Walls are built in days, but it takes ages to build a fortress. Reputation in the sporting world is no different, often people misinterpret fame with this concept, which is entirely different. It takes one good knock or one moment to become famous, but to carry the reputation forward, it takes a lifetime of hard work and good results on the field.

The cricketing world witnessed many such iconic personalities over the decades and some current stars like <a href="https://www.crictracker.com/india-vs-south-africa-2019-3rd-test-a-rare-whitewash-against-south-africa-rohit-and-umeshs-feats-kohli-goes-past-azharuddin-and-more-stats/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><strong>Virat Kohli</strong></a>, Rohit Sharma, Kane Williamson, Steve Smith, and David Warner are doing a fine job in building their own legacies. Their legends will keep inspiring coming generations to take up the game as a profession and hopefully, the cycle will continue.

But keeping some of these current figures aside, there have been some cricketers whose status was bigger than that of their teams. They ruled their respective nation&#8217;s cricket teams and influenced decision making significantly, regardless of them being the captains or not. Here are five such personalities whose reputation was way higher than their teams.

<img loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-277058" src="https://crictracker-admin-panel-08032022.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/media/attachments/Don-Bradman.jpg" alt="Don Bradman" width="640" height="400" sizes="(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px"><figcaption id="caption-attachment-277058" class="wp-caption-text">Don Bradman. (Photo by Keystone/Getty Images)</figcaption>

Cricket&#8217;s most prolific and glorious chapter, Sir Donald Bradman was not just the phase of international cricket back in his days, but he is also rated as the greatest Australian to have ever lived. His accolades are also termed as one of the finest achievements ever by any individual in the sporting fraternity.

During a time when Australia was facing its worst recession in the 1930s and 1940s, many historians wrote about the impact of Sir Don&#8217;s outrageous batting exploits on the lives of a common man. He was perhaps the only source of joy for millions and without a doubt, he was way bigger than his team in those days.

A lot of Australians continued to hate English spinner Eric Hollies, who infamously dismissed the Master for a duck in his farewell Test, which deprived him of the iconic 100 average. It has been nearly 18 years since the demise, the whispers of his greatness continue to reverberate in the fraternity in some or the other corner.

<img loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-353328" src="https://crictracker-admin-panel-08032022.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/media/attachments/CT_356340.jpg" alt width="640" height="400" sizes="(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px"><figcaption id="caption-attachment-353328" class="wp-caption-text">Sachin Tendulkar. (Photo by Shaun Botterill/Getty Images)</figcaption>

Need I begin to explain the greatness of this man, who turned a cricket-loving country into a cricket-frenzy nation and eventually, thanks to a great contribution from <strong><a href="https://www.crictracker.com/yahan-toh-uv-rays-bhi-nahi-hai-sachin-tendulkar-trolls-yuvraj-singh-on-harbhajan-singh-throwback-tweet/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar</a></strong>, this sport became one of the religions. It could be next to impossible for any cricketer to replicate the impact of this legendary individual.

In a career that spanned 24 years, Tendulkar went on to become the highest run-scorer in ODIs and Test cricket and his record stands safe by a long margin from his nearest competitors. Whenever he was batting, the Indian fans would stick to the television sets with a hope that he would deliver a miracle and he did that quite a lot of times.

It was difficult for the Indian cricket team and the BCCI to keep him away from the game when he was reaching the fag end of his career, sheerly because the fans would revert in a bad way. He eventually did step out of the game in what turned out to be the most emotional farewell of all time and the TRP records of that game signify why he was bigger than the team on many occasions.

<img loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-257177" src="https://crictracker-admin-panel-08032022.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/media/attachments/Viv-Richards.jpg" alt="Viv Richards" width="640" height="400" sizes="(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px"><figcaption id="caption-attachment-257177" class="wp-caption-text">Viv Richards. (Photo Source: Getty Images)</figcaption>

The most enigmatic personalities of the 80s, Sir Isaac Vivian Alexander Richards was probably the greatest entertainer the game has witnessed. Against cricket&#8217;s most terrifying fast bowlers of the 70s and 80s, Richards batted at a strike-rate in excess of 85 in Test cricket, a stat which glorifies his sheer magnetic aura to attract fans towards him.

