Nicknames are an important part of the cricketing field not just for your captain, coach and vice-captain but also for your fans. People give nicknames to the ones whom they love and cricketers have made the most of this, getting nicknames sweet, salty, spice and sour. A few of them have instilled threats in the opposition like none other wherein a few have been crafted with a love. A few have been to signify the menace that one posed while a few just came from the friendly banters.
When we look at the international circuit for nicknames, the planet never fails to amaze us with rings of the Don, Whispering Death, Big Bird, Beefy, Smudge, Haydos, Punter and what not but Indian have a special way of making things. Here are six popular Indian nicknames in the 22 yards that you would love to cherish.
#1 The Little Master
Just in case you have forgotten the carnage that the diminutive magician spread across the world, the Little Master ruled the cricketing arcade with an iron fist. He would take the bowlers for a toss like none other and became the first ever batter to draw a parallel with the Don.
Numbers can wait but the sheer grace that Sachin Tendulkar weaved across the cricketing fields, given his adversity of a smaller physical stature, let’s just agree to the fact that not all masters of the sport needs to gigantic.
#2 Dada
Dadagiri at the Mecca of cricket, leaving it marked with a moment of exultant celebrations probably explains why the name Dada. Saurav Ganguly was nicknamed dada, initially as the elder brother and then for his heroic exploits across the 22 yards.
He led the Indian revolution of youngsters bringing to limelight names like Sehwag, Zaheer, Nehra, Harbhajan, Yuvraj, Kaif and most important MS Dhoni. The man never believed in taking anyone else’s words for his own. He held himself accountable and no matter how bad the situation got, he always fought his way back.
#3 Mahi/Thala
The leader who won it all, the leader who played half the part of making the Indian cricket team of what it is, the leader who conquered the world, MS Dhoni was known as either Mahi Bhai for the players or Thala for his fans.
The word thala means head or leader in Tamil and Dhoni’s iconic exploits on the pitch made him the best to grace the pitch, not only with his unrivalled leadership but with the signature calm of a finisher that would prove to be the fatality of his opponents.
The images that broke the internet 1 Year ago on this same day 🔥
Thalapathy Vijay & Thala Dhoni 😎#Beast #Varisu @actorvijay pic.twitter.com/qoay1RM4DN
— Vijay Fans Trends (@VijayFansTrends) August 12, 2022
#4 Jammy
You can also call him the Wall if you want but Rahul Dravid was always famous as Jammy. The man who defied the finest of the world in both ODIs and T20Is, the man who was one of the strongest bulwarks of the rising Indian team.
Rahul Dravid was also one of the finest leaders of the Indian batting line-up away from home and the kind of charge and confidence that he came to the scene with was absolutely of the first orders. May it be Shoaib Ahktar’s bullets or Warnie’s turners, the Wall stood tall.
#5 Cheeku
Despite a late slump in form for the last three years, if there is one man who can come close to Sachin’s records, it has to be Cheeku or Virat Kohli. The Indian run-machine left the world in awe of his brilliance, taking any bowler head on.
Virat Kohli has undoubtedly spawned history like none other in the Indian cricket team and all the cricketing experts across the world believes that he is just one good knock away from that iconic turn of affairs.
14 years of Cheeku❤️#14YearsOfViratKohli #14YearsOfKingKohliEra #ViratKohli𓃵pic.twitter.com/rFzHwnbIdf
— ⚡Narendra⚡ (@CaptainCheeku) August 18, 2022
#6 Hitman
Rohit Sharma had a bumpy start to his career but he was soon back up on his feet, winning the world over with the ecstatic brand of aggression that left the bowlers in utter disarray. From a flailing Test and ODI career, he was promoted to the opening slot by Mahi that changed the entire dynamics.
Sharma went onto score double-hundreds in ODIs and ate bowlers for breakfast in T20I cricket. Once introduced to the longest format of the sport in a reincarnated avatar where he was pushed to the opening slot as an experiment, and the move exploded in no time, with the Hitman finishing as the highest Indian scorer in the maiden edition of the WTC.
