Physical aspects always had a role to play in sports and height of a player is often considered as one of the most important aspects that somehow impacts one game. But physical aspects’ impact is always negligible in front of the grit, determination and passion a player possess for the game. In cricket also the scenario is no different. Over the years, cricket has seen many short player, some of whom has had great careers and some probably failed to utilize their potential. Here, in the article we’re going to discuss about 10 short height cricketers to have ever graced the game.
10. Sunil Gavaskar – At no.10, it is none other than the legend Sunil Gavaskar. Standing at 5.5 feet, he is one of the biggest examples of height hardly matters if you have the passion and determination for the game. He was the first ever batsman to touch the milestone of 10,000 test runs. The “Wisden Cricketer of the Year 1980”, Gavaskar dealt in surreal manner against the dangerous Windies and Aussie pacers of his generation.
9. Tatenda Taibu – One of the best Zimbabwean players of all time, Taibu was the youngest captain of cricket when he captained Zimbabwe against Sri Lanka in 2005. Standing at 5.41 feet, he made his International debut when he was just 18, and he went on to play 150 ODIs and score over 3000 runs. Even though he was a wicket-keeper, his height was never a hindrance in his cricket career.
8. Kedar Jadhav – The all-rounder from Maharashtra stands at 5.4 feet. Even though he used to be consistent performer in domestic, he got into the Indian team pretty late. He has represented India in 73 ODIs and 9 T20Is before being dropped from the team for below expectation performances.
7. Sachin Tendulkar – He is renowned as little master for a reason. The man who dominated the cricket for around 2 decades, stands at 5.4 feet and faced some of the best bowlers in history of the cricket and dominated them. With close to 35,000 International runs and over 200 wickets, Tendulkar is regarded as “Best Cricketer Ever”. Sachin is the best example of height can never be an issue in one’s achieving heights in life.
6. Gundappa Viswanath – The stylish right-hander represented India in 1970s. With over 6000 test runs, and an International average of above 40, Vishwanath provided his service to his nation for close to 14 years. He represented India in 25 ODIs and 91 tests. Standing at 5.3 feet, his height was never an issue in his career.
5. Mominul Haque – He is often regarded as test specialist in the Bangladesh cricket team. Standing at 5.28 feet, he dominated many fierce bowlers in tests and ODIs. Till now, he has represented Bangladesh in 49 tests, 28 ODIs and 6 T20Is. Though in the shorter formats he has more or less struggled, his dominance in the longest format is evident. He has over 3500 test runs at an average of 41.2 and he continues to be an integral part of Bangladesh cricket team.
4. Parthiv Patel – In 2003, when he made his debut, he was just a 17 year old kid and was youngest wicket-keeper batsman in cricket history. Probably due to the lack of maturity in game, he failed to cement his place and eventually lost that to the legend MS Dhoni. But he was consistently active in domestic and IPL. In 2017, Gujarat Ranji team, led by him got the title for the very first time. Standing at 5.25 feet, he represented India in 25 Test matches, 38 ODI matches, and 2 T20I matches where he failed to make any major impact.
3. Mushfiqur Rahim – Standing at 5.25 feet, the former captain and wicketkeeper of the Bangladesh cricket team is one of the best cricketer Bangladesh ever produced. He has been a regular member of the team since 2005, and has represented Bangladesh a record 404 times across the formats, and have recorded over close to 13,000 International runs. Rahim also holds a special record of being the only WKB in tests to have more than 1 double centuries.
2.Walter Cornford – The Englishman was just 5 feet tall. He represented English cricket team during the 1930s, and played 4 International games. Though he has great first-class cricket record, due to the World War interruptions, his International career never properly took off.
1. Kruger Van Wyk – The shortest cricketer to have ever graced the game, Kruger was from South Africa, but he moved to New Zealand as there was no chance for him to replace the great Mark Boucher. For the Kiwis, after several years of active participation in New Zealand domestic cricket, he finally got his chance in 2012 against his nation South Africa, due to absence of BJ Watling. He never managed to cement his place in International cricket as he got just 9 opportunities and scored 341 runs. Standing at 4.75 feet, he was the shortest cricketer to have ever graced the game.
