Suresh Raina

Suresh Kumar Raina pronunciation (born 27 November 1986, Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh, India) is an Indian cricketer from the state of Uttar Pradesh. Raina has been a member of the Indian cricket team for ODIs since July 2005, and was included in the Test squad in early 2006, but has yet to make his Test debut. Domestically he plays for Uttar Pradesh in the Ranji Trophy and Central Zone in the Duleep Trophy. He is an attacking left-handed batsman , who is known for his ability to hit the stumps from the infield.The youngest in a family of five children, Raina decided to take up cricket seriously in 1999, and moved from his home town of Ghaziabad, near New Delhi to Lucknow, the capital of Uttar Pradesh, to attend the specialist government Sports College. He rose to become the captain of the Uttar Pradesh U-16s came to prominence amongst Indian selectors in 2002, when he was selected at the age of 15 and a half years for the U-19 tour to England, where he made a pair of half-centuries in the U-19 Test matches.[1] He toured Sri Lanka later that year with the U-17 team. He made his Ranji Trophy debut for Uttar Pradesh against Assam in February 2003 at the age of 16, but did not play another match until the following season. In late 2003, he toured Pakistan for the U-19 Asian ODI Championship before being selected for the 2004 U-19 World Cup, where he scored three half centuries, including a 90 scored off only 38 balls. He was then awarded a Border-Gavaskar scholarship to train at the Australian Cricket Academy and in early 2005, he made his first-class limited overs debut, and scored 645 runs that season at an average of 53.75. He was selected to participate in the Challenger Series in early 2005 , and after injury to Sachin Tendulkar and suspension to captain Sourav Ganguly, Raina was selected for the Indian Oil Cup 2005 in Sri Lanka He is also an occasional off-

Dinesh Karthik

Krishnakumar Dinesh Karthik (born 1 June 1985 in Madras, Tamil Nadu, India) is a wicketkeeper-batsman who has made his debut for the Indian cricket team in 2004 and has been a regular member of the team for varying periods since then, including a stint in 2007 as a specialist opening batsman and non-wicket-keepter. Karthik was a batsman in his junior career, but turned to wicket-keeping in order to improve his future prospects. Throughout his career, Karthik has been criticised for unreliable glovework symptomatic of a non-specialist wicket-keeper.

Rising through the junior ranks, Karthik made his first-class debut in late-2002 for Tamil Nadu as a 17-year-old, and was dropped in his first season despite his healthy run-scoring because of his problematic glovework. He fought his way back into the team and after playing for India at the 2004 Under-19 World Cup, made his ODI and Test cricket debut in late-2004. This came after India had struggled to find a reliable gloveman in the past few years. Karthik was the regular wicket-keeper in Tests, making rare appearances in ODIs. During this period, Karthik struggled and averaged less than 20 with the bat, and he was replaced as Test wicketkeeper by Mahendra Singh Dhoni, who had been prolific and destructive with the bat in ODIs, in late-2005. After donning the mantle of an opener for Tamil Nadu and raising himself to the standard of a specialist batsman at domestic level, he was recalled to the national squad as a batsman in late-2006 after injuries and form slumps hit other batsmen, playing occasional matches in both forms of cricket on the tour to South Africa, and scoring a helf-century in a Test as an opener. Following India's elimination from the first round of the 2007 Cricket World Cup, the selectors made multiple changes, and Karthik became a non-wicket-keeping opening batsman in the Test team and regularly played ODIs, batting in the middle order. He made his maiden Test century against Bangladesh and then was India's leading scorer in the Test tour of England, helping India to win their first series in England in 21 years. However, Karthik suffered a form slump in late-2007 and was dropped from the Test team, and since then has only made sporadic international appearances, although he continues to score heavily in domestic cricket. These have come in occasional appearances as a specialist batsman when other players were rested or injured, or as a wicket-keeper when Dhoni was sidelined. Karthik's glovework for India continues to be criticised.

Mohammad Kaif

Mohammad Kaif (born December 1, 1980 in Allahabad, Uttar Pradesh, India) is an Indian cricketer, more specifically a middle-order batsman. He is a thinly-built cricketer who made it to the national team on the strength of his performances at the Under-19 level, where he captained the Indian team to victory in the Under-19 World Cup in 2000. He can be both defensive and aggressive, as variable strike rates in Test and ODI cricket suggest.

