Cricket is a popular sport in the South and a few other parts of the world. Contrary to popular opinion, modern-day cricket requires great amount of athleticism. An international cricketer today requires years of hard work and training. Most often, players start to train at a very young age. A family which has a sporting bent would appreciate and encourage youngsters to train hard and strive to perform. In India, a lot of the youth go on play cricket. However, cricket is not the only sport in the country. Therefore, a sizeable population train, play and perform well in other sports too.
It would be more extraordinary for family members to play different sports, that too at the highest level. There have been instances in global ports where siblings have either played the same sport or gone on play for their countries in different sports. In cricket, the Hussey brothers, Pandya brothers, and Chappel brothers are common examples. We are also aware of the Williams sisters in tennis and Gary and Phil Neville in football.
Today we look at family members, where one is a famous cricketer while the other has earned a name in another sport.
1. Mitchell Starc’s brother
Mitchell Starc needs no introduction. His name is enough to send a chill through the opponent batsman’s spine. He has been Australia’s premier, left-arm swing bowler, in all formats. He holds the distinction of taking the highest number of wickets in both, the 2015 and 2019 World Cups. A lesser-known fact is that his brother, Brandon Starc is an athlete as well. He is into high jumps and has also represented Australia in the 2020 Tokoyo Olympics.
2. Dinesh Karthik’s wife
Karthik has been an extremely successful cricketer at the international level. He has played for India in both, red and white-ball formats. He has also captained Kolkata Knight Riders in the IPL as well. Karthik is married to Indian squash player, Dipika Pallikal. Pallikal is a phenomenal squash player and has won many accolades at the international level. Her biggest achievement was when she won gold in the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow.
3. Rod Marsh’s brother
Rod Marsh kept wickets for Australia and is rated as one of the best that the country has ever seen. He has played 96 tests for his country and was famous for his glovework when legendary bowler, Dennis Lillee, steamed in from the other end. His brother, Graham, was a very popular golf player. He won 70 tournaments in his much-celebrated career which included European Tour, PGA Tour, and titles in India too.
4. Denis Compton’s brother
Denis Compton played 78 tests for England and also had the distinction of scoring 100 First Class centuries. He played football at the highest level when he played for the famous Arsenal football club. His brother was Leslie and he too played cricket and football professionally. Leslie was a much more popular footballer and played for Arsenal too. The brothers together won quite a few championships for the club.
5. Shoib Malik’s wife
In this case, both the husband and wife need no introduction. Malik played international cricket for Pakistan and had a fairly successful career. He was the captain in the inaugural ICC T20 World Cup finals held in South Africa. He got married to Indian tennis sensation, Sania Mirza. Mirza has been one of the most celebrated and accomplished women athlete’s in India. She has been awarded Padma Bhushan as well as the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna award.