While there many other legendary cricketers in West Indian history like Clive Lloyd, Sir Gary Sobers, Sir Frank Worrell, Sir Everton Weekes, Malcolm Marshall and <a href="https://www.crictracker.com/brian-lara-lauds-virat-kohlis-leadership-says-he-leads-from-the-front-in-all-facets/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><strong>Brian Lara</strong></a>, not one of them could garner a fear-factor like that of the two-time World Cup winner from Antigua.

The confidence with which he walked out to bat, the fearlessness with which he would smash gruesome fast bowlers to all corners, the nonchalance in his run-scoring spree, there was nothing that matched the great man&#8217;s influence on Windies cricket. He was the highest run-scorer in Test cricket for them before Brian Lara took over in the coming years.

<img loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-82446" src="https://crictracker-admin-panel-08032022.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/media/attachments/Ricky-Ponting-catches.jpg" alt="Ricky Ponting" width="600" height="404" sizes="(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px"><figcaption id="caption-attachment-82446" class="wp-caption-text">Ricky Ponting. (Photo by Ganesh debiky/AFP/Getty Images)</figcaption>

Steve Waugh laid the foundation bricks to what turned out to be the greatest era in international cricket history in terms of dominating both the formats. The leader of that Mighty Aussies side, Ricky Ponting, went on to captain the team in more international matches than any other cricketer in the history and was the most influential member of that team.

It is never an easy task to manage a team with so many superstars, but Punter had all of them under his command led the team brilliantly. He exerted a level of dominance which was not seen many times before and was often hailed for the ease with which he dealt with many intricate situations.

Ponting went on to win two World Cups and two Champions Trophies, becoming the only cricketer in history to win four ICC trophies. He led the time till his final Test against Australia in 2012 and a match has not been found to the greatness of this individual.

<img loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-343162" src="https://crictracker-admin-panel-08032022.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/media/attachments/Imran-Khan-1.jpg" alt="Imran Khan" width="640" height="400" sizes="(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px"><figcaption id="caption-attachment-343162" class="wp-caption-text">Imran Khan. (Photo Source: Twitter)</figcaption>

Talking about enigmatic leaders in world cricket, no one had a more autocratic presence at the top than Imran Khan during his tenure as the captain of the Pakistan cricket team. Perhaps the greatest all-rounder of his time, Khan led <a href="https://www.crictracker.com/cricket-teams/pakistan/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><strong>Pakistan</strong></a> to their first World Cup triumph in 1992.

His teammates blindly followed his commands and the entire nation rallied around the all-rounder during their matches. It came in as no surprise that he went on to become the first cricketer to have turned a Prime Minister of a country. Whenever it came to facing Pakistan, tackling Imran Khan and his exploits was the biggest challenge for the opposing team.

When Imran retired after the 1987 World Cup disappointment, President General Zia-ul-Haq personally requested him to come back as there was no one at that point who could fill those huge boots. Imran was devastating, scary and at the same time, a crowd-puller like no other.