International career

Kaif made his Test debut in 2000 against South Africa in Bangalore soon after, and was selected in the first intake of the National Cricket Academy in Bangalore. early international career was patchy, with the occasional outstanding performance backed up by ordinary batting. His most famous feat was helping India chase down 326 with a marvellous 87* (off 75 balls) in the 2002 NatWest Series Final. The effort earned him his first Man of the Match award. In the series against Bangladesh in late 2004, he was named Man of the Series for his consistency in all the three ODIs. Kaif earned himself a Test cap against South Africa when he was 20. Although dropped after some ordinary performances, he made a good comeback to the Test side against Australia late in 2004 scoring two gritty half-centuries. He is a very fast runner between the wickets and an excellent cover fielder; most notably his agility and throwing accuracy. He also has the world record of five catches in a World Cup match.

The team management tend to use him in the middle order, though his successes have almost always come playing high up - at number 3 rather than at number 7. He tends to score big when given the time to settle. His usual position in domestic games and in county cricket has been number 3. But given the number of players in that mold, such as Dravid, Raina and Yuvraj, Kaif found it difficult to play at the number 3 spot on a consistent basis. With the arrival of Greg Chappell and Rahul Dravid being appointed captain, the number 3 slot was given to either Irfan Pathan or Mahendra Singh Dhoni to accelerate the scoring rate.

In March 2006, he was recalled to the Test team in place of the injured Yuvraj Singh for the First Test against England in Nagpur. Despite top-scoring with a dogged 91 to save the Test match, he was omitted for the following match when Yuvraj had recovered his fitness. But he found a place in the four Tests in the West Indies, after Sachin Tendulkar was injured. He hit 148 not out in the second Test, his maiden Test century.

According to the Times of India, as of July 2005, he was one of only five cricketers from Uttar Pradesh to have made it to the national side. As of 2009 though the Indian team is well represented by Uttar Pradesh with as many as three regulars, Suresh Raina, Praveen Kumar and Rudra Pratap Singh in the ODI team. He is the current captain of both Central Zone and Uttar Pradesh. He also captained the national ODI team in the 2005-06 Challenger Trophy in the absence of regular captain Rahul Dravid.

In late 2006, he was dropped from the ODI team and Test squad in favour of Dinesh Karthik. In April 2008, he was recalled to the Test squad for the Second Test against South Africa, but did not play.

Dinesh Mongia

Dinesh Mongia (born 17 April 1977 in Chandigarh, Punjab, India) is an Indian cricketer who has appeared in ODIs for India. Mongia is a heavy run-scorer in domestic cricket with just under 6850 runs at an average of just under 50 and his highest score being an unbeaten 308. He made his ODI debut in 2001 against Australia without much success but in his fifth match, he scored his first half-century (71 off 75 balls) against England. In 2002, almost a year after his debut, he picked up his first and only century (an unbeaten 159 off just 147 balls against Zimbabwe) to win the Man of the Match award. He was also named the Man of the Series. But after a string of below-par performances, he was dropped from the Indian side in April 2005.

In 2004 he signed for Lancashire as an overseas player when Stuart Law was injured. In 2005 he was signed by Leicestershire on a full time contract.

He was again selected in the Indian team for the Aug 2006 Tri-Series in Sri Lanka. However, the tournament was affected by the pull out of the third team, South Africa, due to a bomb explosion in Colombo, and by incessant rain. Instead, Mongia got an opportunity in the September 2006 tri-series against Australia and West Indies in Malaysia, where he made an unbeaten 68 in the final group game against Australia, although India lost the game and were unable to reach the final.

Dinesh plays for the Lashings World XI team. He also plays for Chandigarh Lions in the Indian Cricket League.

YUVARAJ SINGH

Yuvraj Singh born 12 December 1981 in a family from Chandigarh, India) is a cricketer from India, and the son of former Indian fast bowler and Punjabi movie star Yograj Singh. He has been a member of the Indian cricket team since 2000 (ODIs) and played his first Test match in 2003. He was the vice captain of the ODI team from late-2007 to late-2008. At the 2007 World Twenty20 he hit six sixes in an over against England's Stuart Broad - a feat only performed three times previously in any form of senior cricket, and never previously in an international match between two Test cricket nations.

Zaheer Khan

A left arm Fast bowler, Zaheer is known for his ability to swing the ball both ways, and as a batsman also holds the record for the highest Test score by a No. 11. After leading the Indian pace attack for much of the early 2000s, recurring hamstring injuries in 2003 and 2004 forced him out of the team, and after returning for a year, he was dropped again in late 2005. Strong performances on the domestic circuit have seen him recalled to the team as its leading pace bowler.

