batsman. However, he started his career as a leg spinner. Over time, he started to show his ability to hit the big boundaries. He played for Deccan Chargers and was given the role of finishers. Eventually, he became a full-time batsman and also was Australia’s youngest captain.
Ravi Shastri
He is the current coach of the men’s team and has also established himself as a remarkable commentator. He was known as an effective batsman in the 1980s but few people know that he was picked in the team as a left-arm spinner. On his debut, he batted at no. 10. Over the next year, he improved his batting and then started opening the batting for India. He has the distinction of scoring 6 sixes in an over.
Shoaib Malik
Shoaib Malik has played at every position from 1 to 10 in Test cricket. When he made his Test debut as a 17-year-old, he was an intelligent off-spinner who tried to fool batsmen with his doosra. While he concentrated more on his batting, his bowling took a back seat. The former Pakistan captain has represented his country in 35 Tests, 287 ODIs, and 113 Tests, with most appearances coming as a batsman.
