6 famous cricketers who changed their names, Pakistan-Sri Lanka players also included, know what was the reason

New Delhi. The great playwright William Shakespeare said, ‘What’s in a name?’ Taking this seriously, some cricketers have changed their names for various reasons. Some took this decision before starting their international cricket career, while some did so while playing cricket. Some cricketers changed their names after changing their religion, while some did so by adding their nationality to their name. Some cricketers have also changed their names due to wrong pronunciation and being influenced by some personality.

The latest name in the list of these cricketers who have changed their names is that of England’s T20 and ODI team captain Jos Buttler. Joseph Charles Butler has changed his/her name from ‘Jos Butler’ to ‘Josh Butler’ by releasing a video message. While playing for Rajasthan Royals in IPL 2024, Butler released a video message in April and said, ‘Hi.. I am Jos Buttler, the captain of England’s white ball team, but I have been called by wrong pronunciation all my life. From common people on the street to my mother, even on my birthday card… Dear Josh, you are getting old now. Happy birthday, lots of love: mother. My name was also written wrong on my MBE (Member of the Order of the British Empire). However, after representing the country for 13 years and winning two World Cups, it is now time to solve this problem. Now I am officially ‘Josh Butler’. It is a different matter that despite the name change, Butler is being written as ‘Jos’ instead of ‘Josh’ in many places. Even in most cricket profiles, the name of ‘Jos Butler’ has not been changed to ‘Josh Butler’.

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Let’s take a look at other prominent cricketers who have changed their names…

Tuwan Mohammed Dilshan became Tillakaratne Dilshan

Tillakaratne Dilshan is considered one of the leading batsmen of Sri Lanka. his/her records in all three formats of cricket are impressive. Dilshan, who batted aggressively, also proved useful with off-break bowling. he/she was the first to invent the shot of hitting over the wicketkeeper in cricket, which is named after him/her as “Dale Scoop”. Many people may not know that Tillakaratne, who was born in a Muslim family, was actually named Tuwan Mohammad Dilshan. his/her father was a Muslim and mother a Buddhist. After the separation of his/her parents, Dilshan adopted Buddhism and changed his/her name to Tillakaratne Mudiyanselage Dilshan. In his/her 17-year international career, he/she played 87 Tests, 330 ODIs and 80 T20Is. he/she has 5492 runs and 39 wickets in Tests, 10,290 runs and 106 wickets in ODIs and 1889 runs and 9 wickets in T20Is.

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Mashruk Mohammed Suraj changed his/her name to Suraj Randiv

The story of Sri Lankan spinner Mashruk Mohammed Suraj alias Suraj Randiv is similar to that of Dilshan. he/she played 12 Tests, 3 ODIs and 7 T20Is for Sri Lanka as an off-break bowler. Suraj was born in 1985 in a family that followed Islam. This cricketer converted to Buddhism in 2010 and is known as Suraj Randiv since then. Suraj’s name came into the news when he/she allegedly bowled a no-ball deliberately to stop Virender Sehwag from scoring a century in an ODI against India. In this ODI, which was part of the triangular series in 2010, Team India and Sehwag needed 1 run to win. In such a situation, Randiv bowled a ‘long’ no-ball due to which India won the match and Sehwag was deprived of a century. Suraj took 43 wickets in 12 Tests, 36 in three ODIs and only 7 wickets in 7 T20Is.

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Yousuf Yohana became Mohammed Yousuf

Yousuf Yohana’s name is taken with respect among Pakistani batsmen. Born in a Christian family, Yousuf scored 1788 runs in Test cricket in a calendar year in 2006. his/her record has not been broken even after 18 years. Yousuf also holds the record of scoring the most centuries (9) and the most scores of 150+ in a calendar year. Yousuf, born in Lahore, played 90 Tests, 288 ODIs and three T20 matches for Pakistan. In Tests, he/she scored 7530 runs with the help of 24 centuries, 9720 runs with the help of 15 centuries in ODIs and 50 runs in T20Is. During his/her cricket career, influenced by the speeches of Saeed Anwar, Yousuf converted to Islam and changed his/her name to Mohammad Yousuf.

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Asghar added ‘Afghan’ to his/her name

Among the cricketers who changed their names is Afghanistan’s Asghar Afghan. Asghar, who was the captain of the Afghanistan team, was originally named Asghar Stanikzai but he/she changed it to ‘Asghar Afghan’ to give him/her an Afghan identity. Asghar played 6 Tests, 114 ODIs and 75 T20Is between 2009 and 2021. he/she has also scored a century in Tests and ODIs.

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Singer was influenced by Bob, Robert George Willis became ‘Bob Willis’

Bob Willis, who is more than six feet tall, is considered one of the greatest fast bowlers of England. Bob, who was the captain of the England team for many years, took 325 wickets in 90 Tests and 80 wickets in 64 ODIs. The original name of this former fast bowler was Robert George Della Willis. he/she was influenced by American singer Bob Dylan and in 1965 added the name ‘Bob’ to his/her name to become Bob Willis. he/she gained popularity in cricket with this name. Bob, who played international cricket from 1971 to 1984, died in 2019 at the age of 70.

Similarly, Indian all-rounder Axar Patel’s name used to be spelled as Akshar in English but it was mistakenly written as Axar in his/her school certificate. Since then, his/her name is being spelled as Axar in English.

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