Ronnie Irani, English cricketer
Ronald Charles Irani (born 26 October 1971) is a former England cricketer who played Tests and ODIs for England. He played only three Tests for England, with decidedly mixed success, but found a niche in One Day Internationals, where he gained much praise for his performances.
He spent most of his career at Essex County Cricket Club, latterly as captain, after starting at Lancashire. He is of Irani descent, the Iranis being a community of Persian Zoroastrians who immigrated to India during the British Raj.
Irani was a genuine all-rounder until a knee injury in 2003 forced him to stop bowling and play as a specialist batsman. The recurring nature of this injury led to Irani being forced to retire from first-class cricket in June 2007. At Essex, Irani helped bring through promising players such as Alastair Cook (England Captain) and Ravinder Bopara (England Player) as well as winning two major One-Day Titles. Professionally he scored over 20,000 runs and took more than 650 wickets during his career.
He announced his retirement from first-class cricket at the end of the 2007 season.