Zaheer was selected in 2000 for the first intake of the National Cricket Academy in Bangalore, He made his Test debut against Bangladesh at Dhaka and ODI debut against Kenya at Nairobi during the ICC KnockOut Trophy in the same year.

In late 2005 pacemen Shanthakumaran Sreesanth and R. P. Singh made their international debuts and became regular members of the Indian team making it difficult for Zaheer to retain his position in the playing eleven. The Board of Control for Cricket in India demoted Zaheer from a B-grade to a C-grade contract at the end of the year.

He returned for the 2006 tour of Pakistan, where India fielded three left arm pacemen and had difficulty dismissing Pakistan with a lack of variety in the bowling attack. Zaheer, with inferior results to those of Irfan Pathan and Singh, was dropped.

In Indian domestic cricket, Zaheer made his name playing for Baroda, but transferred to Mumbai at the start of the [[2006-07 Indian cricket season|his debut for Mumbai until the final of the Ranji Trophy in which he took 9 wickets as Mumbai defeated Bengal.

In 2006 Zaheer signed for Worcestershire County Cricket Club as their second overseas player as a replacement for Australian Nathan Bracken. He became the first Worcestershire player to take 10 wickets in a match on debut for over 100 years against Somerset, even though Worcestershire eventually lost the game. In June 2006 he took the first nine wickets to fall in the first innings against Essex, ending with 9-138; had wicket-keeper Steven Davies not dropped a catch offered by last man Darren Gough he would have become the first bowler ever to take all ten for the county.

In late 2006, Zaheer was recalled to the Test and ODI team for the tour of South Africa, following a form slump to Baroda team-mate Irfan Pathan and injuries to Munaf Patel. After consistent performances on tour, his performance in early 2007 in home ODIs against the West Indies and Sri Lanka, including a career best 5/42, saw him named in the squad for the 2007 Cricket World Cup. He is moulded on the likes of Wasim Akram and Chaminda Vaas, though not as successful as they are.

He won the Man of the Match award in the first test between India and Australia, at Bangalore, in the 2008-2009 series for his all round performance with the bat and the ball. He became the third Indian, after Rusi Surti and Kapil Dev, to score a half century and take five wickets in an innings in the same match against Australia. He has since become the strike-bowler and a permanent fixture in the Indian team.Zaheer also won the Man of the Match award in the T20 Worldcup 2009 against Ireland for taking 4 wickets by giving only 19 runs.

As of 25 March 2010, Zaheer is ranked at No.6 in ICC Test bowlers ranking.[[Media:http://www.cricinfo.com/rankings/content/page/211270.htmlFile:Http://www.cricinfo.com/rankings/content/page/211270.html]]

ODI Career

He has taken over 232 ODI wickets at an average of 26 runs per wicket taking 4 wickets in a match 6 times (4 times against Zimbabwe) including 32 wickets against Zimbabwe at an average of 17.46 runs per dismissal. He, along with other seamers like Javagal Srinath and Ashish Nehra helped India to make it to the finals of the 2003 Cricket World Cup. Zaheer finished the 2003 World cup as 4th highest wicket taker - 18 wickets from 11 matches at an average of 20 runs per wicket.[3]

Test Career

Zaheer has taken over 200 Test wickets at an average of just over 33 runs per wicket. Zaheer was at the peak of his Test career in the 2002-2003 season. In 16 matches from the beginning of the tour of West Indies in April 2002 to the end of the 1st match against Australia in December 2003, Brisbane, Zaheer took 54 wickets from 16 matches at an average of 30 runs. It all turned downhill after the First Test against Australia in Brisbane in December 2003. Having taken 5 of the top 7 Australian batsmen in the first innings (5 for 95), he injured himself in the second during the opening spell. After missing the Second Test in Adelaide, he returned for the Third Test in Melbourne, but was injured midway through the match and was forced to return home. The injury kept him from the early 2004 tour of Pakistan, India's first Test series victory there.

Zaheer holds the world record for the highest Test score by a number 11 when he scored 75 for India v Bangladesh in Dhaka, 2004. His partnership with Sachin Tendulkar which produced 133 runs is an Indian-record for the tenth-wicket. His batting average of 19.46 at number 10 is also the highest for a batsman in ODIs.[4]

Mahendra Singh Dhoni

Mahendra Singh Dhoni, " (born 7 July 1981 in Ranchi, Bihar) (now in Jharkhand) is an Indian cricketer and the current captain of the Indian team.