<p>Walls are built in days, but it takes ages to build a fortress. Reputation in the sporting world is no different, often people misinterpret fame with this concept, which is entirely different. It takes one good knock or one moment to become famous, but to carry the reputation forward, it takes a lifetime of hard work and good results on the field.</p>
<p>The cricketing world witnessed many such iconic personalities over the decades and some current stars like <a href="https://www.crictracker.com/india-vs-south-africa-2019-3rd-test-a-rare-whitewash-against-south-africa-rohit-and-umeshs-feats-kohli-goes-past-azharuddin-and-more-stats/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><strong>Virat Kohli</strong></a>, Rohit Sharma, Kane Williamson, Steve Smith, and David Warner are doing a fine job in building their own legacies. Their legends will keep inspiring coming generations to take up the game as a profession and hopefully, the cycle will continue.</p>
<p>But keeping some of these current figures aside, there have been some cricketers whose status was bigger than that of their teams. They ruled their respective nation’s cricket teams and influenced decision making significantly, regardless of them being the captains or not. Here are five such personalities whose reputation was way higher than their teams.</p>
<h3>1. Sir Donald Bradman</h3>
<figure id="attachment_277058" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-277058" class="wp-caption aligncenter" style="max-width: 100%; margin: 0;"><amp-img class="size-full wp-image-277058" src="https://crictracker-admin-panel-08032022.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/media/attachments/Don-Bradman.jpg" alt="Don Bradman" width="640" height="400" layout="responsive" style="max-width: 100%; margin: 0;"></amp-img><figcaption id="caption-attachment-277058" class="wp-caption-text">Don Bradman. (Photo by Keystone/Getty Images)</figcaption></figure>
<p>Cricket’s most prolific and glorious chapter, Sir Donald Bradman was not just the phase of international cricket back in his days, but he is also rated as the greatest Australian to have ever lived. His accolades are also termed as one of the finest achievements ever by any individual in the sporting fraternity.</p>
<p>During a time when Australia was facing its worst recession in the 1930s and 1940s, many historians wrote about the impact of Sir Don’s outrageous batting exploits on the lives of a common man. He was perhaps the only source of joy for millions and without a doubt, he was way bigger than his team in those days.</p>
<p>A lot of Australians continued to hate English spinner Eric Hollies, who infamously dismissed the Master for a duck in his farewell Test, which deprived him of the iconic 100 average. It has been nearly 18 years since the demise, the whispers of his greatness continue to reverberate in the fraternity in some or the other corner.</p>
<h3>2. Sachin Tendulkar</h3>
<figure id="attachment_353328" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-353328" class="wp-caption aligncenter" style="max-width: 100%; margin: 0;"><amp-img class="size-full wp-image-353328" src="https://crictracker-admin-panel-08032022.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/media/attachments/CT_356340.jpg" alt width="640" height="400" layout="responsive" style="max-width: 100%; margin: 0;"></amp-img><figcaption id="caption-attachment-353328" class="wp-caption-text">Sachin Tendulkar. (Photo by Shaun Botterill/Getty Images)</figcaption></figure>
<p>Need I begin to explain the greatness of this man, who turned a cricket-loving country into a cricket-frenzy nation and eventually, thanks to a great contribution from <strong><a href="https://www.crictracker.com/yahan-toh-uv-rays-bhi-nahi-hai-sachin-tendulkar-trolls-yuvraj-singh-on-harbhajan-singh-throwback-tweet/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar</a></strong>, this sport became one of the religions. It could be next to impossible for any cricketer to replicate the impact of this legendary individual.</p>
<p>In a career that spanned 24 years, Tendulkar went on to become the highest run-scorer in ODIs and Test cricket and his record stands safe by a long margin from his nearest competitors. Whenever he was batting, the Indian fans would stick to the television sets with a hope that he would deliver a miracle and he did that quite a lot of times.</p>
<p>It was difficult for the Indian cricket team and the BCCI to keep him away from the game when he was reaching the fag end of his career, sheerly because the fans would revert in a bad way. He eventually did step out of the game in what turned out to be the most emotional farewell of all time and the TRP records of that game signify why he was bigger than the team on many occasions.</p>
<h3>3. Sir Vivian Richards</h3>
