Top 10 Shortest Cricketers Of All Time
Fri, 29 Nov 2024
Cricket can be said to be one of those games that do not particularly harness physical qualities such as height in the same way that basketball does. Over the years, different cricketers have disproved typical thinking that taller individuals will excel more in the game, on record proving themselves to be great players. It is essential to learn about legendary cricketers irrespective of their heights and in this article selection you will read about ten shortest cricketers of all the times.
1. Kruger van Wyk (4'7' - 145 cm)
A tiny wicketkeeping batsman from South Africa, who took New Zealand’s team in his name, Kruger van Wyk made sure that height in a man is not an issue in cricket. Being a convenient stump mike and a handy lower order batsman, Van Wyk represented the Black Caps in 9 Test matches, where he performed much better than his obvious potential against higher ranked teams.
2. Tich Freeman (5'2' - 157 cm)
Top ranked as one of the game’s all-time greatest leg spinning bowlers, Tich Freeman from England was active during the period of the early twentieth century. For all of his height however, Freeman was an exceptional bowler and is the only bowler to take more than 300 wickets in a season in English County.
3. Sachin Tendulkar (5'5' - 165 cm)
Sachin Tendulkar affectionately known as the “Master Blaster is among cricket’s biggest legends. Measuring 5’5 in height, Tendulkar was more than a giant on the cricket field. Some of Tendulkar Runs statistics include Over 34,000 international runs and still continuing that makes him out of reach of all others.
4. Parthiv Patel (5'4' - 162 cm)
The young Indian wicketkeeper batsman first represented his country on the international scene at the age of seventeen. Parthiv Patel is a diminutive cricketer, standing at 5’4 and he was a good wicketkeeper, besides which he is an excellent batting all-rounder.
5. Tatenda Taibu (5'5' - 165 cm)
The record of youngest player to be the captain of the team was held by Tatenda Taibu from Zimbabwe when he led his team at the age of 20. His height of 5’5 did not in any way deny him the ability to lead his team or be consistent as his role required him to be a wicket keeper-batsman.
6. Mominul Haque (5'3' - 160 cm)
One of the young talents from Bangladesh, Mominul Haque, known as the “Little Master” whose height is only 5’3 but is definitely one of the prominent standby in Test Batting. Although not always able to deliver with big scores, Mominul is a dependable player for his team and strongly defended his position in the national team.
7. David Williams (5'4' - 162 cm)
Another veteran wicketkeeper from West Indies David Williams played a supporting role to the great Jeffrey Dujon. Nevertheless, there are not too many chances for a player like Williams to dazzle with creams on his knees.
8. Alvin Kallicharran (5'5' - 165 cm)
One of the statured West Indian batsmen, Alvin Kallicharran was only 5’5 in height but he looked like an absolute tower in the world of cricket. His graceful stroke play and general accumulation of the various styles of bowling technique made him one of the best admired players in his time.
9. Gundappa Viswanath (5'3' - 160 cm)
Till this day, even Indian batting legend Gundappa Viswanath, who was famous for his wrist elegance used to measure a minuscule 5’3. An important Indian player of the seventies and eighties, Viswanath’s fitness to get runs against the best of bowlers made for him great respect.
10. Mushfiqur Rahim (5'3' - 160 cm)
In the backdrop of potatoes, candies, hijras, and characters like Hanif, Goonga, and Jewel, Mushfiqur Rahim is more of a consistent bats man and wicket-keeper of Bangladesh’s team. Despite being a relatively short man at 5’3, Mushfiqur has been Bangladesh cricket’s mainstay for over a decade.
Conclusion
These cricketers have proved that if one has talent coupled with determination and passion height does not count for much. Such legends have always painted great impressions of themselves within the spitting distance of cricket disregarding their size. They may be off the cricket field with bat, ball or gloves but the contribution will be indelibly etched into the annals of Cricket.