Top 10 Cricketers Who Joined Politics (Updated 2025)

It often starts in a way nobody notices. A retired cricketer makes a few public speeches or appears at a political rally. Before long, it’s not about runs and wickets anymore but about votes, constituencies, and election results splashed across the news. Imran Khan is probably the best-known example. The man who led Pakistan to a World Cup win ended up running the whole country as Prime Minister.

In India, it’s a long list too. Since 2000, more than a dozen players have traded cricket jerseys for political symbols. Gautam Gambhir, for example, won East Delhi for the BJP in 2019 with a massive lead of nearly four lakh votes. Kirti Azad has spent years in Parliament, switching parties when needed.

Navjot Singh Sidhu jumped between the BJP and Congress before heading the Punjab Congress. Manoj Tiwary now serves as a minister in West Bengal. Mohammad Azharuddin won Moradabad for the Congress back in 2009. Without further ado, let us learn everything about the top sportsmen who became politicians.

Cricketers Who Joined Politics (Updated list 2025)

For cricketers who turned politicians, the list hasn’t stopped growing. By 2025, it’s almost like a cricket record book, just with political stats instead. Sachin Tendulkar served in the Rajya Sabha from 2012 to 2018, showing up regularly and asking plenty of questions. Yusuf Pathan ran from Berhampore for the TMC in 2024. Chetan Chauhan once served as the Sports and Youth Affairs Minister in Uttar Pradesh. Between 2023 and 2025 alone, at least five cricketers have been active in big elections. In Bangladesh, Shakib Al Hasan got into politics, and in Pakistan, Wahab Riaz did too.

Of course, fame opens the door, but it’s not enough to stay in power. The real test is keeping the public’s trust and winning again. Gambhir’s huge 2019 win and Tiwary’s repeat victories in West Bengal prove it’s possible, but others have lost their seats or faded out.

Still, the shift from cricket fields to political halls shows no sign of slowing as the cricketers who joined politics keep on increasing. For these players, the new pitch is the political one, and the scores are counted in votes, not boundaries.

Which Cricketers Turned Politicians?

If you look at the numbers, they tell their own story about the cricketers who joined politics. By 2019, ten well-known cricketers in India had contested Lok Sabha elections, winning about 57 % of the time. That’s impressive, though still a bit lower than many career politicians.

Outside India, the pattern’s there too. In Sri Lanka, Arjuna Ranatunga and Sanath Jayasuriya both held government portfolios. England’s Ian Botham didn’t contest elections but was made a member of the House of Lords in 2020. Now, let us take a detailed look at the top 10 cricketers who turned politicians.

10. Kedar Jadhav | India | Bharatiya Janata Party

A stocky figure at the crease, eyes sharp, stance steady. That is Kedar Jadhav. You’ve seen him flip matches with sudden flurries of boundaries or slip in a cunning off-spin to shatter partnerships. 46 ODIs, 19 T20Is, each a chapter of surprise rescues. And now? In 2025, he steps into the arena of famous cricketers in politics.

9. Manoj Prabhakar | India | Indian National Congress

A stalwart figure in Indian cricket, Manoj Prabhakar joined the Indian National Congress in the 90s. Among cricketers who joined politics and cricketers who support Congress, Prabhakar stands for a steady, deliberate impact. Like many international cricketers turned politicians, he made it his mission to lift youth, elevate sports, and play the long game in public service. He was among the best all-rounders in India at the time of his cricketing career.

8. Chetan Chauhan | India | Bharatiya Janata Party

Chetan Chauhan was a dependable Test opener in the 70s and 80s, forming partnerships that steadied innings. Being one of the cricketers in politics in India, he played an active role in the political arena. His political life with the BJP spanned multiple parliamentary terms and a ministerial position in Uttar Pradesh, focusing on sports infrastructure.

