TOP 25 MOST POPULAR CRICKETERS IN THE WORLD 2023
TOP 25 MOST POPULAR CRICKETERS IN THE WORLD:
When we talk about the popularity of cricket as a game, it is definitely one of the world’s biggest sports but there are players and their fan following is what makes a sport bigger and more popular around the world.
Here we will talk about the players that are known as the world’s most popular cricketers, the list of those players is as follows;
25. DALE STEYN
Dale Steyn is one of the greatest fast bowling of all time, no one matches his popularity in his playing days when teams used to be threatened by him because he was such a great exponent of fast bowling, Dale Steyn has more than 600 victims in international cricket for South Africa, he retired in 2019 from international cricket.
24. MUTTIAH MURALITHARAN
How can we question the popularity of a player who has taken 800 wickets in TEST cricket, no bowler has taken more wickets in international cricket than Muralitharan, he was one of the most successful and greatest bowlers in the history of the game.
23. BRIAN LARA
One of the world’s most renowned contemporary players, Brian Charles Lara is widely acknowledged as the greatest batsman who played for West Indies and was ahead of his time when he played cricket. Brian Lara has scored more than 10,000 runs in both TESTS as well as ODI cricket, he achieved all these records in his career which started in 1990 and ended in 2007 for the Windies cricket team.
22. ALASTAIR COOK
Sir Alastair Cook is a player from the England team, he is regarded as the greatest TEST player produced by English cricket and has scored 12,000 runs in TEST cricket for his country. Alastair Cook retired in 2018 but he is still one of the most popular cricketers in English cricket history.
21. VIV RICHARDS
Another player who was very popular in his playing days, the Legendary West Indian, Sir Vivian Richards who was also regarded as one of the greatest batters of all time. Sir Viv Richards has scored 8000+ TEST runs and 6000+ ODI runs for his country both at the average of 50+, which speaks up the volume of his caliber when he used to play cricket in 1970s.
20. BABAR AZAM
One of the most popular players, Babar Azam, is a cricketer who has a strong fan base in his country and is even regarded as the greatest batter produced by Pakistan. The right-handed batsman has scored more than 15,000 international runs since his debut in 2015 and is expected to end up as the greatest-ever batter from Pakistan in the future.
19. BEN STOKES
Ben Stokes, another cricket who has a very strong fan base in world cricket, Stokes plays international cricket for England’s cricket team and is very well known for doing wonders on the cricket field which has earned him a very huge fan following all around the world. Ben Stokes is regarded as one of the greatest all-rounders who have played cricket till now.
18. RICKY PONTING
The former cricketer, captain, coach, and commentator from Australia, Ricky Ponting is one of the top batters of all time, who has scored more than 13,000 runs in both TEST cricket as well as in ODI cricket. Ricky Ponting is also the most successful captain in Australian history and has 220 victories and 4 ICC trophies under his belt, you just can’t count how many records Ricky Ponting made as a batsman and as a captain.
17. LASITH MALINGA
The former cricketer from Sri Lanka, Lasith Malinga is one of the greatest white-ball bowlers of all time. Lasith Malinga was also the captain of the Sri Lankan team when they lifted the T20 World Cup in 2014, he has taken more than 400 wickets in ODI as well as T20i cricket for his team.
16. ROHIT SHARMA
The captain of the Indian cricket team, Rohit Sharma was the successor of Virat Kohli as captain, he is considered as one of the greatest opening batters of all time. Rohit Sharma has scored more than 10,000 runs in ODi cricket and has scored three double centuries in ODi cricket for his country. Rohit is also one of the most successful captains in IPL history and has won 5 titles as the captain of Mumbai Indians.
15. AB DE VILLERS
The player who is the most popular in terms of fan following, is the former South African captain, AB de Villers, one of the greatest batters of this generation who changed cricket on his own and scored almost 10,000 runs in both ODI and well as in TEST cricket, ABD was known as ‘’ SUPERMAN ‘’, because of his brilliance on the field with the bat as well as while fielding.
14. INZAMAM UL HAQ
Inzamam Ul Haq, another player from Pakistan who is regarded as one of the finest batsmen of his generation, Inzamam has scored more than 20,000 runs for his country and is the highest runs scorer for the Pakistan team, he used to have a huge fan following in his playing days for Pakistan.
