5 cricketers who joined politics while still playing ft. Ravindra Jadeja
Cricket and politics sometimes go hand in hand in India. Several cricketers who have represented the country have often taken the plunge into statesmanship and joined a political party either during or after their professional careers.
A lot of these players have done so when they were still playing active cricket, with Ravindra Jadeja being the latest among those to take the plunge. His wife Rivaba recently shared his membership card on her X handle.
Current India head coach Gautam Gambhir too was an active politician, becoming the Member of Parliament from East Delhi on a Bharatiya Janata Party ticket in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. However, he did so after retiring from cricket.
On that note, let's take a look at five cricketers who joined politics while still playing:
#1 Ravindra Jadeja
One of the most prominent names on this list is that of Ravindra Jadeja. The all-rounder, as was expected, joined the Bharatiya Janata Party on Friday, September 6. His wife Rivaba is an MLA of the same party from Jamnagar North, Gujarat.
The 35-year-old announced his retirement from T20Is after the ICC Men's T20 World Cup held in the West Indies and USA earlier this year. But, he continues to play the two other formats.
Jadeja was slated to be playing in the ongoing Duleep Trophy but was given an extended break by the BCCI to recover from a niggle that he was nursing.
#2 Manoj Tiwary
Manoj Tiwary is another cricketer who became a politician while still playing. Having last played for India in 2015, the Bengal batter joined the All India Trinamool Congress (AITC) in February 2021 while being a regular in domestic cricket.
Tiwary contested the 2021 Bengal Assembly elections and won from the Shibpur constituency on an AITC ticket. Subsequently, he was appointed as the minister of state for Youth affairs and Sports in Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's cabinet.
#3 S Sreesanth
Troubled fast bowler Shanthakumaran Sreesanth, who was renowned for courting several controversies in his career, joined the Bharatiya Janata Party ahead of the 2015 assembly elections in Kerala.
Although he was no longer playing for India, Sreesanth continued to play first-class cricket for Kerala until 2022. Having received a ticket to contest from Thiruvananthapuram, he lost the elections by a margin of 11,447 votes.
Despite his immense potential, the 41-year-old played in just 27 Tests and 53 ODIs for India, and spent the prime of his career in the cloud of controversy when he was arrested in a match-fixing scandal in the IPL in 2013.
#4 Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi
Former India captain Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi, who was one of the finest characters to have graced the sport, counts himself on this list of cricketers who joined politics when still playing.
Pataudi contested the 1971 and 1975 Lok Sabha elections turning out for the Vishal Haryana Party (which does not exist now) but lost both. He played his last Test for India in 1975 against the West Indies in Mumbai.
The elegant and wristy strokemaker played in 310 first-class matches, including 46 Tests for the country, in which he scored over 15,000 runs with 33 centuries. He played with just one eye for the majority of his career, since losing his other in a road accident at an age of 21.
#5 Mohammad Kaif
Former India star Mohammad Kaif, who is widely renowned for his heroics in the 2002 Natwest Series triumph over England at Lord's, joined politics in 2014 when he was still an active cricketer.
Kaif contested on a Congress ticket in the Phulpur constituency of Uttar Pradesh's Allahabad in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections but came a lowly fourth, polling just 58,000 votes.
Despite not playing for India since 2006, Kaif continued to be a dominant force in domestic cricket and played his last first-class match as a guest player for Chhattisgarh in the 2017-18 Ranji Trophy season.