From Celebrity to Public Servants, Famous Cricketers Who Made a Fortune After Joining Politics

(Imran Khan giving a speech at a political gathering)

Cricketers and politics, it is like the two sides of a coin. Years after years, it became a trend for cricketers to start careers again as full-time politicians after retirement. But why only cricketers? There is a very clear relation between them as both are a form of serving the nation by entertaining or developing the culture. From legendary cricketers like Tiger Pataudi to the World Cup hero Gautam Gambhir, famous cricketers always preferred to start the second innings of their career as public servants. Not only that, most of the time they earned a huge fortune following their political growth. Let's take a look into our favourite cricketers and their whopping net worth after joining politics.

1. Mansur Ali Khan Pataudi

On the list of cricketers who had a profound interest in politics, one who comes first and one of the earliest known cricketers for India is Mansur Ali Khan Pataudi. The man behind the backdrop of making cricket one of the most celebrated sports in the country was known for his precise skills, as he could perform in any clutch moment for India. For his greatness in the field, he is still remembered even after years of his demise. Apart from contesting on the cricket pitch, The Nawab of Pataudi also faced contests in the political field.

(Mansur Ali Khan Pataudi in his last time)

He joined the Vishal Haryana party with a few months remaining for the 1971 Lok Sabha elections and submitted his nomination against Tayyab Husain from the Gurgaon constituency. But his career as a member of the Parliament faltered when he lost to his rival and in this election, he received 22,979 votes in his favour and it was a major setback for him. Despite not being able to create a career out of politics, he made remarkable improvements in his net worth. Apart from inheriting the Pataudi Palace from his father Iftikhar Ali Khan Pataudi, he also purchased quite a number of vintage cars and properties as he was fond of them.

2. Gautam Gambhir

One of the most recent Indian cricketers who later joined active politics is Gautam Gambhir, our favourite ‘Gauti Bhai’. The unsung hero of the 2011 World Cup finals and an incredible batter in the top order, he has always been a rock in the team's batting line-up. After announcing his retirement, he joined the Bharatiya Janata Party on March 22, 2019. As an explanation, he mentioned that he was deeply influenced by Narendra Modi and his developmental mindset and stood as the BJP's trump card from East Delhi. His rivals in the 2019 Indian general election were Atishi Marlena and Arvinder Singh Lovely. The predictions proved right when he defeated his opposition party's candidates by a massive margin of 695109 votes.

(Gautam Gambhir attending a political event before the election)

As per his beliefs, being a politician is nothing but reaching out to more and more people during their distress. During the COVID-19 pandemic, he donated his two-year salary to vaccination camps under his jurisdiction. After almost five years in the field, he announced his retirement from BJP and politics earlier in 2024. His first and only political inning gave a huge boost to his assets, which were worth INR 147 crores in 2018. His current net worth stands at around INR 250 crores, and his assets include his INR 18 crores house and luxury cars from famous brands like BMW, Audi, Porsche, and Mercedes Benz.

3. Harbhajan Singh

Harbhajan Singh, the right-handed off-spinner from Jalandhar, Punjab, wrecked the determination of the opposition batters when playing for India across all formats. Being a world-class spinner, Bhajji was a crucial part of many historical champion teams, like the 2007 T20 World Cup, 2011 ICC ODI World Cup winning team and so on. Like his mysterious bowling, his debut in the political field was also quite surprising. He expressed his interest in politics early on and joined the Aam Aadmi Party in March 2022. He was nominated to run for the Rajya Sabha election amongst one of the 5 nominees from Punjab. He won the elections without any opposition and was elected as a member of the Parliament.

(Harbhajan Singh taking oath as MP in Rajya Sabha)

Bhajji pledged to be an MP on July 18, 2022, on the first day of the Parliament's monsoon session and his entry into the political background marked an immense increase in his property. Apart from his INR 6 crore house, he has multiple other residential properties across India, investments in shares and debentures of known companies and many government and non-government securities. He owns multiple cars, including the SUV Hummer H2, Ford Endeavour, and a Maruti Suzuki Vitara Brezza. His total assets before joining politics were valued at more than INR 56 crores. His current net worth has seen a sharp rise from his previous value to INR 70 crores.

4. Imran Ahmed Khan Niazi

Imran Khan, the star bowler of Pakistan who also captained the side to many match wins, has been an absolute beast in the 22 yards. A pioneer fast bowler in the Pakistani line-up had become the nightmare for batters who faced him with the new ball. Like his fast paced deliveries, he introduced his second innings by joining politics as a part of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf in 1996, which was solely formed by himself. Talking about his political career is quite a long story. It took him six years, from 1996 to 2002, to create political recognition for himself. In 2002, he managed to secure a seat in the National Assembly but his political career took a dramatic turn in 2008 when the PTI boycotted the elections and went on to win the 2013 general elections.

(Imran Khan at his Prime Minister office)

Later, in the 2018 General Election, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf became the most popular political party across Pakistan, winning him the post of Prime Minister. He was elected as the 22nd Prime Minister of Pakistan in 2018, and his tenure came to an end on April 10 2022, with his removal from power by a no-confidence motion. Apart from surviving assassination attempts during his political reign, he made a considerable rise in his net worth. His luxurious mansions, houses, farmhouses and agricultural lands subsequently increased his assets. His net worth took a rocket ride from approximately INR 83 crores in 2017 to a massive amount of INR 400 crores in 2023.

5. Yusuf Pathan

Yusuf Pathan is one of the most destructive right-handed batters that has ever played for the Indian team in history. Pathan has been part of the World Cup-winning Indian team in 2007 and 2011 subsequently. Apart from the national team, he also carried the performances for his IPL teams, be it Kolkata Knight Riders, Sunrisers Hyderabad or Rajasthan Royals, on his shoulders. One of the best all-rounders of his time, Pathan bid goodbye to the sport in the first half of 2021. Having a hidden inclination towards politics, he gave vent to it in 2024 by joining the All India Trinamool Congress. Yusuf Pathan is all set to step into the field of politics by running for a seat in the 2024 Indian general election.

(Yusuf Pathan in a political rally of TMC in West Bengal )

He will fight in the elections this year from the Baharampur Lok Sabha constituency in West Bengal. He, along with his party and fans, are looking forward to his debut election victory. Despite being a first-timer in the field, his social media following has experienced a noticeable surge. Along with this, he added a number of assets to his property, which also increased his net worth. He and his brother purchased a designer house in Baroda paired with luxury cars, and he has also been an active investor in various real estate projects.