5 cricketers who made historic and triumphant comebacks after facing challenges, poor form, and injuries

Cricket has seen some great comebacks over the years. There is a proverb that "Comebacks are always greater than setbacks." The cricketers say that making a debut for your country is easier than a comeback after an injury, and poor form. Setbacks are inescapable in everyone's lives.

The question is how much you are willing to fight them off and make a return. Many famous cricketers have had big setbacks in their careers. Mostly for a short period of time, but occasionally for quite some time. However, they made a much-needed return from their poor form. 

In the article, we will be looking at the players who made a sensational comeback after their poor form and injuries. 

Here are the 5 players who made a comeback

5. Sourav Ganguly

Sourav Ganguly has been one of the best captains of India. The former Indian captain was struggling terribly at the time since he could not even score runs, and India was also doing good. Everyone accused him of being a disaster and an incredibly selfish captain. He never seemed to be able to return to the national squad. 

After being dropped from the national team, he began working tirelessly in practice sessions and took on the challenge of making a comeback. After a string of outstanding performances in domestic cricket, Ganguly returned to the national squad as a batter, and the world was in for the historical, and, most significantly, royal comeback. Sourav also became the highest run-getter in Test cricket in the year 2007.

4. Ricky Ponting

Ricky Ponting is regarded as one of the greatest captains of all time and the only Australian player to win the World Cup thrice. However, even the best players can suffer setbacks. In his 2001 tour of India, batting on an Indian pitch was difficult for any non-Asian, and Ponting was no exception. He had a terrible tour, scoring only 17 runs in 5 innings.

As unfortunate as it may sound, three of the five innings ended in a duck. Later in the Ashes, he had three big Test match failures. Everyone began to doubt his ability, but Ponting came back stronger than ever with a stunning 144 against England at Headingley and since then he never turned back Ponting won the ODI World Cup in 2003 and 2007. 

3. Muttiah Muralitharan

Muttiah Muralitharan, widely regarded as one of the finest spin bowlers in cricket history and the all-time leading wicket-taker in men's international Tests, was embroiled in controversy about his bowling action. 

Murali was accused of bowling with a bent arm, with his elbow flexed beyond the allowed limit. On April 21, 2004, the International Cricket Governing Body said that Murali, the spin bowler from Sri Lanka, might face a 12-month ban if he continues to bowl his doosra. Muralitharan was tested on his bowling action in front of 12 cameras at the University of Western Australia in 1996. These tests were carried out by the Cricket Body to verify the legality of his action. His peculiar bowling approach generated an optical illusion, giving the appearance of a throw while, in fact, it was a proper bowling action.

2. Virat Kohli

Virat Kohli is without a doubt one of the greatest batters India has ever produced. The right-hander has established himself as the poster boy of Indian cricket, from his U-19 days to the senior India team till the end of his career. From 2019 to 2022, Kohli faced the most difficult period of his career.

He was removed from his T20I captaincy, was dropped from Test and ODI captaincy, and failed to record a century at any level. While some believed he was suffering from mental challenges, others believed he was under enormous pressure to succeed. Kohli ultimately ended his 1000-day century drought when he scored his first T20I century against Afghanistan in the Asia Cup 2022.

Since then, the former India skipper has not looked back, having found form in both ODIs and Tests. He was the ODI World Cup's leading run scorer, with 765 runs in 11 games. 

1. Sachin Tendulkar 

Sachin Tendulkar is the best batter in Indian cricket. He broke all cricketing records and elevated himself to the status of God. During the first twelve years of his career, he never missed a single Test match and seemed to have endured every niggle in order to be present on the field.

Keeping the injuries aside for the entire season that he was playing for India, they piled up bit by bit until they blew into a career-threatening tennis elbow in 2004. The injury became so severe that he could hardly lift his bat and could even play his strokes and everyone thought that his career got over but he made a comeback and become the World Champion in 2011.