New Delhi. The great playwright William Shakespeare had said ‘What’s in a name.’ Taking this seriously, some cricketers have changed their names for various reasons. Some took this decision even before starting their international cricket career and some did it while playing cricket. Some cricket players changed their name after religious conversion, while others did so by adding nationality to their name. Some cricketers have changed their names due to wrong pronunciation and influence of some personality.
The latest name in the list of these cricketers who changed their names is that of England’s T20 and ODI team captain Jos Buttler. Joseph Charles Butler has issued a formal video message and changed his name from ‘Jos Butler’ to ‘Josh Buttler’. While playing for Rajasthan Royals in IPL 2024, Buttler released a video message in April and said, ‘Hi…I am Jos Buttler, the captain of the England white ball team, but all my life I have been called with wrong pronunciation. From common people on the street to my mother, even on my birthday cardsâĤ Dear Josh, You are getting older. Happy Birthday, lots of love: Mom. The 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 time to solve the problem. Now I am officially ‘Josh Butler’. It is a different matter that despite changing the name, Butler is being written as ‘Jose’ instead of ‘Josh’ at 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.
Tillakaratne Dilshan created from Tuwan Mohammed Dilshan
Tillakaratne Dilshan is counted among the leading batsmen of Sri Lanka. His records in all three formats of cricket are impressive. Dilshan, who batted aggressively, was also useful with off break bowling. He first invented the shot to be hit over the wicketkeeper in cricket, which is called “Dale Scoop” after his name. Many people would not know that the real name of Tillakaratne, born in a Muslim family, was Tuwan Mohammad Dilshan. His father was Muslim and mother Buddhist. After the separation of his parents, Dilshan adopted Buddhism and changed his name to Tillakaratne Mudiyaselage Dilshan. In his international career of 17 years, he played 87 Tests, 330 ODIs and 80 T20Is. He has 5492 runs and 39 wickets in Test, 10,290 runs and 106 wickets in ODI and 1889 runs and 9 wickets in T20I.
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Mashruk Mohammad Suraj changed his name to Suraj Randiv
The story of Sri Lankan spinner Mashruk Mohammed Suraj alias Suraj Randiv is similar to that of Dilshan. He played 12 Tests, 3 ODIs and 7 T20Is for Sri Lanka as an off-break bowler. Suraj was born in 1985 in a family following Islam. This cricketer adopted Buddhism in 2010 and since then he is known as Suraj Randiv. Suraj’s name came into limelight when he allegedly deliberately bowled a no-ball to stop Virender Sehwag from scoring a century in an ODI against India. In this ODI held under the triangular series in 2010, Team India and Sehwag needed 1 run to win. In such a situation, Randiv had bowled a ‘long’ no ball due to which India won the match and Sehwag was deprived of a century. Suraj took only 43 wickets in 12 Tests, 36 wickets in three ODIs and 7 wickets in 7 T20Is.
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Yusuf Yohana became Mohammed Yusuf
Yusuf Yohana’s name is taken with respect among the batsmen of Pakistan. Born in a Christian family, Yusuf had scored 1788 runs in Test cricket in one calendar year in the year 2006. This record of his has not been broken even after 18 years. The record of scoring most centuries (9) and most scores of 150+ in a calendar year is also in the name of Yusuf. Born in Lahore, Yousuf played 90 Tests, 288 ODIs and three T20 matches for Pakistan. In Test, he scored 7530 runs with the help of 24 centuries, in ODI he scored 9720 runs with the help of 15 centuries and in T20I he scored 50 runs. Influenced by the speeches of Saeed Anwar during his cricket career, Yusuf converted to Islam and changed his name to Mohammad Yousuf.
Uncle was the captain of the Indian team, nephew was born in India and played for Pakistan, also captained the team.
Asghar added ‘Afghan’ to his name
Afghanistan’s Asghar Afghan is also included among the cricketers who changed their names. The original name of Asghar, who was the captain of the Afghanistan team, was Asghar Stanikzai, but to give him an Afghan identity, he changed it to ‘Asghar Afghan’. Asgar played 6 Tests, 114 ODIs and 75 T20Is between 2009 and 2021. He has also scored a century in Test and ODI.
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Singer was influenced by Bob, Robert George Willis became ‘Bob Willis’
Bob Willis, who was more than six feet tall, is counted among the great 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 ODI matches. The original name of this former fast bowler was Robert George Della Willis. He was influenced by American singer Bob Dylan and in 1965 he became Bob Willis by adding the name ‘Bob’. With this name he gained popularity in cricket. Bob, who played international cricket from 1971 to 1984, died in 2019 at the age of 70.
Similarly, the name of Indian all-rounder Axar Patel was spelled as Akshar in English but it was mistakenly written as Axar in the school certificate. Since then his name is being written as Axar in English.
Tags: axar patel, Jos Buttler, Off The Field, test cricket
FIRST PUBLISHED: July 11, 2024, 08:17 IST
