Five legendary cricketers and their superstitions

Cricketers might give a different perception with their behaviour on the field or off the field. However, most of them remain pretty superstitious with their beliefs. Some of them end up bringing such beliefs into the game, albeit in search of luck or positivity. Their superstitions could be linked with religious beliefs, personal affection or a regular activity. Here we look at five cricketers and their superstitions:

Steve Waugh – Kept red handkerchief in his pocket:

Steve Waugh finds himself among the most successful captains and batsmen, especially in Test cricket. The great man did have certain superstitions he followed during his career which he believed to have worked in his way. The former Australian skipper always carried a red handkerchief in his pocket while being on the field. The handkerchief was given to Steve by his grandmother and the cricketer believed it to have brought luck.

Steve Waugh always carries his ‘RED HANDKERCHIEF’ which was gifted by his Grandmother for “GOOD LUCK”.

— 爪丂Ꮆ (@chiku_ravi) September 10, 2015

Rahul Dravid – Wore right thigh pad first:

Rahul Dravid, well known as the ‘The Wall’ of Indian cricket, had a superstition he followed during his career that spread across three different decades. Dravid, before going to bat, used to wear the right thigh pad and followed by the rest of the batting kit.

Sachin Tendulkar – Wore the left pad first:

Sachin Tendulkar is no exception to the superstitions as the legendary cricketer maintained a certain pattern while wearing the kit and get ready to step onto the field with the bat. Tendulkar would always wear the left pad first before going to bat, quite opposite to Dravid who used to wear right pad first.

Anil Kumble – Handed sweater and cap to Tendulkar:

Anil Kumble is well known to be a practical guy who didn’t have major superstitions but his career-best effort did feature one interesting pattern. The leg-spinner handed his sweater and cap to Sachin Tendulkar rather than the umpire while coming on to bowl during the 1999 Delhi Test against Pakistan. Kumble became only the 2nd player in Test history to record a perfect 10 during the 2nd innings of Pakistan. Kumble’s superstition continued until he claimed the last wicket of the opposition’s innings.

Lasith Malinga – Kisses the ball before bowling every ball:

The first impression of watching Lasith Malinga’s bowling for anyone will be the Sri Lankan pacer kissing the ball at the start of his run-up. As per the legendary bowler, the act of giving a gentle puff over the ball was his belief of bringing in fortunes whenever he walked in to deliver for the Lankan team.

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Did you know Lasith Malinga has kissed the ball 17,944 times during his international career? ? #LasithMalinga pic.twitter.com/KtYTO93Vhk

— The Cricket Wire (@TheCricketWire) June 23, 2020