The only constant in life is change and the adage holds true for the historic sport of cricket as well.
Ever since the sport came into existence in England in the 16th century, it has undergone a continuous evolution in every facet. From the playing equipment and gear to the very rules and laws of the sport, cricket has always been in a state of flux.
What was once a one-format international sport now has three of them, with several others such as the T10 and the Hundred being incorporated into domestic cricket. It is a sport which has not been averse to welcoming the use of modern technology, with Decision Review System (DRS) now a permanent fixture in all formats.
It is a sport which now allows for the use of a concussion substitute in the Test format while the use of runners for ‘injured’ batsmen is no longer permitted. The ODI game has seen the introduction of more powerplays and totals above 300 have almost become the norm.
Meanwhile, the T20 format has sparked its own revolution in the sport and helped expand the sport to new frontiers. Franchise leagues have sprouted all over the globe since the advent of T20 cricket, with players turning into millionaires overnight in these cash flush competitions.
While these external changes implemented by the lawmakers and custodians of the sport have played their part in the evolution of cricket, the impact created by individual players throughout history cannot be ignored.
These game-changing players have ushered in their own innovation in the sport. Their legacy in cricket is not just the volume of runs that they scored or the wickets they picked over the course of their careers. Instead, it is the manner in which they have changed the very approach to the sport.
From inventing a completely new and unorthodox shot to flipping the entire narrative around a particular role, these players are the true innovators of cricket. Throughout its history, cricket has witnessed these players redefining the very heart and soul of the game.
Sir Viv Richards of the all-conquering West Indies side is among these luminaries who has transformed the sport with his swagger and a penchant of ‘playing across the line’. He was a man who stood head and shoulders above his contemporaries with his aggressive batting and astonishing strike-rate.
Then there is Saqlain Mushtaq of Pakistan who gave off-spinners a completely new dimension by inventing the ‘doosra’ which spun away from the right-handers. The ‘doosra’ would then go on to become one of the biggest assets for Muttiah Muralitharan as the Sri Lankan went on a rampage to become the all-time leading wicket-taker in Test cricket.
Who can then forget the outrageous genius of Kevin Pietersen and the brilliant ‘Switch Hit’ he unleashed at Edgbaston to negate Murali’s doosra? Or the manner in which Zimbabwe stalwart Andy Flower perfected the difficult art of reverse sweeping to negate India’s spinners in 2000?
Similarly, Sanath Jayasuriya’s explosive batting in the 1996 World Cup brought a fundamental shift in the way ODI is cricket is played and powerplays were never the same again. Elsewhere, Pakistan’s revolutionary tactic of reverse swing took the cricket world by storm with Imran Khan, Wasim Akram and Waqar Younis bamboozling batmen with a phenomenon which was previously unheard of. Credit for that, though, belongs to Sarfraz Nawaz who pioneered the novel art before passing on the knowledge to his successors in the Pakistan outfit.
Among these illustrious names and innovators, Australia’s Adam Gilchrist deserves a special mention for the manner in which he completely redefined the role of a wicketkeeper-batsman. The Aussie’s brilliant exploits with the bat and behind the stumps meant that being an all-rounder became a must for any wicketkeeper entering the sport.
Cricket’s history is dotted with his visionaries whose impact on the sport will live long after they are gone. Click on the pictures below to read in detail about how these respective legends completely transformed the sport in their own right.