6 lucky cricketers who got their break when others missed out due to Injuries
In sports, along with skill, luck also plays a major role in determining an athlete's career graph. Over the years, there have been a number of cricketers who have had their fair share of luck to get a place in the team. But many of them couldn't utilize their chances and were soon sacked from the team owing to their poor performances.
And then there is another category of players in cricket, who got their windfall when other players missed out due to injuries. These players have made the most of those opportunities to consolidate their position in the team. So, let us now take a look at 6 such famous cricketers who actually got a push in their career when they took someone else's place in the team.
#6 Cheteshwar Pujara
During the first Test of 2010/11 Border-Gavaskar trophy at Mohali, VVS Laxman suffered a sore back while playing a match-winning knock against Australia. In his absence, Cheteshwar Pujara received his maiden Test cap. Batting at number 5 in the first innings, Pujara failed to impress. But in the second innings, the Saurashtra batsman was promoted up the order to bat at number 3. Justifying his skipper's decision, Pujara scored a match-defining knock of 72 off 89 balls while chasing 207.
After Rahul Dravid's retirement in 2012, Pujara made number 3 his own by giving numerous match-defining knocks. Now the 30-year-old is one of the vital cogs of Virat Kohli's Test team.
#5 Andrew Strauss
During the 2000-01 season, the English opener Marcus Trescothick was performing extraordinarily for his team but he was not getting any support from the other openers to complement his form. The arrival of Michael Vaughan put a check to that long-lasting wait.
However, prior to their first Test against New Zealand at Lords in 2004, Vaughan injured himself in the nets. In the absence of Vaughan, Andrew Strauss made his debut. The 41-year-old grabbed the opportunity with both hands to hit a century on his debut. Later he went on to become one of the most successful captains of England.
Representing England in 100 Tests and 127 ODIs, the southpaw scored in excess of 12000 runs with the help of 27 centuries in both formats combined.