3 times a cricketer reading a book became viral

Star Australian cricketer David Warner went viral on social media when he was spotted solving crosswords in the balcony of Lord's cricket ground during Australia's innings in Ashes 2023 Test match.

The second Test of the Ashes 2023 series is underway right now, where Australia are aiming to take a 2-0 lead against home team England. David Warner played a brilliant inning of 66 runs to help the Aussies get off to a good start in the second Test.

After Warner departed to the pavilion, Steven Smith's hundred and Travis Head's half-century helped Australia cross the 400-run mark. The Aussies batted for almost 80 overs after David Warner's dismissal.

During the final phase of their innings on Day 2, Warner decided to kill some time by solving crosswords. A photo of him solving crosswords went viral on social media.

This was not the first time a cricketer went viral on social media while reading a book during the match or in leisure time. Here's a list of the three other players who grabbed headlines while reading a book.

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#1 MS Dhoni with the Bhagavad Gita

Chennai Super Kings captain MS Dhoni has always urged the youngsters to focus on the process and not worry about the results whenever he has been asked for advice. This preaching is from Bhagavad Gita, and Dhoni was pictured with the holy book after IPL 2023.

A photo of the CSK skipper with the Bhagavad Gita in his hand went viral on social media. Dhoni was in the middle of his car journey, and he seemingly decided to read the holy book on the way to his destination.

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#2 Star Indian cricketer Virat Kohli reading Detox Your Ego went viral on social media

Virat Kohli has made a name for himself with his top-quality performances across all formats of international cricket. Fans are always curious to know details about Kohli's personal life, and the fact that he is the most-followed Asian on Instagram solidifies the aforementioned claim.

Every small thing which Kohli does goes viral on social media. During a Test match in West Indies four years ago, Virat Kohli was spotted reading Steven Sylvester’s book ‘Detox Your Ego’ in the dressing room. The cameraman focused on him while he was reading. The screenshot went viral and fans were quick to notice the cover of the book.

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#3 Former Indian cricketer Yuvraj Singh was spotted reading a novel

Former Indian cricketer Yuvraj Singh was spotted reading 'Shanataram' novel during a match. Yuvraj has a habit of reading books. His photo with Suresh Raina's book also went viral on social media two years ago, but during his playing days, he was spotted reading Shantaram by Gregory David Roberts.

Former Australian cricketers Adam Gilchrist, Michael Hussey, and Damien Martyn also came across this book during their visit to India for ICC Champions Trophy in 2006. They even went to an old restaurant named Leopold in Mumbai, where they met Shanataram himself. Sharing the experience in his book, Hussey wrote:

"It was a fascinating conversation and a situation we were fortunate to stumble upon. There we were three players from the Australian cricket team sitting in this dirty, dingy drug den hotel from a novel we were absorbed by, and within minutes we had the star of the book sitting there telling us extraordinary stories."

When the story of Hussey, Gilchrist, and Martyn's connection with Shantaram went viral on social media, cricket fans also dug out an old image of Yuvraj Singh reading this book.