Mali joins the family business

Hanif is one of the greatest ever, and till recently, held the record for the highest first-class score of 499. His son Shoaib was prodigiously talented, but the excess baggage of his pedigree made him lose his way. Hanif remains the ‘great’, while Shoaib is the ‘also-ran’, despite an average of 44.34 from 45 Tests compared to Hanif’s 43.98 from 55.

Peter and Shaun Pollock

Shaun, with his 285 wickets at 20.47 and batting average of 33.55 is by far the best all-rounder in the game today, whereas the equally talented father Peter will remain a tragic hero with the rest of the Apartheid era cricketers. Peter picked up 116 wickets from his paltry 28 Tests.

Lance and Chris Cairns

Lance was the workhorse, and Chris the prodigal son. The similarity between the two is that neither have been able to do justice to their talents, though, to be fair, Lance talent lay only in his massive shoulders – useful for bowling short and hitting long. Chris was a natural, but with a wonky temperament and wonkier knees.

Colin and Chris Cowdrey

Sir Colin was the classical Test batsman and went on to become a prolific run-scorer. And when son Chris plays just six Tests and captains in one of them, it has to with Dad’s reputation and godfather Peter May’s influence. Neither his batting (14.42 in Tests), nor his bowling (77.25) made the cut.

Sunil and Rohan Gavaskar

Sunil remains the definitive name in batting. His record guaratees him a place in cricket’s Hall of Fame. Son Rohan though, despite early promise, has flattered to deceive consistently. People close to him say his surname worked against him.