5 modern-day great cricketers and their counterparts in Tennis

An ardent sports lover never differentiates his affection for either of the sports. No matter it is cricket, tennis, or any other competitive sport in the world. There are many sports who love both tennis and cricket equally and adore the renowned superstars of both games. There are legends in both the games who are entertaining the fans for almost decades.

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Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal alongside current Wimbledon champion Novak Djokovic are the tennis superstars who have a number of titles till now in the history of the game. Apart from that, cricket has also witnessed some modern-day greats like Virat Kohli, Kane Williamson, and Babar Azam.

So, taking this discussion ahead, here we’ll have a look at the five players both from tennis and cricket who are counterparts of each other in their greatness and talent as well.

Roger Federer – Virat Kohli

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The Basel-based 41-year-old prodigy Roger Federer is dominating the world of tennis for more than two decades with his excellent skills and perfection in the game. The Swiss superstar made his first international appearance on the court 24 years back in the year 1998. Since then, he has won 20 grand slams and still entertaining the fans with his brilliant game.

Speaking of Federer’s counterpart in cricket, then it would be none other than the most successful Test captain ever played for India, Virat Kohli. The 33-year-old senior batter led India to victory in numerous crucial matches with both his batting and leadership skills. He is the second batter in the history of ODI cricket who has scored the highest centuries (43) after the former legendary Indian batter Sachin Tendulkar who had 49 ODI centuries to his name.

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Rafael Nadal- Steve Smith

The undisputed king of the court for the last 21 years, Rafael Nadal is the name that is frequently on the tongue of tennis fans. Spanish sensation has won the highest number of grand slams in professional tennis since his debut in 2001. Unfortunately, he had to withdraw his name from Wimbledon 2022 after sustaining an abdominal strain just before the semi-finals of the tournament. Apart from that, the 36-year-old has reached almost the peak of greatness in the game.

If you are searching for Nadal’s counterpart in the game of cricket, then the first choice would obviously be the former Australian skipper and great batter of the current generation, Steve Smith. The 33-year-old Sydney sensation has spent more than a decade in international cricket. He has more than 8000 runs to his name with an excellent batting average of 60.00, just similar to his stellar records of Nadal in the game of tennis. Smith is one of the most talented batters among the four who are considered as the fab four of the current generation of batters.

Novak Djokovic – Joe Root

The Serbian lad has recently surpassed his Swiss counterpart in the game, Roger Federer. Novak has broken the record of 20 grand slams won by Federer. In the recently-concluded Wimbledon 2022 after securing his 21^st grand slam win. The world number 6 two-handed backhand made his first international appearance on the court 19 years back in the year 2003. Since then, he is continuously proving his worth both for his country and the game as well. Djokovic is now only behind Rafael Nadal in terms of winning the highest number of grand slams in professional international tennis.

If there is someone in the game of cricket who is just the reciprocal of Djokovic, then he is the former skipper and modern-day great batter of England, Joe Root. Scoring more than 10.000 Test runs, the Yorkshire-born legend is enjoying a celebrated career for almost a decade. He also led the English team to victories in Test cricket during his stint as captain. The 31-year-old has won numerous matches for his team in both formats of the game. Notably, Root is also the second highest run-scorer for the English cricket team in the history of Test cricket just after the former skipper and great batter Sir Alastair Cook.

Andy Murray - Kane Williamson

A challenge for the tennis stars was introduced in the year 2005 when Scottish superstar Andy Murray made his debut on the court in professional tennis. In his 18-year-career, Murray has stunned the superstars with his stellar performances against the likes of Nadal, Federer, and Djokovic. The 35-year-old has won three grand slam tournaments in the game so far. Right-Handed Two-Hand Backhand will be in the action during the upcoming Laver Cup 2022 in London.

The star player from cricket who fits to be the counterpart of Andy Murray is the New Zealand skipper and great batter Kane Williamson. The Tauranga-born batter appeared first time in international cricket against India in the Tri-series including Sri Lanka back in the year 2010. In his career of 11 years, Williamson has established himself in the list of all-time great batters who ever played the game. The Kiwi skipper has scored nearly 8,000 runs in Test cricket.

Daniil Medvedev – Babar Azam

Nobody would be unaware of the name of Daniil Medvedev. The 26-year-old has recently stunned the world of tennis by securing World's number one rank in international professional tennis. He left everyone behind in the rankings with his amazing performances in the last couple of months. The Russian star has also one handsome title of grand slam tournament to his name. Medvedev earned the respect and trust of the experts only within his 8-year career in professional tennis.

So, who will be the cricketing counterpart of the world's number one tennis star? Obviously, the world's number one batter in all the formats of the game. Yes, we are talking about the Lahore-based prodigy, Babar Azam. The current Pakistani skipper and star batter has impressed everyone with his stunning performances in his 6-year career in international cricket. The 27-year-old possesses a knack for thrashing any mighty bowling attack in the world. The Punjabi lad has scored more than 3000 runs in just 75 innings of the 42 Tests he played for Pakistan so far. He will be in action during the upcoming Asia Cup 2022 where Pakistan will lock horns with their arch-rivals India in their first match of Pool B on the 28^th of August at the end of this month.