5 best award speeches by cricketers ft. Mitchell Marsh
Sportspersons in general, and cricketers in particular, are known to be emotional human beings.
A lot of hard work and effort is spent in achieving glory for themselves and their teams on the field, and the emotions that go behind achieving it remain beyond the screen.
Rarely do these emotions come out, but when they do, they open floodgates of grace that flow into an endless ocean of tranquillity, creativity and wisdom.
Such emotions flow out more often than not when cricketers accept awards at ceremonies, and give a glimpse to their fans as to what goes on inside their minds.
In this listicle, we bring to you the five best award speeches by cricketers:
#1 Mitchell Marsh
One of the best speeches made by a cricketer in recent times was by Mitchell Marsh after winning the Allan Border Medal at the Cricket Australia Awards night on Wednesday.
In his speech, Marsh spoke about how his wife had always stood by him and how much he loves playing under captain Pat Cummins and coach Andrew McDonald.
Marsh was brutally honest with his thoughts at the event.
"I'm a bit fat at times and I love a beer but you see the best in me always and you've changed my life. For your support and your leadership, Patty, playing under you is a dream," Marsh said during the event.
"I often spoke to my wife about... that I just wanted to get one more crack at it, and it's been amazing. She gave me the perspective on life that I needed," Marsh added.
#2 Sachin Tendulkar
Sachin Tendulkar made one of the finest speeches of all time when accepting the award for the Laureus Best Sporting Moment in 2020.
Tendulkar being lifted on the shoulders of his teammates after India's historic ODI World Cup win in 2011 was voted as the best sporting moment in the last twenty years in the awards ceremony.
He was given the award by former Australia captain Steve Waugh, a World Cup winner himself.
“It’s incredible. The feeling of winning the World Cup was beyond what words can express. How many times you get an event happening where there are no mixed opinions. Very rarely the entire country celebrates,” Tendulkar said after receiving the trophy.
“And this is a reminder of how powerful a sport is and what magic it does to our lives. Even now when I watch that it has stayed with me,” he added.
“My journey started in 1983 when I was 10 years old. India had won the World Cup. I did not understand the significance and just because everybody was celebrating, I also joined the party," he elaborated.
#3 Usman Khawaja
Usman Khawaja, who won the inaugural Shane Warne Men's Test Player of the Year for Australia in January 2023, gave an incredibly moving speech while accepting it.
Khawaja made special mention of his wife Rachel, whom he credited for having showered unconditional love upon him at all times and for supporting him during the low phases of his career.
"You are the rock. You know how much I love you,” Khawaja said.
“When I got dropped in 2019, you gave me unconditional love. I’m getting emotional thinking about a very tough time in my life. You loved me when I was playing for Australia, you loved me when I was playing for Queensland, even when I was a ‘clubbie’ playing for ‘Valleys’ you gave me unconditional love," he added.
“You love Usman Khawaja the person, not Usman Khawaja the cricketer – and for that, I’m truly indebted to you. Without you, I wouldn’t be standing here right now," he elaborated.
#4 Rahul Dravid
One of the finest speeches ever made by a cricketer was by Rahul Dravid when accepting his induction into the ICC Hall of Fame in 2018.
Dravid, along with Ricky Ponting, and England women’s stalwart Claire Taylor, was inducted into the Hall of Fame during the ICC Annual Conference in Dublin in July of that year.
Dravid, was, however, unable to attend the awards ceremony owing to a coaching commitment with India A.
Instead, he received his commemorative cap from fellow ICC Cricket Hall of Famer Sunil Gavaskar before the start of the fifth ODI between India and the West Indies in Thiruvananthapuram.
In his acceptance speech, the current India head coach seemed to cover all bases.
“I am honoured and delighted to have been formally inducted into the ICC Cricket Hall of Fame in front of my home fans. This award gives me the satisfaction that I have been able to contribute to the success of the India cricket team in particular, and cricket in general," said Dravid.
"I am grateful to all my contemporaries, who helped and supported me during my playing days, as well as coaches and officials who guided me on the long journey. I have enjoyed each and every moment of my association with them, as together we not only set big targets but achieved most of them,” he added.
#5 Gautam Gambhir
Current BJP politician and former India cricketer Gautam Gambhir also features on this list.
He gave a rather funny yet heartrendering speech at the CEAT Cricket Ratings Awards ceremony held in Mumbai in 2019.
Gambhir gave due credit to the CEAT company, owned by RPG's Harsh Goenka, for staying genuine and rewarding cricketers who were endorsing rival brands. Gambhir delivered the keynote address at the awards.
“Their [the CEAT Awards’] credibility can be gauged from the fact that I played with an MRF bat, but still won the award in 2011. So well done CEAT, that they didn’t bring in their corporate rivalries,” Gambhir said.
“You may think why I’m reading my speech,” Gambhir said. “Because the last 20 days I have been making political speeches and didn’t want the speeches to get mixed up.”