Initially recognized as an extravagantly flamboyant and destructive batsman, Dhoni has come to be regarded as one of the coolest heads to captain the Indian ODI side. Under his captaincy, India won the 2007 ICC World Twenty20, CB Series of 2007–08 , and the Border-Gavaskar trophy 2008 in which they beat Australia 2–0. He also captained Chennai Super Kings to victory in the recent IPL 2010. He is now captain of India in all three forms of the game and also led the team to their first ever bilateral ODI series wins in Sri Lanka and New Zealand. Dhoni also led team India to number one position in ICC rankings in test cricket for the first time. Dhoni has also been the recipient of many awards including the ICC ODI Player of the Year award in 2008 and 2009 (the first Indian player to achieve this feat), the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna award and the Padma Shri, India's fourth highest civilian honour in 2009. As of January 2010, Dhoni is the highest ranked ODI batsman on the ICC Rankings List. Dhoni was named as captain of Wisden's first-ever Dream Test XI Team in 2009 and has topped the list of world’s top 10 earning cricketers compiled by . He was named as the captain of ICC World Test and ICC ODI teams for 2009.

Javagal Srinath

Javagal Srinath (born August 31, 1969 in Mysore, Karnataka) is a former Indian cricketer. He was a frontline fast bowler for the Indian cricket team until his retirement, being the only Indian pace bowler apart from Kapil Dev to take 200 Test wickets, until Zaheer Khan achieved that milestone. At his peak, he was arguably one of the world's fastest bowlers. One ball that he bowled during the 1996 tour of South Africa measured 156kph. He also clocked 154.5 km/h at the 1999 World Cup

Anil Kumble

Anil Kumble (born 17 October 1970 in Bangalore, Karnataka) is a former Indian cricketer and captain of the Indian Test cricket team. bowler and a right-hand batsman. He is currently the leading wicket-taker for India in both Test and One Day International matches. At present he is the third highest wicket-taker in Test cricket and one of only three bowlers to have taken more than 600 Test wickets. Kumble has had success bowling with other spinners, notably Venkatapathy Raju and Rajesh Chauhan in the 1990s and Harbhajan Singh since 2000.

Kumble was appointed the captain of the Indian Test cricket team on 8 November 2007. His first assignment as captain was the three-test home series against Pakistan that India won 1-0. Then he led the Indian Test team on its tour to Australia for the 2007-08 four-test series of The Border-Gavaskar Trophy that India lost 1-2. Kumble succeeded his state team mate Rahul Dravid, who resigned as the captain in September 2007 . Since his debut in international cricket on 25 April 1990, he has taken 619 Test wickets and 337 ODI wickets. Although often criticized as not a big turner of the ball Kumble is the second highest wicket taker among leg spinners in Test cricket behind leg spinner Shane Warne of Australia and the third of all bowlers after Warne and off spinner Muttiah Muralitharan of Sri Lanka and has claimed 619 Test wickets. He is one of only two bowlers in the history of cricket to have taken all 10 wickets in a test innings, the other being Jim Laker of England.Kumble is currently ranked the 18th best bowler in Tests by the . He was awarded the Padma Shri, India's 4th highest civilian honour, by the Government of India in 2005. After playing for India for 18 years, he announced his retirement on 2 November 2008. His last match was against Australia at his favourite venue, the Feroz Shah Kotla Ground in Delhi.

Virender Sehwag

Virender Sehwag (born 20 October 1978, in Delhi, India), affectionately known as Viru, is one of the leading batsmen in the Indian cricket team. Sehwag is an aggressive right-handed opening batsman and an occasional right-arm off-spin bowler. He played his first One Day International in 1999 and joined the Indian Test cricket team in 2001. In April 2009, Sehwag became the only Indian to be honored as the Wisden Leading Cricketer in the World for his performance in 2008, subsequently becoming the first player of any nationality to retain the award for 2009.

Sehwag holds multiple records including the highest score made by an Indian in Test cricket (319), which was also the fastest triple century in the history of international cricket (reached 300 off only 278 balls) as well as the fastest 250 by any batsman (in 207 balls against Sri Lanka on 3rd December, 2009 at the Brabourne stadium in Mumbai). Sehwag also holds the distinction of being one of three batsmen in the world to have ever surpassed 300 twice in Test cricket, and the only one to score two triple centuries and take a five-wicket innings haul. In March 2009, Sehwag smashed the fastest century ever scored by an Indian in ODI cricket, from 60 balls.