<figure id="attachment_257177" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-257177" class="wp-caption aligncenter" style="max-width: 100%; margin: 0;"><amp-img class="size-full wp-image-257177" src="https://crictracker-admin-panel-08032022.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/media/attachments/Viv-Richards.jpg" alt="Viv Richards" width="640" height="400" layout="responsive" style="max-width: 100%; margin: 0;"></amp-img><figcaption id="caption-attachment-257177" class="wp-caption-text">Viv Richards. (Photo Source: Getty Images)</figcaption></figure>
<p>The most enigmatic personalities of the 80s, Sir Isaac Vivian Alexander Richards was probably the greatest entertainer the game has witnessed. Against cricket’s most terrifying fast bowlers of the 70s and 80s, Richards batted at a strike-rate in excess of 85 in Test cricket, a stat which glorifies his sheer magnetic aura to attract fans towards him.</p>
<p>While there many other legendary cricketers in West Indian history like Clive Lloyd, Sir Gary Sobers, Sir Frank Worrell, Sir Everton Weekes, Malcolm Marshall and <a href="https://www.crictracker.com/brian-lara-lauds-virat-kohlis-leadership-says-he-leads-from-the-front-in-all-facets/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><strong>Brian Lara</strong></a>, not one of them could garner a fear-factor like that of the two-time World Cup winner from Antigua.</p>
<p>The confidence with which he walked out to bat, the fearlessness with which he would smash gruesome fast bowlers to all corners, the nonchalance in his run-scoring spree, there was nothing that matched the great man’s influence on Windies cricket. He was the highest run-scorer in Test cricket for them before Brian Lara took over in the coming years.</p>
<h3>4. Ricky Ponting</h3>
<figure id="attachment_82446" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-82446" class="wp-caption aligncenter" style="max-width: 100%; margin: 0;"><amp-img class="size-full wp-image-82446" src="https://crictracker-admin-panel-08032022.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/media/attachments/Ricky-Ponting-catches.jpg" alt="Ricky Ponting" width="600" height="404" layout="responsive" style="max-width: 100%; margin: 0;"></amp-img><figcaption id="caption-attachment-82446" class="wp-caption-text">Ricky Ponting. (Photo by Ganesh debiky/AFP/Getty Images)</figcaption></figure>
<p>Steve Waugh laid the foundation bricks to what turned out to be the greatest era in international cricket history in terms of dominating both the formats. The leader of that Mighty Aussies side, Ricky Ponting, went on to captain the team in more international matches than any other cricketer in the history and was the most influential member of that team.</p>
<p>It is never an easy task to manage a team with so many superstars, but Punter had all of them under his command led the team brilliantly. He exerted a level of dominance which was not seen many times before and was often hailed for the ease with which he dealt with many intricate situations.</p>
<p>Ponting went on to win two World Cups and two Champions Trophies, becoming the only cricketer in history to win four ICC trophies. He led the time till his final Test against Australia in 2012 and a match has not been found to the greatness of this individual.</p>
<h3>5. Imran Khan</h3>
<figure id="attachment_343162" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-343162" class="wp-caption aligncenter" style="max-width: 100%; margin: 0;"><amp-img class="size-full wp-image-343162" src="https://crictracker-admin-panel-08032022.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/media/attachments/Imran-Khan-1.jpg" alt="Imran Khan" width="640" height="400" layout="responsive" style="max-width: 100%; margin: 0;"></amp-img><figcaption id="caption-attachment-343162" class="wp-caption-text">Imran Khan. (Photo Source: Twitter)</figcaption></figure>
<p>Talking about enigmatic leaders in world cricket, no one had a more autocratic presence at the top than Imran Khan during his tenure as the captain of the Pakistan cricket team. Perhaps the greatest all-rounder of his time, Khan led <a href="https://www.crictracker.com/cricket-teams/pakistan/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><strong>Pakistan</strong></a> to their first World Cup triumph in 1992.</p>
<p>His teammates blindly followed his commands and the entire nation rallied around the all-rounder during their matches. It came in as no surprise that he went on to become the first cricketer to have turned a Prime Minister of a country. Whenever it came to facing Pakistan, tackling Imran Khan and his exploits was the biggest challenge for the opposing team.</p>
<p>When Imran retired after the 1987 World Cup disappointment, President General Zia-ul-Haq personally requested him to come back as there was no one at that point who could fill those huge boots. Imran was devastating, scary and at the same time, a crowd-puller like no other.</p>

