Cricketers Who Jumped From Cricket & Joined BJP: Cricketers receive a lot of recognition, love, and fame for their efforts. However, after they retire, they often don’t have much to do unless they go into business, commentary, or politics. Political parties also try to attract well-known personalities to gain support from their fans. Many famous cricketers like Sachin Tendulkar and Gautam Gambhir have chosen to enter politics.

This year, there are Lok Sabha elections, and political parties are preparing for the big event. In the past, we’ve seen parties involve famous faces like actors, cricketers, and businesspeople.

As the elections approach, we at OneCricket have found some popular Indian cricketers who joined the Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) and entered politics.

Here are the top 5 cricketers who joined the BJP:

Kirti Azad

Kirti Azad, an all-rounder and son of a central minister, is from Purnea, Bihar, but played domestic cricket for Delhi. He was an aggressive right-handed batter and an off-spin bowler. He represented the Indian team but played only 25 ODIs and 7 Test matches. Despite his success in domestic cricket with over 6,000 first-class runs, he didn’t make a significant impact internationally. He later followed in his father’s footsteps and joined the BJP, winning three times in Darbhanga.

Vinod Kambli

Vinod Kambli from Mumbai was known for his attitude. In just 21 Test innings, he scored over 1,000 runs, including four centuries and three half-centuries, with a double century against England. Though popular, he wasn’t consistent enough and played only 104 ODI matches. Kambli joined politics and contested the Vidhan Sabha elections from the Maharashtra unit of the BJP.

Navjot Singh Sidhu

Navjot Singh Sidhu, known for his commentary, was a key batter for the Indian team in the 90s. He scored over 6,000 international runs and was a crucial part of the team’s success under Kapil Dev and Mohammad Azharuddin. After retiring, Sidhu became a commentator and judge on a comedy show. He joined the BJP but is currently with the Congress party, with rumors of a possible return to BJP.

S Sreesanth

S Sreesanth was a member of the T20 World Cup and ODI World Cup-winning teams. The right-arm fast bowler played 27 Test matches, taking 87 wickets, and picked up 82 wickets in white-ball cricket. After cricket, he tried acting in Tamil and Bollywood movies. He joined the BJP and contested the Kerala assembly elections but lost.

Gautam Gambhir

Gautam Gambhir was the top scorer in the finals of the T20 World Cup 2007 and World Cup 2011. In his international career of 242 matches, he scored over 10,000 runs and helped win two ICC trophies. He also led the Kolkata Knight Riders to two IPL wins. In 2019, Gambhir joined the BJP ahead of the Lok Sabha elections. However, before the 2024 elections, he resigned from politics and joined KKR as a mentor for IPL 2024.