Sehwag was appointed as vice-captain of the Indian team under Rahul Dravid in October 2005 but due to poor form, he was later replaced by V. V. S. Laxman in December 2006 as Test vice-captain. In January 2007, Sehwag was dropped from the ODI team and later from the Test team as well.During his term as vice-captain, Sehwag skippered the team in place of injured Dravid in 2 ODIs and 1 Test. Following his return to form in 2008 and the retirement of Anil Kumble, Sehwag has been reappointed as the vice-captain for both Tests and ODIs. By early 2009, Sehwag had reestablished himself as one of the best performing batsmen in ODI cricket.

Sadagoppan Ramesh

Sadagoppan Ramesh (born October 16, 1975 in Madras - now Chennai) is an Indian cricketer. He is a left-handed batsman and a right-arm offbreak bowler. On debut, facing Waqar Younis and Wasim Akram, he made a solid 44 off 41 balls. He was a relatively aggressive opener, ending his Test career with a strike rate at 46 runs per 100 balls - better than his opening partners such as Devang Gandhi and Shiv Sunder Das.

Despite having run up a Test average of over 50 in his first six Tests, Australian detractors claimed that when it came to their own bowlers, Ramesh's form would not hold up. Ramesh, however, soon proved that he could easily play against other top-class cricketers. After a respectable series in 2001-02 in which he didn't convert his starts into big scores, he was soon discarded from the team. In the Sri Lankan tour, Ramesh passed 30 runs in 5 out of the 6 innings but only one innings was converted to a 50. Whilst he struggled in Australia, he did score a total of 110 runs in Shoaib Akhtar' s first match. Shoaib took 4 wickets in each innings, including the first ball wicket of Sachin Tendulkar with an inswinging yorker.

He played domestic cricket for Assam in the 2007–08 season.He has also till recently played domestic cricket for Kerala during the 2005–06 season and 2006–07 season.

Ramesh has recently acted in a Tamil movie, Santosh Subramaniam released April 2008.

Trivia Ramesh is the only Indian bowler to take a wicket off his first ball in ODI cricket. The victim being Nixon McLean of West Indies.

Nilesh Kulkarni is the only Indian bowler to take a wicket off his first ball in Test cricket.

Harbhajan Singh

Harbhajan Singh born: 3 July 1980 in Jalandhar, Punjab, India) is an Indian cricketer. A specialist bowler, he has the second-highest number of Test wickets by an off spinner behind Sri Lanka's Muttiah Muralitharan.

Harbhajan made his Test and One Day International (ODI) debuts in early 1998. His career was initially beset by investigations into the legality of his bowling action and disciplinary incidents that raised the ire of cricket authorities. However in 2001, with leading leg spinner Anil Kumble injured, Harbhajan's career was resuscitated after Indian captain Sourav Ganguly called for his inclusion in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy team. In that series victory over Australia, Harbhajan established himself as the team's leading spinner by taking 32 wickets, becoming the first Indian bowler to take a hat trick in Test cricket.

A finger injury in mid 2003 sidelined him for much of the following year, allowing Kumble to regain his position as the first choice spinner. Harbhajan reclaimed a regular position in the team upon his return in late 2004, but often found himself watching from the sidelines in Test matches outside the Indian subcontinent with typically only one spinner, Kumble, being used. Throughout 2006 and into early 2007, Harbhajan's accumulation of wickets fell and his bowling average increased, and he was increasingly criticised for bowling defensively with less loop. Following India's first-round elimination from the 2007 Cricket World Cup, Harbhajan was replaced by other spinners in the national squad for both formats. He regained a regular position in the team in late 2007, but became the subject of more controversy. In early 2008, he was given a ban by the International Cricket Council (ICC) for racially vilifying Andrew Symonds. The ban was revoked upon appeal, but in April, Harbhajan was banned from the 2008 Indian Premier League and suspended from the ODI team by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) for slapping Sreesanth after a match.

He was conferred the Padma Shri, India's fourth highest civilian honour, in 2009.