<p>Walls are built in days, but it takes ages to build a fortress. Reputation in the sporting world is no different, often people misinterpret fame with this concept, which is entirely different. It takes one good knock or one moment to become famous, but to carry the reputation forward, it takes a lifetime of hard work and good results on the field.</p>
<p>The cricketing world witnessed many such iconic personalities over the decades and some current stars like <a href="https://www.crictracker.com/india-vs-south-africa-2019-3rd-test-a-rare-whitewash-against-south-africa-rohit-and-umeshs-feats-kohli-goes-past-azharuddin-and-more-stats/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><strong>Virat Kohli</strong></a>, Rohit Sharma, Kane Williamson, Steve Smith, and David Warner are doing a fine job in building their own legacies. Their legends will keep inspiring coming generations to take up the game as a profession and hopefully, the cycle will continue.</p>
<p>But keeping some of these current figures aside, there have been some cricketers whose status was bigger than that of their teams. They ruled their respective nation&#8217;s cricket teams and influenced decision making significantly, regardless of them being the captains or not. Here are five such personalities whose reputation was way higher than their teams.</p>
<h3>1. Sir Donald Bradman</h3>
<figure id="attachment_277058" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-277058" style="width: 640px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-277058" src="https://crictracker-admin-panel-08032022.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/media/attachments/Don-Bradman.jpg" alt="Don Bradman" width="640" height="400" sizes="(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px"><figcaption id="caption-attachment-277058" class="wp-caption-text">Don Bradman. (Photo by Keystone/Getty Images)</figcaption></figure>
<p>Cricket&#8217;s most prolific and glorious chapter, Sir Donald Bradman was not just the phase of international cricket back in his days, but he is also rated as the greatest Australian to have ever lived. His accolades are also termed as one of the finest achievements ever by any individual in the sporting fraternity.</p>
<p>During a time when Australia was facing its worst recession in the 1930s and 1940s, many historians wrote about the impact of Sir Don&#8217;s outrageous batting exploits on the lives of a common man. He was perhaps the only source of joy for millions and without a doubt, he was way bigger than his team in those days.</p>
<p>A lot of Australians continued to hate English spinner Eric Hollies, who infamously dismissed the Master for a duck in his farewell Test, which deprived him of the iconic 100 average. It has been nearly 18 years since the demise, the whispers of his greatness continue to reverberate in the fraternity in some or the other corner.</p>
<h3>2. Sachin Tendulkar</h3>
<figure id="attachment_353328" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-353328" style="width: 640px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-353328" src="https://crictracker-admin-panel-08032022.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/media/attachments/CT_356340.jpg" alt width="640" height="400" sizes="(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px"><figcaption id="caption-attachment-353328" class="wp-caption-text">Sachin Tendulkar. (Photo by Shaun Botterill/Getty Images)</figcaption></figure>
<p>Need I begin to explain the greatness of this man, who turned a cricket-loving country into a cricket-frenzy nation and eventually, thanks to a great contribution from <strong><a href="https://www.crictracker.com/yahan-toh-uv-rays-bhi-nahi-hai-sachin-tendulkar-trolls-yuvraj-singh-on-harbhajan-singh-throwback-tweet/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar</a></strong>, this sport became one of the religions. It could be next to impossible for any cricketer to replicate the impact of this legendary individual.</p>
<p>In a career that spanned 24 years, Tendulkar went on to become the highest run-scorer in ODIs and Test cricket and his record stands safe by a long margin from his nearest competitors. Whenever he was batting, the Indian fans would stick to the television sets with a hope that he would deliver a miracle and he did that quite a lot of times.</p>
<p>It was difficult for the Indian cricket team and the BCCI to keep him away from the game when he was reaching the fag end of his career, sheerly because the fans would revert in a bad way. He eventually did step out of the game in what turned out to be the most emotional farewell of all time and the TRP records of that game signify why he was bigger than the team on many occasions.</p>
<h3>3. Sir Vivian Richards</h3>