13. WAQAR YOUNIS
Waqar Younis, the player who used to partner Wasim Akram in his playing days and has performed very well for his country, Waqar Younis is a very popular cricketer and is also nicknamed as the ‘’ TOP CRUSHER ‘’, he has picked up around 800 wickets for his country before his retirement. Waqar Younis now serves as a commentator all around the world.
12. DAVID WARNER
Another player from Australia, David Warner, has scored more than 17,000 runs in international cricket for his team and is named as one of the most aggressive left-handed batters in the current cricket arena. David Warner is one of the most popular cricket in Australia and has a huge fan base because of his consistent performances.
11. KUMAR SANGAKKARA
The name that pops out immediately whenever someone talks about the best wicket-keeper batsman, Kumar Sangakkara, a player from Sri Lanka who has scored more than 28,000 international runs for his team along with his extra ordinary wicket-keeping skills. The left-hander from Sri Lanka has scored the 2nd most runs in cricket history after Sachin Tendulkar and has scored 63 international centuries as well.
10. STEVEN SMITH
Steven Peter Devereux Smith, the former captain of Australia, who is well known for his performance in test cricket and is often called the ‘’ THE TEST EXPERT ‘’, is regarded as the greatest test batter of this generation, Steve Smith has scored more than 10,000 test runs in 100 odd matches he has played for Australia since 2010 and is a legend of world cricket.
9. GLEN McGRATH
Another bowler in this list is the right-arm pacer from Australia, Glen McGrath, who has taken more than 900 wickets for his country with his consistent bowling and experience he bamboozled many batting line-ups on his own and used to win matches for his team single-handedly.
8. WASIM AKRAM
The left-arm legendary pacer from Pakistan is also one of the most popular cricketers in the world, Wasim Akram in his playing days won many matches for Pakistan with his classy bowling and has taken more than 500 wickets in ODI cricket and overall 900+ wickets for Pakistan during his playing days.
7. SHANE WARNE
Another player to feature in this list is Shane Warne, who had mastered the art of leg-spin bowling and won many matches for his country with his variations. Shane Warne has taken the 2nd most wickets by any bowler in test history and is regarded as the greatest-ever spin bowler ever played.
6. CHRIS GAYLE
The ‘’ UNIVERSE BOSS ‘’, is second to none in the list of player’s popularity and is definitely the one to feature in this list because of his blistering batting and performances he did for West Indies in his playing days are still remembered by the cricket fans in the world, because he used to play in every cricket league around the world.
5. IMRAN KHAN
Another player from Pakistan, a cricketer who has won the World Cup for Pakistan, Imran Khan, and his popularity in his playing days can’t be explained because of his style and his performances for Pakistan, even after his retirement he entered politics and took oath as the ‘’ PRIME MINISTER ‘’ of Pakistan in 2018 elections, shows his popularity as a cricketer.
4. SACHIN TENDULKAR
The batting maestro, Sachin Tendulkar, also known as the ‘’ GOD OF CRICKET ‘’, a world-class batsman who has the most runs by any batsman so far in international cricket, Sachin Tendulkar has scored more than 34000 runs in international cricket for India.
3. MS DHONI
The former Indian captain, Mahendra Singh Dhoni also known as MSD, is the most famous Indian cricketer who has captained the Indian team in all three formats and has won 3 ICC trophies as the Indian captain. He is also regarded as one of the greatest finishers of all time because of his match-winning abilities.
2. SHAHID AFRIDI
Pakistani all-rounder and former captain Shahid Afridi is of no match when it comes to popularity, he was one of the most popular cricketers in his playing days, and even in the current cricket arena, there is no one who is unaware of who Shahid Afridi, he has won many matches for Pakistan team with his batting and bowling abilities.
1. VIRAT KOHLI
The #1 player on this list is VIRAT KOHLI, when you talk about popularity, there is no one who is even close to Virat Kohli, and there is no harm in saying that he is the face of world cricket right now. He has earned this spot because of his sheer determination and class with which he is performing for the last 15 years and is still going strong for India.