V. V. S. Laxman

Vangipurappu Venkata Sai Laxman (born November 1, 1974, in Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh, India), better known as VVS Laxman, is an Indian cricketer. Laxman represents Hyderabad in domestic cricket and has played for Lancashire in the English county cricket competition. He was the captain of the Deccan Chargers team in the Indian Premier League in its first year before being replaced by Adam Gilchrist for the next year.

Laxman bats right-handed and occasionally bowls off-spin. He is noted for his superb timing and the ability to hit against the spin, reminiscent of his role model Mohammed Azharuddin. Laxman is particularly noted for the skillful use of his supple wrists, which allow him to flick the ball to various places, but usually through the leg side. This also helps in his catching, and he in stationary catching positions, typically fields the slips cordon or in a bat pad position.

Laxman is noted most for his batting against Australia, in both tests and one day internationals. As of February, 2010, he has scored 6 out of his 15 test hundreds, and 4 out of his 6 ODI hundreds against Australia. He has two double-hundreds in tests, both of them against Australia, including his personal best of 281 at Kolkata. He has also scored 10 fifties in tests and 2 in ODIs against Australia.

Ajit Agarkar

Ajit Bhalchandra Agarkar this sound" pronunciation (help·info) (born 4 December 1977 in Mumbai - formerly Bombay) is an Indian international cricketer, who has been on the fringes of the Indian side in both tests and one day matches since his debut in 1998. He is a fast bowling all-rounder, who usually bats just below the wicket keeper at number 8, and often opens the bowling.

A resident of Narayan Pujari Nagar on Worli Seaface, he was raised by his grandparents at Shivaji Park where many a great cricketer practised and went on to play for India. He is an alumnus of Ruparel College in Matunga, Mumbai. He is married to a muslim girl,Fatima and they have a son named Raj.Slight, fiery and gifted, Ajit Agarkar never came to terms with being Kapil Dev's replacement as India's matchwinner with bat and ball. The ingredients were there, and in the right proportions, but never formed a heady and long-lasting mix. Agarkar's entry into international cricket - with an avalanche of wickets that made him the then fastest to 50 in ODIs - was matched for speed only by an astonishing batting slump during which he collected seven consecutive Test ducks against Australia. But he could bat, because tailenders simply do not score half-centuries in 21 balls, as Agarkar did in a one-day game against Zimbabwe, or score Test centuries at Lord's, as Agarkar did in some style in 2002. His aggression is an asset, but the body cannot sometimes support it. He turned into a one-day specialist - arguably India's most effective ODI bowler in 2005-06 - but a disappointing World Cup campaign resulted in him being dropped for the Bangladesh series that followed.

Rahul Dravid

Rahul Sharad Dravid pronunciation (help·info) (born 11 January 1973) is one of the most experienced cricketers in the Indian national team, of which he has been a regular member since 1996. He was appointed as the captain of the Indian cricket team in October 2005 and resigned from the post in September 2007. Dravid was honored as one of the five Wisden Cricketers of the Year in 2000. Dravid was also awarded the ICC Player of the Year and the Test Player of the Year at the inaugural awards ceremony held in 2004.

Known as the Wall due to his ability to bat for long durations, and Jammy due to his endorsement for Kissan and also because his father worked in Kissan, a jam company, Dravid holds multiple world cricketing records. He is the second Indian batsman, after Sachin Tendulkar, and the fifth international player to have scored more than 11,000 runs in Test cricket. On 14 February 2007, he became the sixth player in the history of world cricket and the third Indian, after Sachin Tendulkar and Sourav Ganguly, to score 10,000 runs in ODI cricket. He is the first and the only batsman to score a century in all ten Test playing nations.With more than 185 catches, Dravid currently holds the world record for the highest number of catches in Test cricket. Dravid has also been involved in more than 80 century partnerships with 18 different partners — a world record.

Ajay Jadeja

Ajaysinhji Daulatsinhji Jadeja was born on 1 February 1971 in Jamnagar, Gujarat in a Rajasthani family. He was a regular in the Indian cricket team between 1992 and 2000, playing in 15 Test matches and 196 One Day Internationals. His cricketing achievements were later overshadowed by a 5 year ban for match-fixing. The ban was later quashed by the Delhi High Court on 27 January 2003, making Jadeja eligible to play domestic and international cricket. Jadeja had approached the Delhi High Court on 2 February 2001, challenging the BCCI order imposing the five-year ban on the basis of the K. Madhavan Committee recommendations.

