Most sports activities careers attain the finale by the point its practitioners flip 40, because it has occurred with Roger Federer and Serena Williams in current weeks. In sports activities which are much less exacting bodily, like say golf or chess, it might stretch as much as 50. However for essentially the most half, athletes and sports activities individuals are completed and dusted of their disciplines properly earlier than different skilled careers the place you one can go on until 60-65. What occurs to athletes and sports activities individuals who retire of their 30s and 40s?
Nicely, clearly some go into teaching and administration within the sports activities they performed in — if they’ve the credentials. An increasing number of have gotten specialists and analysts within the media — if they’re good at it. A couple of who’ve managed to get or retain educational credentials even by means of their sports activities profession decide up the place they left off to pursue an alternate profession — eg England’s cricket captain, Mike Brearley, a psychotherapist. Some get company jobs — largely as a sinecure — on the power of their sporting achievement. Some others go into enterprise, typically with sad outcomes (eg Boris Becker).
However I think a overwhelming majority of them waste away. I do know of not less than a few completed cricketers who grew to become alcoholics since they lacked social abilities, media savvy, educational chops and no matter else it takes to make it good past sports activities. Thoughts you, they had been very nice guys throughout their enjoying days — respectable, genteel, humble. However it obtained them nowhere after their enjoying days which was at a time there was not quite a lot of cash in cricket.
Listening to a newer take a look at cricketer take up a task as a consultant on TV along with his job as a member of parliament obtained me interested by what number of sports activities people and athletes enter politics and public service. Not as many as movie begins I think. I’m referring after all to Gautam Gambhir, who’s now a BJP Lok Sabha member from East Delhi. By my reckoning, solely about half dozen take a look at cricketers have joined politics and made a mark in it, by which I imply been elected (not nominated — like Sachin Tendulkar) to parliament: Chetan Chauhan, Kirti Azad, Mohammed Azharuddin, and Navjot Sidhu come to thoughts. Tiger Pataudi tried and failed.
In hockey, our different nationwide sport, Aslam Sher Khan and Dilip Tirkey come to thoughts, each elected to the Lok Sabha. And in soccer, there’s Prasun Banerjee from the Trinamul Congress, additionally elected to Lok Sabha. Then after all there’s Olympic capturing gold medalist Rajvardhan Rathore, a BJP MP who can also be the sports activities minister. Slim pickings.
It’s not a lot totally different in different nations. In neighboring Pakistan Imran Khan arguably grew to become essentially the most profitable sportsman-turned-politician on the earth when he grew to become the prime minister of the nation. Pakistan’s first Take a look at captain Abdul Hafeez Kardar grew to become a member of the punjab meeting and later a minister, however didn’t make it on the nationwide degree. In Sri Lanka, Arjuna Ranatunga entered politics and have become a cupboard Minister of transport and civil aviation.
In non-SENA nations, Ric Charlesworth, who performed each top notch cricket and worldwide hockey for Australia, grew to become an MP, as did John Alexander, a Davis Cupper and modern of Vijay Amritraj. And in Guyana, former opener Roy Fredericks, grew to become the sports activities minister.
Outdoors of cricket and cricketing nations, the USA had many sports activities stars getting into politics, however they had been largely from baseball and American soccer, so the names won’t resonate with Indian audiences or readership.
England, the house of cricket, arguably had extra cricketer-politicians than another nation, going again to the nineteenth century, few extra well-known than Stanley Jackson, who captained England in 5 Take a look at matches in 1905, profitable two and drawing three to retain The Ashes. He later grew to become the Governor of Bengal through the “British Raj” — the English colonisation of India. Outdoors cricket, center distance runner Sebastian Coe was a member of parliament for a few years.
Sports activities on the highest degree is hard, however politics is brutal and unsparing. Roger Federer shedding tears at his farewell recreation, one factor appears sure: No matter else this nice champion does in life, he received’t be getting into politics. There isn’t any place for tears in politics. Besides maybe for false tears.
Disclaimer
Views expressed above are the writer’s personal.
END OF ARTICLE
