Sachin Tendulkar was “so upset” about the famous dismissal that he “didn’t sleep” for the next couple of days. The legendary batter’s former India teammate Ajay Jadeja had once recalled. The ball from the tearing fast Zimbabwe pace sensation had “really changed” Sachin, the former all-rounder had revealed.
Olonga had battered the star batting trio of Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly and Rahul Dravid. While Sachin avenged himself later, the stunning rivalry became stuff of legends. However, Olonga’s prolific career came to an unexpected end after 8 years of international cricket and 126 wickets. The reason was him taking on the political powers of his country in an unprecedented stand.
It followed death threats and a warrant for Olonga’s arrest. The pace sensation went into exile and moved to England after a career cut short to just 50 ODIs and 30 Tests. Olonga retired in 2003 and after taking some years to think about his future, decided to take up singing as his profession.
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Olonga and his wife moved to Adelaide in Australia. He became a stay-at-home dad and a self-employed singer while his wife held a regular job as a teacher to take care of finances. Olonga gained some prominence when he earned a surprise invite to feature in the TV show ‘The Voice’ in 2019 but that did not lead to stardom.
Covid-19 brought more tough times for Olonga as he found himself out of work and could only sustain himself from a government relief scheme. He called 2021 his toughest year. Olonga now lives a quiet life now in his second innings. He drops his children to school and brings them back home and is trying to build his music career with a YouTube channel.
