Cricketers and their superstitions

In cricket, players trust their skills to do wonders on the field while serving their teams. However, some players are built differently as they need luck along with their talent to perform better. In international cricket, illustrious names such as Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, Wasim Akram, and Waqar Younis used to be superstitious to receive luck.

The 2011 World Cup champion Tendulkar was a staunch believer of superstitions. Ahead of the marquee One-Day International (ODI) event held in India, the Master Blaster got his lucky bat repaired to perform efficiently in the massive event. In May 2023, Sachin appeared on a Sunday Brunch episode with Kamiya Jani on the Curly Tales channel on YouTube. Talking about his superstitions, he said no athlete would ever admit that they believe in a superstition, they would instead call it a habit. Along with Tendulkar, it’s time to know some cricketing names who are superstitious.

Here are the five superstitious cricketers

5. Zaheer Khan’s yellow scarf

Zaheer Khan played for India from 2000-14 and during his vast career, he emerged as one of the greatest pacers to serve the team. In ODIs, he played 200 matches and grabbed 282 wickets at an economy of 4.93. With these numbers, he is the fourth-leading wicket-taker for India in the format.

In India’s 2011 World Cup triumph, Zaheer played an important role with the ball. He picked up 21 wickets in nine matches at an economy of 4.83 and ended up as the joint-highest wicket-taker in the competition, along with Pakistan’s Shahid Afridi. 

Ardent cricket fans who have been following Indian cricket since the 2000s know that India’s former pace-attack lead used to carry his lucky yellow scarf on the field. Zaheer was seen with his favourite scarf several times while playing for India as he believed that it brought him luck.