Role Reversal: Tennis and Cricket, What If?

Cricket was the love of my life until a couple of years ago. I still follow it though now the excitement that it used to generate previously has relatively diminished.

Tennis is the love of my life currently. It has taken me "hook, line and sinker" and has swapped places with what I used to consider as one of the best known sports to mankind.

so I wondered what if Tennis stars traded places? Which Cricketing icons would they be? And compiled a list of 15 such players. Given below are the same. I hope everyone will enjoy it!

1. Roger Federer as Sachin Tendulkar: This was very easy. Sachin is one of the best players to grace the sport with his talent and so is Federer. Both are fluid, sublime and perfect timers who literally monitor the course of the ball with their naked eyes (no wonder Federer gets his hawk-eyes wrong, why need them, when you have a pair yourself?).

Perfect executioners both, with little weakness here and there. If supposing they decide to interchange places then Federer can help Sachin convert his "Nervous Ninety" scores to deserving hundreds and if Sachin, can then he can help him with Roland Garros.

2. Rafael Nadal as Virender Sehwag: He is known as the "Nawab of Najafgarh" (his hometown) and when he plays in full flow he starts to look like an emperor (Nawab means King). Aggressive, punch shots, belting the rivals are trademark of both.

Doing anything[except unfair means] to win, both have the gritty attitude. To work hard and achieve, never-say-die spirit uncannily reminds me of Sehwag while watching Nadal's game and vice versa.

3. Pete Sampras as Brian Lara: Pre-cursor to Sachin in the Cricketing parlance and a brilliant ace about to be bested by another in the Tennis domain. Nothing much to say about them. Everything almost similar to Sachin/Federer except the names...

4. Marat Safin as Andrew Symonds: Erratic, yet indispensable. Brawls, controversies (read only Symonds) talent, weirdness, they have almost everything in common. Both play well too filled with bouts of eccentricity. They are liked by some, hated by some but never that bad to be ignored by all.

5. Lleyton Hewitt as Yuvraj Singh: Both wear their hearts on their sleeve. Cocky attitude to a certain level, the game is their ultimate passion. Live by it and swear by it. Pure entertainers; one with the racquet while the other with the willow.

If there is a possible role reversal, then Yuvi will complain at the chair umpires, while Hewitt can do the same with the square-leg umpire for ruling him out LBW.

6. Novak Djokovic as Andrew Flintoff: Flintoff takes a dig at the home favourite and gets "booed" by the crowd and Nole does the same. But thisn't the only reason why I picked both of them.

The duo often end up as projected villains due to their spilling sentiments. Also they have the ability to disappoint when the world is expecting them to deliver. Unpredictable and highly volatile...thats what they are...

7. Andre Agassi as Adam Gilchrist: Determination and class. Thats what each of these two players' game demonstrated. The world at their feet when they were at their prime and did what they did the best: make sure the fans got every bit of their invested money. They would do well as compliment[aries].

8. John McEnroe as Inzaman-ul-Haq: Brattish, flamboyant, enmeshed as the ultimate antagonists. Objection, overruling and barring. Similarities between them is too much to go unnoticed.

but the time when they managed to play, they did make some jaws droop fan following. fa following also because of their maverick demeanour. If McEnroe had decided to swap, the entire cricketing world would have got to see him and his antics and not just at four venues!!!

9. Bjorn Borg as Rahul Dravid: Calm, cool, detached yet attached, not vocal but expressing with the records....both these players are enigma in their own way...

Dravid, "The Wall" Borg, "The Iceman" they don't talk much but work more... if they would have changed careers Borg would have had a better go at the captaincy mantle and Dravid, he would have been relaxed  without the pressure of being a captain and a lone player...he could have even justified his name tag like a wall that bounces back...

10. Marcelo Rios as S.Sreesanth: This fitted like a glove. Rude and obnoxious Rios as the half crazy Indian speedster Sreesanth. Both have had problems and tantrums with almost everybody on tour (including fellow countrymen in Sree's case).

Rios would have learnt the meaning of the word "sportsmanship" and Sreesanth, he is always better when left to his own devices. The weird post-wicket celebration that he normally does, will not be counted as excessive display of emotion on the tennis court.