As The Zoya Factor released this weekend, we were all reminded of our own superstitions and lucky charms. Who doesn’t remember taking their favourite pen, bag and lucky charm to school during exams? So, when it comes to superstitions, it appears we aren’t the only ones who believe in it. Our cricketers too have their own set of things they believe work for them on field. Here’s a list of 10 Indian cricketers who believe in different superstitions.
1. Sachin Tendulkar
Who better to start with than the Master Blaster! One of the greatest cricketers India has ever scene, Sachin Tendulkar used to wear his left pad before he wore the right one, as he believed it brought him luck. Sachin even admitted that during the final moments of 2011 World Cup match against Sri Lanka, he didn’t watch the match live, but stayed in the dressing room and prayed. Well, guess it worked because MS Dhoni smashes a six to win the match.
2. Virat Kohli
The current captain of the Indian cricket team, Virat Kohli used to wear the same pair of gloves earlier in his career, as he believed it helped him in scoring well. From that, he shifted to wearing black wristbands. But one thing that hasn’t changed for the man, is that he never forgets to wear his kada, since early on in his cricketing career. Apart from superstitions, the captain also believed that his wife and actor Anushka Sharma has been his lady luck and that his game has only improved since their wedding.
3. Virender Sehwag
Virender Sehwag also has his own superstitions, as he earlier used to wear a jersey with number 44 on it, but changed it later. After consulting his numerologist, he decided to wear a numberless jersey, and clearly, it worked wonders for him as well as for India!
4. Yuvraj Singh
The Chandigarh lad was born on 12 December, at 12 noon and in Sector 12 of the city. Hence, it’s no surprise that the cricketer considers the number to be lucky and wears it on his jersey. Not just that, but Singh also started believing in wearing a black dhaaga (thread) around his wrist, after his mother became conscious about his well-being as he underwent treatment for cancer.
5. MS Dhoni
It seems like captain cool also doesn’t stay away from superstitions. Born on 7 July, the former captain of the Indian cricket team wears number 7 on his jersey and believes it to be lucky for him. If that’s the case, then we have the number 7 to thank for every time Mahi impressed us on field.
6. Rahul Dravid
Rahul Dravid was known for his unbreakable defence as a batsman, but it appears that the key to it was that he wore his right thigh pad before the left. He believed in doing so before every match, as it brought him luck and runs. Not just this, Dravid also made sure to never use a brand new bat ahead of a new cricket series.
7. Sourav Ganguly
Sourav Ganguly was no stranger to superstitions. The former India captain is a spiritual person who used to wear a number of rings, and also kept a picture of his Guruji in his pocket while he batted. In one of his test innings at Manchester in 1971, he faced difficult balls in ‘howling wind conditions’, as he described. However, due to his then superstition, he couldn’t wear a jumper.
8. Anil Kumble
Known as Jumbo, Anil Kumble became the second person to take ten wickets in a Test cricket innings. This happened at Delhi’s Feroz Shah Kotla stadium, in a match against Pakistan and now we know the reason behind this amazing feat he achieved. Word is that he took a wicket every time he handed over his sweater and cap to Sachin Tendulkar, and hence he continued doing so until he took ten wickets!
9. Zaheer Khan
The left-arm Indian paceman made it a point to carry a lucky yellow handkerchief during every important match. All thanks to that handkerchief, he has had a successful career and took some amazing wickets for India.
10. Mohammad Azharuddin
A black tabeez was what did wonder for Mohammad Azharuddin, as he used to wear it always to score better on the crease. Also, whenever he was batting, he let it hang out of his jersey to bring him better luck.
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