5 Cricketers Who Studied Accounting, Finance, Business & Law

Cricket is a sport that has captured the hearts of millions around the world. Some cricketers have gone beyond their sporting successes to excel in their studies as well. Five very well known cricketing stars who have a degree in Law, Business, Finance, or Accounting are:

Rahul Dravid (India)

Field of Study – Commerce & Finance

As of 2022, he is the head coach of the Indian national cricket team. Born on 11th January 1973 he is known as “The Wall” of Indian cricket.

Rahul Dravid has scored over 10,000 ODI and 13,000 test runs. He completed his schooling at St. Joseph’s High School, Bangalore. Cricket is clearly his forte and he holds a commerce degree from Bangalore’s St. Joseph’s College.

At the time of his selection, he was pursuing his MBA at St. Joseph’s College of Business Administration. It was left unfinished.

This is what Rahul Dravid said about the CA course,

“I was poor at maths so I chose commerce and in second year of B.com, I decided to do CA in case cricket didn’t work out. After opening the first book, I doubled my efforts in Cricket.”

India is thankful for Rahul Dravid’s decision to participate in post-match interviews instead of accounting interviews.

Kumar Sangakkara (Sri Lanka)

Field of Study – Law

Having been born in 1977 in Matale, Central Province, near Kandy, Sangakkara grew up in Kandy with his parents and three siblings. Trinity College, Kandy, is where he received his education.

In international matches across formats, Kumar Sangakkara has scored over 28,000 runs for Sri Lanka. The number of centuries includes 25 in ODIs and 38 in Tests.

In recognition of his all-around excellence, he was awarded the Trinity Lion and Ryde Gold Medal. Besides the violin, he also played the chorister. The University of Colombo later awarded him a Master of Laws degree.

Rameez Raja (Pakistan)

Field of Study – Business Administration

Rameez Hasan Raja, a former Pakistani opening batsman and captain is currently serving as the 36th Chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board. He was born on August 14, 1962.

In addition to being born in Faisalabad, Raja is a graduate of renowned Pakistani institutions, Sadiq Public School in Bahawalpur and Aitchison College in Lahore. He holds a Master’s Degree in Business Administration.

In addition to playing 57 tests and 198 ODIs, he is among the few Pakistanis to score over 9,000 runs in List A matches and over 10,000 in first-class cricket.

Venkatesh Iyer (India)

Field of Study – Commerce & Finance

A cricketer from Madhya Pradesh who plays for Kolkata Knight Riders in the IPL and Madhya Pradesh in domestic cricket, Venkatesh Iyer was born on 25 December 1994.

Kolkata Knight Riders bought Iyer in February 2021 during the IPL auction ahead of the 2021 season. He made his IPL debut against Royal Challengers Bangalore on 20 September 2021, when the IPL resumed in the United Arab Emirates. Against Mumbai Indians, he scored his first IPL 50 on 23 September 2021.

In addition to pursuing his B.Com degree, Iyer also enrolled in a Chartered Accountant degree. As soon as Iyer cleared the intermediate examination in 2016, he had to make a decision. He would have to give up the sport or suspend his cricket career if he attempted the CA finals. This meant an end of his accounting and finance career.

Murali Vijay (India)

Field of Study – Economics

A right-handed opening batsman, Murali Vijay (born on 1 April 1984) plays for the Indian national cricket team. He is currently a first-class cricketer for Tamil Nadu and was a regular member of the Indian Test team until 2018. He has played 61 Tests and 17 ODIs for the national team.

Former Australian captain Allan Border said of Vijay’s technique: “His defensive shots are so assured. He looks comfortable of both front and back foot. And when he attacks, he doesn’t go hard at the deliveries. I can see why this young man is playing”.

As an undergraduate, he attended RKM Vivekananda College in Chennai and earned a degree in Economics. Afterwards, he completed his postgraduate studies in Economics at SRM University, Chennai.