Bollywood has ‘Nepotism,’ similar to how big businessmen inherited firms from their families. Traditional families also run political parties. And when politics and Bollywood are involved, Cricket cannot be far behind! In the sport, players from the same family also represent their national squad. The main difference is that you have to earn your place on merit rather than because you come from a family. There have been instances where brothers with the same passion for the game and the same desire to represent their national team have competed on the same international pitch. This is a list of famous real brothers in cricket who have taken the globe by storm:
Hardik Pandya & Krunal Pandya (India):
Krunal and Hardik Pandya are two of the most well-known brothers in modern cricket. For five years, they have represented the IPL’s most successful franchise, the Mumbai Indians. The pair was also a part of the winning squad in both the 2017 and 2019 seasons.
Krunal, the older, made his first international appearance against West Indies on November 4th, 2018. Hardik has on the other hand, been an integral component of India’s success in all three forms since his debut in January 2016. Hardik is currently one of the best all-rounders on the international cricket circuit. He has also represented India at the ICC World Cup 2019 in England. On February 6, 2019, the Pandya brothers of Vadodara made their debut international outing together in a T20I against New Zealand.
Albie Morkel & Morne Morkel (South Africa):
The Morkel brothers have played for the South African cricket team on several occasions. Albie Morkel was an all-rounder and a powerful cricket ball hitter. He was also an effective new ball bowler. Albie was also a member of CSK’s victorious teams in 2010 and 2011.
Morne was a right-arm fast-medium specialist. He has 309 test wickets and is South Africa’s fifth best wicket-taker.
Albert Morkel, Albie and Morne’s father, was a first-class cricketer who played in numerous domestic matches. Both are among the top ten cricketing brothers.
Kamran Akmal, Umar Akmal & Adnan Akmal (Pakistan):
The three Akmal brothers of Lahore have never played together but have all represented Pakistan in various periods of their careers.
Kamran, the eldest of three cricketing siblings, made his international debut in 2002 and has since made 268 international games. For nearly 11 years, he has been Pakistan’s primary wicket-keeper.
Adnan Akmal, like his elder brother, is a wicket-keeper batsman. Nonetheless, he has only played in 25 international matches for Pakistan.
Umar made his international debut in 2009, the youngest of the three. He is one of Pakistan’s most talented batsmen. Umar, on the other hand, has not done respect to his skill and has been in and out of the squad due to his unreliability with the bat.
Hamish Marshall & James Marshall (New Zealand):
Hamish Marshall made his international debut against South Africa in 2000. He has played in over 80 international matches for New Zealand and has scored over 2,000 runs.
James Marshall was a middle-order batsman who occasionally opened the innings. He has appeared in 20 international matches. In 2008, he scored 161 runs in an innings against Ireland.
Former Australian captain Ricky Ponting claimed after an ODI in 2005 that the Marshall twins puzzled him while batting since he couldn’t tell the difference.
Shaun Marsh & Mitchell Marsh (Australia):
Brendon McCullum & Nathan McCullum (New Zealand):
From 2009 and 2016, the McCullum brothers appeared in practically every international cricket match together.
Nathan McCullum was an off-spinner who also batted in the lower order. He made his international debut in 2009 and has 121 wickets in 140 matches.
Brendon McCullum was a powerful New Zealand opener who made his debut in 2002. In 432 international appearances, the right-handed batsman has scored over 15,000 runs. He has represented numerous T20 league franchises throughout the world. Brendon became New Zealand’s first captain to lead the team to a World Cup Final in 2015.
Kevin O’Brien & Niall O’Brien (Ireland):
The O’Brien brothers of Irish cricket are next on the list. Kevin and Niall O’Brien have both represented Ireland in the ICC World Cups in 2007, 2011, and 2015. Brendan O’Brien, their father, is a former professional Irish cricketer.
Kevin O’Brien is an accomplished all-rounder. Kevin is well-known for his century against England in 2011, when he hit the fastest century in World Cup history in only 50 balls. He is also the first Irish cricketer to score a Test century.
Niall, as the oldest of the two, is a more collected and focused batsman. Niall has kept wickets for Ireland his entire career. He has played 176 first-class matches and scored nearly 13,000 runs.
Michael Hussey & David Hussey (Australia):
Between 2008 and 2013, the Hussey brothers from Australia played an important role in the Australian team. Both were members of Australia’s squad for the 2011 ICC World Cup.
Mike, the eldest of the two, earned his debut against India in 2004. He has a fantastic record for Australia. He has scored over 12,000 runs in international cricket, averaging 51.4 in test cricket. Mike has also scored 22 century in international cricket. ‘Mr. Cricket’ was also a fantastic fielder.
Unlike his elder brother, David was never given the opportunity to play test cricket. He was a T20 specialist as well as a part-time off-spinner who could also bowl.
Irfan Pathan & Yusuf Pathan (India)
The Vadodara ‘Pathan Bandhu’ is one of the most well-known brother duos in international cricket. Both made their maiden appearance together in the ICC T20 World Cup final against Pakistan in 2007. In a memorable T20I triumph over Sri Lanka in 2009, the Pathan brothers put up a crucial 53-run stand for the eighth wicket.
Irfan, the younger sibling, made his debut in 2003. Irfan Pathan was the Indian team’s standout fast bowler. He was also a significant lower-order batsman for India, scoring around 2,700 international runs. Irfan has 310 international wickets and is the only bowler in test history to take a hat-trick in the opening over against Pakistan in the year 2006.
Yusuf Pathan, the older, is a power batter with the bat. He has two international centuries under his belt. Yusuf made his international debut in the 2007 T20 World Cup final and was a member of the victorious squads of both the ICC World Cup 2007 and the ICC World Cup 2011. He was also a useful part-time off-spinner, taking around 50 wickets in international cricket.
Steve Waugh & Mark Waugh (Australia):
The iconic brother combo of Steve and Mark Waugh tops the list of most successful brothers in cricket. They were the first twins to compete in an international cricket match.
For the past 19 years, Steve has represented Australia. With a 72% win record, Steve Waugh is one of the world’s most successful Test skipper. In 493 international appearances, the renowned Middle-order batsman has 18,500 runs and 35 hundreds to his name. He was Australia’s winning captain in the 1999 ICC World Cup and is regarded as one of the world’s best batsmen.
Mark Waugh has a total of 16,529 international runs and 38 centuries to his credit. Mark was a better ODI batsman than Steve, with 8,500 international runs. When it came to winning games for Australia, both brothers were equally good with the bat
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