India's top 5 Paris Olympics stars who could have been cricketers in another life ft. Neeraj Chopra
The 2024 Paris Olympics is underway and India have managed to send their biggest contingent to the event in a bid to claim a record tally in terms of medals.
Unfortunately, cricket, which is one of India's strong suits is not a part of the event. However, there is probably not a single athete in the India contingent that is oblivious to the sport.
With cricket being a religion in India, there is only a negligible fraction of people who are absolutely unaware of it or have not expressed a desire to play it, whether it be men's or women's cricket.
Although there is no lack of talent in the country in any way whatsoever, there are some athletes in the Indian contingent that might have been the right fit in the cricket team had they pursued such a route.
Since there is no chance of them pivoting now, let us take a look at India's top 5 Paris Olympics stars who could have been cricketers in another life.
#1 Neeraj Chopra
Hero of the previous Olympics where he delivered a gold medal for the country, Neeraj Chopra has easily been the most renowned athlete outside of cricket in recent years. He has attained cult status through his achievements.
India could use his javelin arm for rocket throws in from the deep, and his impeccable physique is perfect for cricket too. Whether it be bowling at high pace or striking it long, those well-honed shoulders would be more than capable of delivering, with some training of course.
Chopra has spoken about comparisons with the likes of Virat Kohli and MS Dhoni, and the craze for cricket in India. He also expressed his delight at cricket being a part of the next Olympics in 2028, scheduled to be held in Los Angeles.
#2 PV Sindhu
Badminton is one of the sports that require stamina of the highest level and PV Sindhu has embodied that quite well over the course of her career, incorporating skill into it as well.
With women's cricket rising, India's talent pool is also slowly widening and the team would have loved to have someone of Sindhu's calibre in terms of pure stamina and athleticism. With her tall frame, she could have become a threatening pacer with training, and with the aforementioned stamina already in place, she would have been able to bowl long spells with ease. Her athleticism would have come in handy during fielding as well.
#3 Sumit Nagal
The highest-ranked Indian tennis player in the world, Sumit Nagal is currently India's best hope to put themselves on the tennis world map.
Nagal could potentially walk into cricket teams of lower divisions as he already has the skills in place. He was a cricket fanatic growing up, playing the sport on the streets before he made a career out of tennis.
In fact, he even had a net session at the iconic Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) earlier this year during the 2024 Australian Open. For a change, he swapped his racket for a bat, and switched to playing drives rather than a forehand smash.
#4 Harmanpreet Singh
India's hockey star Harmanpreet Singh sizzled in the nation's exciting 3-2 win over New Zealand to kickstart their Olympic campaign. Apart from his lethal drag flicks, he is known for his leadership ability, and as a result, is the captain of the team at the minute.
His leadership capability led to hockey legend Dhanraj Pillay comparing him to cricket's very own MS Dhoni. However, he humbly downplayed the similarity, but that does not take away his leadership mettle.
#5 Lakshya Sen
Having a Yo-Yo score exceeding Virat Kohli, who is the pinnacle when it comes to fitness in Indian cricket, is no mean feat. Based on this sole fact, Lakshya Sen could have become a cricketer in another life. Since the physique and fitness levels are right up, the right amount of skill would have done wonders.
The 22-year-old had clocked a score of 22.4 on the infamous Yo-Yo Test, designed to bring out the best in terms of endurance in athletes.