7. Mohammad Kaif | India | Indian National Congress

Mohammad Kaif was one of the best fielders in the world and a middle-order saviour when the scoreboard looked grim. The 2002 NatWest final at Lord’s is still his calling card. One of the most popular Indian cricketers who joined politics. He joined Congress, contested in Uttar Pradesh, but hasn’t yet sealed a win. Still, his work with young people keeps him visible in political circles and one of the famous sportsmen turned politicians in India.

6. Manoj Tiwary | India | Trinamool Congress

Manoj Tiwary’s story starts with Bengal cricket, where he became a domestic giant, scoring heavily and playing decisive knocks. His Indian appearances were limited, but he still left flashes of quality. Becoming one of the cricketers who joined politics, with a win for Trinamool Congress in West Bengal’s Assembly and a role as sports minister. He has made youth development central to his work, showing how international cricketers turned politicians can focus deeply on regional impact.

5. Mohammad Azharuddin | India | Indian National Congress

Mohammad Azharuddin remains one of the most stylish batsmen to watch. Over 6,000 ODI runs, nearly 3,700 in Tests, and a captaincy career through much of the 1990s. His retirement came under the cloud of a match-fixing scandal, yet he reappeared in public life through Congress, representing Moradabad in Parliament and pushing for sports and local development. By being one of the cricketers who joined politics. His life is both a triumph and a cautionary tale, and like many international cricketers turned politicians, his public image has shifted and reformed more than once.

4. Navjot Singh Sidhu | India | Indian National Congress

Navjot Singh Sidhu never hid his love for spectacles. In cricket, he was a man who could grind for hours or suddenly burst into strokeplay that scattered fielders. Post-retirement, he turned into a TV personality and then a politician, moving from the BJP to Congress and holding a Punjab ministerial role. Always animated, sometimes controversial, Sidhu fits right into the unpredictable rhythm of cricketers in Indian politics who carry their charisma into every setting. He is also among the best cricket commentators in the world.

3. Kirti Azad | India | Trinamool Congress

Kirti Azad’s career has two chapters that feel written by completely different authors. In one, he is a member of India’s legendary 1983 World Cup-winning squad, delivering steady medium pace and contributing important middle-order runs. On the other hand, he’s standing in the Lok Sabha as an elected TMC MP, arguing about governance and cricket reform. He became a cricketer member of Parliament in 2024. One of those Indian cricketer Members of Parliament whose sportsmanship spills into legislative work.

2. Gautam Gambhir | India | Bharatiya Janata Party

One of the best batsmen in India, Gautam Gambhir, was not the flashy sort. Stubborn at the crease, almost annoyingly hard to dislodge. He anchored India’s 2007 T20 World Cup and 2011 ODI World Cup victories, putting in the sort of innings people don’t forget. Over 7,800 runs across formats, plus the IPL trophies with Kolkata Knight Riders. Then in 2019, he became one of the cricketers who joined politics, the World Cup winner swapped cricket pads for the BJP’s election banner and took East Delhi. Another on the list of famous cricketers in politics who decided their second innings would be in Parliament rather than on the pitch. Since taking up his duties as the coach of the Indian cricket team, Gambhir has taken some time off from politics. He is one of those BJP cricket players who vocally support the government.

1. Imran Khan | Pakistan | Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf

Some players win games. Some win championships. And a rare few go beyond the boundary ropes and try to win over entire nations. One of the best captains in the world, Imran Khan, fits that last category. To describe him simply as a former cricketer almost feels silly. He lifted the 1992 World Cup for Pakistan, the only one they have ever claimed, after years of building a team in his relentless image. Eighty-eight Tests, 3,807 runs, 362 wickets. His pace, his reverse swing, his sheer command of the field; that was his cricket. Then he became one of the cricketers who joined politics and built a whole political party in 1996, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, and became Prime Minister in 2018. Welfare, anti-corruption, and a sort of clean-up mission for governance. Things ended in a political storm, but even so, his name rests in the top tier of famous cricketers in politics and among the most prominent international cricketers turned politicians.