1. Jonty Rhodes (SA) – Hockey
Former South African cricketer Jonty Rhodes is regarded as one of the greatest fielders to have ever played the game. In his twelve years of cricketing career, Jonty Rhodes was known for his extraordinary fielding performances in the pitch. Jonty Rhodes made his debut in 1992. Since then, the cricketer has played 52 Test matches, 245 ODIs in which he has scored 2,532 and 5,935 runs respectively. He is currently the fielding coach of Mumbai Indians in IPL.
However not much are aware of the fact that Jonty Rhodes also trained for hockey. He was a part of the 1992 Olympics squad but unfortunately the Proteas did not qualify for the competition. He was also asked to be a part of the 1996 Olympics game in Atlanta but he pulled himself out because of a hamstring injury.
2. Yuzvendra Chahal (IND) – Chess
Indian leg spinner Yuzvendra Chahal is one of the regular names to feature in the limited over games. Chahal is one of the leading wicket takers of India. Chahal caught the eye of the selectors after having very successful IPL seasons in 2015 and 2016 for Royal Challengers Bangalore. Chahal was the leading wicket taker in 2016 IPL because of which his team reached the finals but eventually lost the tournament to SRH by eight runs.
Before making a debut for India in 2016 against Zimbabwe, Chahal represented India as a professional Chess player from 1997 to 2003. In the year 2002, he won the National Under-11 Championship in Kolkata. In 2003 Chahal represented for India at the World (Under-12) Championship in Halkidiki, Greece. He is the only player to have represented his country in both Cricket and Chess.
3. Ian Botham (ENG) – Football
Former England all rounder Ian Botham was one of the greatest batsmen of his era. In his fifteen years of cricketing career, he has played in 102 test matches and 116 ODIs for England. He was also the captain of the England team in 12 Tests in 1980 and 1981. Botham was one of the fastest players to reach to 1000 runs and 100 wickets.
Ian Botham wore England’s football jersey 11 times in his career as he played for Yeovil United and Scunthorpe United as centre back from 1978 to 1985.
4. Elysse Perry (AUS) – Football
Elysse Perry is the youngest Australian women cricketer to make her debut in July 2007 at the age of 17. Elysse Perry is one of the greatest all rounders to have ever played the game. She achieved a lot of success for New South Wales and Australia. When Australia won the T20 World Cup in 2010, she was the player of the match. So far, she has played in 82 T20 and 84 ODIs for Australia.
She started playing football in 2008 and played in the Asian Cup for Australia as a defender. She played for the Central Coast Mariners in Australia’s domestic football league in 2008-09 before transferring to Canberra where she was the player of the season in the year 2009. She has scored 3 international goals for Australia. She is Australia’s first women to have represented her country in both Cricket and Football.
5. Mike Gatting (ENG) – Football
Mike Gatting achieved great success in the domestic cricket for England. He played an important role for England between 1980-1990. He captained England in 23 test matches between 1986-1988. He has scored 4409 runs in 79 tests for England. He has a total of 10 centuries and 21 half centuries.
Mike Gatting showed great interest in football as well. He auditioned for Watford and Arsenal as a goalkeeper and was selected too. Unfortunately, he denied the opportunity to play for both the clubs because of his height.
