In different eras of cricket fans have witnessed some Incredible players with a lot of talent. These players contributed to shape the cricket that we know today. And after the T20 format was introduced, cricket got more attention. Some unbelievable performances made it more interesting for the fans. But all through the evolution of cricket a question pops up in most of the fans’ minds. Who is the “godfather of cricket”. While concluding that could be complex because every generation of cricket was blessed with some special players. So, here we’ll go through the career and achievements of these special players who shaped modern day cricket.
Understanding Godfather Of Cricket
The term Godfather of Cricket is used to define those players who have long lasting impact on cricket. There are many players which can be titled as this honor. Cricketers those brought something unique to the game through leadership, batting brilliance, or fearless determination are few. According to us these players and their career, achievements are given below.
Sir Don Bradman
“Sir Don Bradman” is the most popular batsman in the history of cricket with a career average of 99.94 in test cricket. Ant test cricket is considered as the purest form of cricket. There is no doubt that he was the greatest of all time, the GOAT. Sir Don Bradmon scored runs and made some enormous records through his career. In the era when there were no helmets and safety gears. He played fearlessly with courage to conquer the world of cricket. His international career started in 1928 and played till 1948 for Australia. He is not only a reputed player in Australian cricket but also considered as ‘godfather of cricket’. Also known as “Most Dangerous batsman in Cricket History”.
He passed away at age of 92 on 25th february of 2001. But the legacy he built is still alive in the cricketing world. Every batsmen in the world wants to be compared with Bradman. Because it’s a great form of appreciation for anyone’s batting talent.
| Format | Matches | Inn | Not Outs | Runs | HS | AVG | 100s | 50s | 4s | 6s |
| Test | 52 | 80 | 10 | 6996 | 334 | 99.9 | 29 | 13 | 681 | 6 |
Sir Viv Richards
“Sir Viv Richards” is another name from the big guns of cricket. According to the cricket experts he was the most destructive cricketer in the early era of cricket. Cricket had not witnessed explosive batting like he used to do. He was the first batsman who defined the meaning of aggressive batting performance. He paced some of the fastest bowlers in cricket history without a helmet. And he was one of the main reasons that ‘West Indies’ lifted the world cup title of 1979. He scored 15,261 runs with a strike rate of 80 throughout his career.
“The God of cricket” Scahin Tendulkar considers him as his ideal, which makes him a strong contender for the title of ‘godfather of cricket’.
| Format | Matches | Inn | Not Outs | Runs | HS | AVG | 100s | 50s | 4s | 6s |
| Test | 121 | 182 | 12 | 8540 | 291 | 50.2 | 24 | 45 | 1051 | 84 |
| ODI | 187 | 167 | 24 | 6721 | 189* | 47.0 | 11 | 45 | 600 | 126 |
Ms Dhoni (Godfather of Cricket in India)
Every Cricket fan knows the name “Ms. Dhoni”, ‘Mahi’ the man, the myth, the legend. The time when he took over as captain changed the whole image of Indian cricket. In the very first year of his captaincy India won the World Cup title after 24 years in 2007. Then, In 2011 Ms. Dhoni lifted the ODI world cup for India and the champions trophy in 2013. He is entitled as the only captain to have all ICC trophies in his bag. As a leader, he refined many players to contribute to Indian cricket.
Mahi also contributed as a player for India over years. We have witnessed some of the most amazing finishes from him. He holds some of the unbelievable records in all three of his roles. He is considered as ‘godfather of cricket in India’.
| Format | Matches | Inn | Not Outs | Runs | HS | AVG | 100s | 50s | 4s | 6s |
| Test | 90 | 144 | 16 | 4876 | 224 | 38.1 | 6 | 33 | 544 | 78 |
| ODI | 350 | 297 | 84 | 10773 | 183* | 50.6 | 10 | 73 | 826 | 229 |
| T20 | 98 | 85 | 42 | 1617 | 56 | 37.6 | 0 | 2 | 116 | 52 |
| IPL | 264 | 229 | 95 | 5243 | 84* | 39.1 | 0 | 24 | 363 | 252 |
Sunil Gavaskar
Another name in the list of legends is “Sunil Gavaskar”, Former captain of the Indian team. Recently he has been head coach of team India. As a player he made his debut in first class cricket against West Indies in 1971. He was Popular for his unique and efficient technique against fast bowling. Fans witnessed him dominating the most furious bowling sides like- West Indies, Australia and more. He was the first batter who completed 10,000 runs in test cricket history. Even Viv Richard complimented Gavaskar and entitled him ‘godfather of cricket in India’.
| Format | Matches | Inn | Not Outs | Runs | HS | AVG | 100s | 50s | 4s | 6s |
| Test | 125 | 214 | 16 | 10122 | 236* | 51.1 | 34 | 45 | 1016 | 26 |
| ODI | 108 | 14 | 14 | 3092 | 1038 | 35.1 | 1 | 27 | 234 | 21 |
Conclusion
In conclusion, we can say that there is not one and only ‘godfather of cricket’. The players we mentioned above in the article all of them contributed to shape the cricket. They have played their part and evolved cricket. For us All of them are “godfather of cricket”. They have built their legacy over the time in the cricketing world and earned a reputation. So we can consider them “godfather of cricket” for decades.
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