Inked! Cricketers' obsession with tattoos

Tattoos are widely popular among sportspersons, particularly footballers, rugby players and pugilists. Of late, cricketers too use the ink to portray their personalities.

Inked! Kohli & teammates' obsession with tattoos

Check out how these cricketers decorate their bodies.

Michael Clarke

One of the most successful Australian captains, he is also among the most stylish players.

He’s a fan of tattoos and sports them on his sculpted physique.

He has a tattoo on his arm which is in Arabic and can be roughly translated as, “The pain of discipline is nothing like the pain of disappointment.”

Besides he also has Carpe Diem inked on his body.

Mitchell Johnson

The Australian paceman rocks a dragon on his right non-bowling arm and a panther on his toned torso.

Johnson is almost a tattoo freak and has inked a Koi fish on his right arm. Koi fish symbolises a person's ability to aspire to be better.

Brendon McCullum

Tattoos have never looked as cool as when New Zealand skipper Brendon McCullum flexed while hitting the big ones.

McCullum's arm is inked with Roman numerals CXXVI, XLII and CCXXIV representing New Zealand on the lists of players who've played Tests, ODIs and T20s for New Zealand.

When he arrives at the crease it's impossible to look away.

Lasith Malinga

Sri Lanka's pace sensation Lasith Malinga has got '1-7-2004' inked, which is the date when he made his Test debut. Also tattooed on his body is '28-3-2007', the day he took four wickets in four balls against South Africa in Guyana during the 2007 World Cup.

Dale Steyn

South Africa paceman Dale Steyn has patriotism inscribed on his left bicep. He has three Proteas - the national flower of South Africa - in the colours of the national flag.

He explains, “You have blue, yellow, and red. The leaves are in black and I'm white. Ha-ha, I'm white...that's a joke that I make. People sometimes find it offensive."

Like other cricketers, Steyn also has a penchant for numbers.