<figure id="attachment_257177" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-257177" style="width: 640px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-257177" src="https://crictracker-admin-panel-08032022.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/media/attachments/Viv-Richards.jpg" alt="Viv Richards" width="640" height="400" sizes="(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px"><figcaption id="caption-attachment-257177" class="wp-caption-text">Viv Richards. (Photo Source: Getty Images)</figcaption></figure>
<p>The most enigmatic personalities of the 80s, Sir Isaac Vivian Alexander Richards was probably the greatest entertainer the game has witnessed. Against cricket&#8217;s most terrifying fast bowlers of the 70s and 80s, Richards batted at a strike-rate in excess of 85 in Test cricket, a stat which glorifies his sheer magnetic aura to attract fans towards him.</p>
<p>While there many other legendary cricketers in West Indian history like Clive Lloyd, Sir Gary Sobers, Sir Frank Worrell, Sir Everton Weekes, Malcolm Marshall and <a href="https://www.crictracker.com/brian-lara-lauds-virat-kohlis-leadership-says-he-leads-from-the-front-in-all-facets/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><strong>Brian Lara</strong></a>, not one of them could garner a fear-factor like that of the two-time World Cup winner from Antigua.</p>
<p>The confidence with which he walked out to bat, the fearlessness with which he would smash gruesome fast bowlers to all corners, the nonchalance in his run-scoring spree, there was nothing that matched the great man&#8217;s influence on Windies cricket. He was the highest run-scorer in Test cricket for them before Brian Lara took over in the coming years.</p>
<h3>4. Ricky Ponting</h3>
<figure id="attachment_82446" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-82446" style="width: 600px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-82446" src="https://crictracker-admin-panel-08032022.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/media/attachments/Ricky-Ponting-catches.jpg" alt="Ricky Ponting" width="600" height="404" sizes="(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px"><figcaption id="caption-attachment-82446" class="wp-caption-text">Ricky Ponting. (Photo by Ganesh debiky/AFP/Getty Images)</figcaption></figure>
<p>Steve Waugh laid the foundation bricks to what turned out to be the greatest era in international cricket history in terms of dominating both the formats. The leader of that Mighty Aussies side, Ricky Ponting, went on to captain the team in more international matches than any other cricketer in the history and was the most influential member of that team.</p>
<p>It is never an easy task to manage a team with so many superstars, but Punter had all of them under his command led the team brilliantly. He exerted a level of dominance which was not seen many times before and was often hailed for the ease with which he dealt with many intricate situations.</p>
<p>Ponting went on to win two World Cups and two Champions Trophies, becoming the only cricketer in history to win four ICC trophies. He led the time till his final Test against Australia in 2012 and a match has not been found to the greatness of this individual.</p>
<h3>5. Imran Khan</h3>
<figure id="attachment_343162" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-343162" style="width: 640px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-343162" src="https://crictracker-admin-panel-08032022.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/media/attachments/Imran-Khan-1.jpg" alt="Imran Khan" width="640" height="400" sizes="(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px"><figcaption id="caption-attachment-343162" class="wp-caption-text">Imran Khan. (Photo Source: Twitter)</figcaption></figure>
<p>Talking about enigmatic leaders in world cricket, no one had a more autocratic presence at the top than Imran Khan during his tenure as the captain of the Pakistan cricket team. Perhaps the greatest all-rounder of his time, Khan led <a href="https://www.crictracker.com/cricket-teams/pakistan/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><strong>Pakistan</strong></a> to their first World Cup triumph in 1992.</p>
<p>His teammates blindly followed his commands and the entire nation rallied around the all-rounder during their matches. It came in as no surprise that he went on to become the first cricketer to have turned a Prime Minister of a country. Whenever it came to facing Pakistan, tackling Imran Khan and his exploits was the biggest challenge for the opposing team.</p>
<p>When Imran retired after the 1987 World Cup disappointment, President General Zia-ul-Haq personally requested him to come back as there was no one at that point who could fill those huge boots. Imran was devastating, scary and at the same time, a crowd-puller like no other.</p>

These cricketers ruled their respective nation's cricket teams and influenced decision making significantly, regardless of them being the captains or not.

5 cricketers whose reputation was bigger than their teams

Walls are built in days, but it takes ages to build a fortress. Reputation in the sporting world is no different, often people misinterpret fame