Tokyo Olympics gold medallist Neeraj Chopra recently revealed that he has received acting offers in the past but it was not difficult for him to deny it. While Neeraj has turned down the offers but there have been other sports personalities who have tried their hand at acting.
Here’s a look at some of them.
Ajay Jadeja
The former India batter who was known for his aggressive batting tried his hand at acting when he appeared along side Bollywood stars Sunil Shetty and Sunny Deol in the drama Khel (2003). While Jadeja had a good screentime, the overall review of the movie wasn’t great.
Brett Lee
Former Australian pace bowler Brett Lee appeared in a feature film, UnIndian, in 2015. The film was a romantic comedy set in Australia. Lee looked pretty decent in this new role but surprisingly, didn’t get any other chance to feature on the big screen.
Vinod Kambli
One of the finest batters of his time, Vinod Kambli also tried his luck at acting. The former left-handed batter was seen in crime thriller Annarth (2002), which also starred Sanjay Dutt and Sunil Shetty. Kambli plays Bandya, a member of a criminal gang.
Sandeep Patil and Syed Kirmani
After the 1983 World Cup triumph, the fandom for the Indian team soared. Director Vijay Singh made most of this popularity after casting Sandeep Patil and Syed Kirmani in Kabhie Ajnabi The (1985), a romantic drama. While Patil was in the lead role playing a cricketer named Sandeep, Kirmani had a cameo as a crime don. The film performed had a good start at the box office but it was poorly received by critics and audiences.
Kapil Dev
The 1983 World Cup-winning captain Kapil Dev has been seen doing cameos in various films. ‘Chain Kulii Ki Main Kulii’, ‘Iqbal’, ‘Mujhse Shaadi Karogi’, ’83’ are some of the films in which he has featured. Kapil also did one episode of TV show ‘CID’.
Sunil Gavaskar
The Little Master made his entry into the films with a lead role in the Marathi film ‘Savli Premachi’.
Irfan Pathan
The left-handed bowler who was known for his swing bowling and the famous hattrick against Pakistan in Test cricket, Irfan Pathan impressed everyone with his brilliant act in the psychological thriller ‘Cobra’ (Tamil film).
S.Sreesanth
Fast bowler S.Sreesanth who was a part of the Indian teams that won T20 World Cup 2007 and ODI World Cup in 2011 respectively featured in ‘Aksar 2’, a suspense thriller directed by Ananth Narayan Mahadevan and a sequel to the 2006 film “Aksar”.
Salil Ankola
Making his debut alongside Sachin Tendulkar, Salil Ankola had to quit cricket due to injuries. He then turned to acting, making his debut with the Zee TV show Chahat aur Nafrat before getting noticed in Kora Kagaz (1998-99). He appeared in films such as Kurukshetra, Pitaah, and Chura Liya Hai Tumne
