Under-19 to Ranji Trophy: Actors who played cricket professionally before switching their career

Before ‘Lights, Camera, and Action,’ few actors had ‘Pitch, Strike rate, and LBW’ in their minds. With the lessons of discipline and struggles, these actors entered the entertainment industry with hopes in their minds and passion in their hearts.

Let’s take a look at the multi-talented actors who played cricket professionally before switching their careers!

Angad Bedi

Angad Bedi, the son of former Indian cricket captain Bishan Singh Bedi, followed his father’s footsteps for a while before changing gears to enter Bollywood. The renowned actor played at the Under-19 level for Delhi, and later pursued a career in modelling that turned into acting. After getting inspired by Bachchan’s films, he was 17 when he dreamt of becoming an actor, according to India.com.

Harrdy Sandhu

Harrdy Sandhu, the singer-actor known to top the charts with his beats, played cricket before entering the film industry. He played as a fast bowler in Punjab’s Ranji and the Under-19 team and even received training at the National Cricket Academy, according to India TV. However, succumbing to an injury, Sandhu had to leave his athletic career behind.

Karan Wahi

Karan Wahi, the prominent Indian television actor, played alongside Virat Kohli and Shikhar Dhawan in Delhi’s Under-19 team of 2003. However, he had to quit playing the sport at 16 after a serious ankle injury.

While he pursued acting as his career, he even thought of leaving the screens to play for IPL when it began two decades back.

Saqib Saleem

Saqib Saleem, the famed actor, wanted to pursue a cricket career till he was 20. Recalling the time, the actor revealed that he had a life-sized poster of Sachin Tendulkar on his wall, to whom he used to talk every day, in an interview with BT. Saleem was a successful state-level player for Delhi before he took a dive into acting.

Vishnu Vishal

Vishnu Vishal, the prominent Tamil actor, competed in league matches for the Tamil Nadu Cricket Association (TNCA) and for the Ranji Trophy after pursuing an MBA Degree. However, a leg injury made him bedridden for a couple of days, where he grew his interest in films after watching them at the time.