Waugh, Pathan, Morkel, Akmal and Pandya brothers are some of the most famous cricketers known to be belonging to the same family in the international arena. However, several international cricketers have family connections in the cricketing world but are not as popular as the brother duos mentioned. Therefore, to satisfy the quirky cricketing bug in us, Cricreads have curated a list of cricketers who have family ties in cricket but are not known to many.
Here are 12 lesser-known family ties in cricket:
Faf du Plessis and Hardus Viljoen
Faf du Plessis broke the internet when he announced in November 2019 at the toss in one of the matches of the Mzansi Super League that Hardus Viljoen was not part of the playing eleven due to his recent wedding to his sister Rhemi Rynners.
Vikram Rathore and Ashish Kapoor
Vikram Rathore, the current batting coach for the Indian cricket team, is married to the sister of former cricketer Ashish Kapoor. Rathore’s appointment as batting coach for India A was met with heavy controversy due to Ashish being a selector for the Under 19 cricket team.
Dinesh Karthik and Murali Vijay
Murali Vijay was involved in an affair with Karthik’s wife, Nikita. Karthik divorced Nikita in 2012 when she was pregnant with a boy, and soon Nikita tied the knot with Vijay. Both Karthik and Vijay have maintained silence on the issue, and Karthik got married to Dipika Pallikal in 2015.
Mitchell Starc and Alyssa Healy
Mitchell Starc married Alyssa Healy, niece of the great Ian Healy, in April 2016. Both Starc and Healy have represented Australia on the international level. They share a unique record of being the first married couple in cricket to represent their country in Test matches.
Mushfiqur Rahim and Mahmudullah
Mushfiqur Rahim has been accused of giving a spot to Mahmudullah in playing XI instead of other deserving players due to Mahumudullah being married to his sister Jannatul. Mahmudullah tied the knot with Rahim’s sister in 2011.
Craig White and Darren Lehmann
Lehmann married White’s sister Andrea in 1999 after spending time with her during his county stint in England. Lehmann played for Australia and often crossed paths with Craig White in international matches. White has dismissed him thrice in international cricket.
Sunil Gavaskar and Gundappa Vishwanath
Gundappa Vishwanath is married to Kavita, the sister of Indian cricketing legend Sunil Gavaskar. Vishwanath and Gavaskar have the utmost respect for each other, which can be known from the fact that Gavaskar named his son Rohan Jaivishwa Gavaskar to pay respect to Vishwanath.
Babar Azam and Akmal Brothers
The Pakistani batting sensation Babar Azam is the cousin of the former Pakistani wicketkeeper-batters, Kamran Akmal and Umar Akmal. All three of them have represented Pakistan in several matches on the international stage.
Dwayne Bravo and Darren Bravo
The southpaw batter, Darren Bravo, is the half-brother of entertaining and compelling Dwayne Bravo. Both of them have represented West Indies in international cricket, but Bravo far exceeds his brother in terms of records and accolades in cricket.
Mark Butcher and Alec Stewart
Mark Butcher married his teammate Alec Stewart’s sister, Judy, but his extramarital affairs led to the downfall of his marriage and his relations with Stewart. Judy left Butcher and Stewart broke up his family ties with him.
Chetan Sharma and Yashpal Sharma
Chetan Sharma and Yashpal Sharma both donned the Indian colours at the international level. Yashpal was named crisis man for India by Sunil Gavaskar and perhaps relayed his ability to stay calm under pressure to his nephew Chetan.
Ajay Jadeja and KS Ranjitsinhji
Ajay Jadeja hails from the royal family of Nawanagar, and his birth name is Ajaysinhji Jadeja. KS Ranjisinhji has the famous Indian tournament Ranji trophy named after him and is considered the inventor of leg-glance in cricket.
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