Why Only A Few Players Get Sir Title In Cricket – 29 Famous Cricketers Who Got Sir Title

We often hear about the Sir title in cricket. Some of the legendary cricketers who excelled in this game were called Sir before their name. We can see the Sir title in cricket before some legendary cricketer’s names like Sir Don Bradman, Sir Viv Richards, Sir Garfield Sobers, etc.

However, the title Sir does not put before all legendary cricketer’s names. Players like Sachin Tendulkar, Muttiah Muralitharan, Wasim Akram, Jack Kallis, and MS Dhoni have named themselves the best cricketers. But they were not given the Sir title in cricket. Some of the less famous players have been given the title Sir. However, what is the story behind the Sir title in cricket? Why was that title given to only a selected few players? What qualities does a player require to acquire this Sir title in cricket? Let’s dive deep into this exciting topic.

Sir Title In Cricket History

The title of Sir was founded in England, the birthplace of cricket. The title was bestowed on several people in the British Empire by their Queen. So the Queen of England would give Sir title to a person as a reward for staying in their kingdom and doing immense service to their country or kingdom. It is called a Knighthood, and the Queen of England knights those special people.

The British Queen bestowed this Knighthood on some people who served their country the title “Sir” will add before their name. That means the title Sir was bestowed only to a few noble people. Hence, the Queen of England gives this honor of Sir for service to their country in arts, sports, and public service. In this context, the Sir title gave some cricket players living under British rule since 1926.

However, at that time, most of the countries lived under British rule. All the countries we now call the Commonwealth Countries were once also under British rule. So even though it was an England tradition, the Sir title in cricket did give to the cricketers from other countries.

Criteria To Get Sir Title In Cricket

Are there any criteria to give the Sir title in cricket? There is no such thing. England at the time would pick up some of the best players in the game, officially knighted them, and give them the title of Sir. Therefore since 1926, 29 players have been given the Sir title in cricket. Of those 29 cricketers, 14 are England players, and 13 are West Indies players. One of the other two is an Australian cricketer, and the other is a New Zealand player.

However, some cricketers were honored with the Sir title; the Lord title also gave a few cricketers based on their names. While 27 players on this list existed the Sir title in cricket, only two have been given the title of The Lord.

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List Of Cricketers Who Got Sir Title

1. Sir Francis Eden Lacey – 1926 (England)
2. Sir Frederick Charles – 1929 (England)
3. Sir Plum Warner – 1937 (England)
4. Sir Donald George Bradman – 1949 (Australia)
5. Sir Jack Hobbs – 1953 (England)
6. Sir Shrimp Leveson Gower – 1953 (England)
7. Sir Leonard Len Hutton – 1956 (England)
8. Sir Frank Mortimer Maglinne Worrell – 1964 (West Indies)
9. Sir John Frederick Neville Cardus – 1967 (England)
10. Sir Garry Sobers – 1975 (West Indies)
11. Sir Gubby Allen – 1986 (England)
12. Sir Richard John Hadlee – 1990 (New Zealand)
13. The Lord Cowdrey of Tonbridge – 1992 (England)
14. Sir Clyde Leopold Walcott – 1993 (West Indies)
15. Sir Everton de Courcy Weekes – 1995 (West Indies)
16. Sir Alec Victor Bedser – 1996 (England)
17. Sir Conrad Cleophas Hunte – 1998 (West Indies)
18. Sir Isaac Vivian Alexander Richards – 1999 (West Indies)
19. The Lord Botham of Ravensworth – 2007 (England)
20. Sir Wesley Winfield Hall – 2012 (West Indies)
21. Sir Curtly Elconn Lynwall Ambrose – 2014 (West Indies)
22. Sir Andy Roberts- 2014 (West Indies)
23. Sir Richie Richardson – 2014 (West Indies)
24. Sir Charles Christopher Griffith – 2017 (West Indies)
25. Sir Alastair Nathan Cook – 2019 (England)
26. Sir Geoffrey Boycott – 2019 (England)
27. Sir Andrew John Strauss – 2019 (England)
28. Sir Clive Hubert Lloyd – 2020 (West Indies)
29. Sir Cuthbert Gordon Greenidge – 2020 (West Indies)

Why The Sir Title In Cricket Only Gave To Few Cricketers

The biggest question is why this Sir title in cricket didn’t give to all legendary cricketers. We already mentioned above, some countries at that time lived under British rule. Australia, New Zealand, and the West Indies were also a part of that, as they did not have the authority. But over time, as independence came to all nations, some countries discontinued this Sir title tradition while others replaced it with another honor. Only England and the West Indies countries are giving the Sir title in cricket to their legendary players.

However, when it comes to India, before 1947, India did not produce any notable cricketers. So at that time, England did not give the Sir title to any Indian players. But now, cricketers are not allowed to honor the Sir title in cricket under the rules of the Indian Constitution after independence.

Instead, the remarkable people in India now did honor with other titles like Padma Shri, Padma Vibhushan, and Bharat Ratna. So Sachin Tendulkar was born in India, so his name is like Padma Shri Sachin Tendulkar. If he were born in England, he would have been named Sir Sachin Tendulkar. However, in any country, the honors are bestowed a few years later after the retirement of that noble cricketer.

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How Did Ravindra Jadeja Got Sir Jadeja Title

Everyone wondered how Ravindra Jadeja got the Sir title in cricket while Indians are limited to serving this honor. Also, how did Shardul Thakur become Lord Shardul? In Jadeja’s case, he failed miserably in the 2009 T20I World Cup. With that, some cricket fans at that time trolled Jadeja sarcastically by mocking him, Sir Jadeja.

But Jadeja returned to the national team, who scored two stunning triple centuries in domestic cricket. He also excelled in the 2013 Champions Trophy and the 4 test matches home series against Australia. With that, the negative sir title became a bit more optimistic. However, the title “Sir Ravindra Jadeja” gained popularity because of his Chennai Super Kings mate Mahendra Singh Dhoni.

In the 6th edition of IPL, Chennai Super Kings need two runs off the last ball in a league match against Royal Challengers Bengaluru. Ravindra Jadeja, who was on strike, attempted an uppercut but was caught by a fielder in the third man. Surprisingly, that ball was called a no-ball, and the Chennai Super Kings team won the match with one remaining ball. With this, MS Dhoni tweeted an interesting tweet on Twitter ” If you give Sir Jadeja 2 runs to score from 1 ball, he will win it with the ball left”. Also, whenever MS Dhoni tweeted about Ravindra Jadeja, he used the title Sir before his name.

Hence Sir Jadeja’s name became very popular, and fans started calling him Sir Ravindra Jadeja. So the Sir title in cricket that Jadeja acquired is not the official name because the Queen of England hasn’t knighted the Ravindra Jadeja.

In the case of Shardul Thakur, the heroics against England in a home series bring him the title The Lord Shardul by his fans. Especially he attempted that unique middle finger slower ball variation he got that Lord fame. Officially he did not get that name.