Injuries are part and parcel of any athlete’s career. However, at times, a sportsperson becomes too injury-prone due to various factors. This could affect them very badly in their careers. In this article, we take a look at five players who could have achieved more by now if not for injuries that they faced in their careers.
While skills are important in cricket, it is equally necessary that players maintain fitness. This helps them do well on the field and at the same time, they can ensure that they do not become unavailable for opportunities. That said, an injury always does not happen because of a cricketer’s mistakes. His history with the injuries and even unsatisfactory medical help could be some of the other reasons.
1) Hardik Pandya
Hardik Pandya is one of the popular players who could have achieved more by now if not for injuries that they faced in their careers. At the start of his career, Hardik was compared to the likes of Jacques Kallis. Although he did show signs of becoming a good all-rounder, Hardik consistently missed games due to injury, which eventually did not help him to do very well for Team India. He hardly bowls now, and if his batting form drops, Hardik could as well get dropped by India.
2) Andre Russell
Although he is a monstrous performer in T20 cricket, Andre Russell has not been able to replicate the same kind of success in the ODI format. However, he has the skills to do well, but his injuries have forced him to focus more on the T20 version. Hence, if not for his injuries, Russell could have been a good all-rounder in the ODI format, as well.
3) James Pattinson
James Pattinson had a fantastic start to his Australian career. By many, he was considered the flagbearer of the country’s pace attack for a very long time. However, the right-arm pacer faced too many injuries in his career. Despite Australia managing his workload, Pattinson could never get going. For almost eight years, the player could not focus completely on his cricketing skills. Issues such as back stress fractures, shin injuries, side strains, ankle and hamstring injuries have occurred in his career. By the time he became completely fit, Pattinson seemed to have missed out on his magic with the ball.
4) Junaid Khan
Be it stress fracture in his foot or various knee issues, Junaid Khan has faced plenty of injuries in his career. The Pakistani pacer had a great start to his international career. He showed promise and looked set for a long stint in the green jersey. However, due to constant injury trouble, Junaid could not achieve much.
5) Chris Lynn
Chris Lynn is also one of the players who could have achieved more by now if not for injuries that they faced in their careers. Shoulder issues have hampered Lynn’s progress in his career. He has had many injuries in his left shoulder, which affected his batting. While he lost out on his place in the Australian Team, Lynn is also only a reserve option in IPL at the moment.
