Captaincy with one eye, 242 wickets with polio hand, stories of these 5 cricket heroes will give you courage

New Delhi. That 22-yard pitch, where the balls come at a speed of 150 kilometers per hour and the noise of thousands of spectators present in the field puts even the best of the field off their feet. There, not only skill but iron will is required. When fate takes away a part of a player’s physical ability, the world assumes that the journey is over. But there are some passionate people who change the fate written by their courage. Let us know the stories of those 5 brave men of cricket history, who forced their disability and physical challenges to surrender and earned a lot of name in the world of sports.

In the year 1961, a terrible car accident happened in England and a 20 year old young man lost the vision in his right eye forever. Doctors said that now he would never be able to see properly, leave alone play cricket. The name of that young man was Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi. Whom the world knew as ‘Tiger Pataudi’. Nawab Pataudi did not accept defeat. He practiced sensing the length of the ball with one eye only. When he came to the field, he would see two balls instead of one, but with his hard practice he learned to hit the right ball. A few months after the accident, he not only returned to the Indian team, but also became the youngest captain in the history of Indian cricket at the age of just 21. Not only this, it was due to his brave captaincy that in the year 1968, India created history by winning its first Test series abroad (New Zealand).

Polio affected hands, which made the world’s batsmen tremble
When Bhagwat Chandrashekhar became a victim of polio in his childhood, his right hand became weak and paralyzed. This would have been a huge blow for any common man, especially for one who wants to become a player. But Chandrashekhar made his own weakness the most dangerous weapon in the world. He started bowling leg spin with his thin and polio-stricken right arm. His hand had become more flexible than usual, due to which he was able to give unexpected speed and bounce to the ball. The batsmen could not understand when the ball would spin and when it would accelerate. He played 58 test matches for India and took 242 wickets while making the opposition teams sweat. He proved that if your courage is high, then even physical weakness can become your biggest strength.

Wrote the story of greatness with a two inch small hand
In cricket, technique and balance between both hands are considered most important. But the story of the great England batsman Sir Len Hutton is surprising. He got seriously injured during a military training during the Second World War. He had to undergo an operation on his hand, after which his left hand became about 2 inches shorter than his right hand. For a batsman it was like ending his career. But Hutton refused to accept defeat. He changed his batting technique, changed his grip and came on the field again. He played 79 Test matches for England and scored 6,971 runs with 19 centuries. His passion shows that stature on the field is not measured by the length of hands, but by the height of intentions.

Didn’t have three fingers, still set a lot of records
At the age of just 13, New Zealand’s Martin Guptill lost three toes on his left foot in a tragic forklift accident. At that time hardly anyone would have thought that this boy would ever be able to run. But even though Guptill had no toes, his dreams were amazing. Guptill wore specially designed shoes and entered the field. He not only became New Zealand’s most explosive opener but was also called one of the most brilliant fielders in the world. Guptill, who played a historic inning of 237 runs in ODI cricket, represented New Zealand for years in international cricket. Even today, seeing his batting in T20 leagues around the world, no one can guess that this player does not have three toes on his feet.

Took command of England amid bouts of mental illness
Fighting physical injuries is one thing, but fighting a disease that directly attacks your brain is downright scary. Former England captain Tony Greig was suffering from epilepsy. He often had severe seizures, due to which his body became uncontrollable. Even under the shadow of this mental illness, Tony Greig did not give up. He kept coming on the field, kept scoring runs and taking wickets. He not only played 58 test matches for England, but also captained the team. He has 8 brilliant centuries and 141 wickets in his name in Test cricket. Later he also became the world’s most popular commentator.