He was born into the royal family of Nawanagar, now Jamnagar, which has a cricketing pedigree, producing the likes of K. S. Ranjitsinhji and K. S. Duleepsinhji.

He was regarded as one of the best fielders in the Indian team in his time. One of his most remembered innings was his cameo innings in 1996 Cricket World Cup quarter-final against arch rivals Pakistan when he blasted 45 off 25 balls, including 40 from the final two overs by Waqar Younis. Jadeja along with Mohammed Azharuddin holds the record for the highest one day partnership record for the 4th and 5th wicket, set against Zimbabwe and Sri Lanka respectively.

Another memorable occasion of his career was taking 3 wickets for 3 runs in 1 over against England in Sharjah to win the match for India. Jadeja has captained India in 13 One-day matches. One of Jadeja's favourite hunting grounds was the Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bangalore, the venue of the quarter-final against Pakistan in the 1996 World Cup. The last time Jadeja played in a one day international was against Pakistan in the Pepsi Asia Cup on 3 June 2000. He scored 93 in a game that India eventually lost. Jadeja was the top scorer hitting 8 fours and 4 sixes.

Jadeja is currently the coach of Rajasthan and a cricket commentator. He is married to Aditi Jaitly, daughter of former Samata Party president Jaya Jaitly and Ashok Jaitly, former Chief Secretary, J&K

Sourav Chandidas Ganguly

Sourav Chandidas Ganguly (born 8 July 1972) is a former Indian cricketer, and captain of the Indian national team. Born into an affluent family, Ganguly was introduced into the world of cricket by his elder brother Snehasish. He started his career by playing in state and school teams. Currently, he is the 5th highest run scorer in ODIs and was the 5th person in history to cross the 10,000 run landmark and only the 2nd Indian to cross that landmark after Sachin Tendulkar. Wisden ranked him the sixth greatest one day international (ODI) batsman of all time, next to

After a series of plays in different Indian domestic tournaments such as the Ranji and Duleep trophies, Ganguly got his big-break while playing for India on their tour of England. He scored 131 runs and cemented his place in the Indian team. Ganguly's place in the team was assured after successful performances in series against Sri Lanka, Pakistan and Australia, winning the Man of the Match awards. In the 1999 Cricket World Cup, he was involved in a partnership of 318 runs with Rahul Dravid, which remains the highest overall partnership score in the World Cup tournament history.

Due to the match-fixing scandals in 2000 by other players of the team, and for his poor health, Indian captain Sachin Tendulkar resigned his position, and Ganguly was made the captain of the Indian cricket team. He soon received media criticism after an unsuccessful stint for county side Durham and for taking off his shirt in the final of the 2002 Natwest Trophy. He led India into the 2003 World Cup final, where they were defeated by Australia. Due to a decrease in individual performance, he was dropped from the team in the following year. Ganguly was awarded the Padma Shri in 2004, one of India's highest awards. He returned to the National team in 2006, and had successful batting displays. Around this time, he became involved in a dispute with Indian team coach Greg Chappell over several misunderstandings. Ganguly was again dropped from the team, however he was selected to play in the 2007 Cricket World Cup.

Ganguly joined the Kolkata Knight Riders team as captain for the Indian Premier League Twenty20 cricket tournament in 2008. The same year, after a home Test series against Australia, he announced his retirement from cricket. After his retirement, Ganguly continued to play for the Bengal team and was appointed the chairman of the Cricket Association of Bengal's Cricket Development Committee. The left-handed Ganguly was a prolific One Day International (ODI) batsman, with over 11,000 ODI runs to his credit. He is India's one of the most successful Test Captain to date, winning 21 out of 49 test matches. An aggressive Captain, Ganguly is credited with having nurtured the careers of many young players who played under him.

Navjot Singh Sidhu

Navjot Singh Sidhu (born 20 October 1963) is former Indian cricket batsman. After retirement from cricket Navjot Singh Sidhu took up television commentary, political career and films. He was born in Patiala, in the malwa region of Punjab. Sidhu was elected to the Lok Sabha as the member from Amritsar in 2004 on a Bharatiya Janata Party ticket; he later resigned, following his conviction for . After the Supreme Court stayed his conviction, he successfully contested the Amritsar Lok Sabha seat, defeating his Congress rival, State Finance Minister Surinder Singla, by 77,626 votes

Mohammad Azharuddin

Mohammad Azharuddin(born 8 February 1963, Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh) also known as Azhar, is an Indian politician and former cricketer. He was an accomplished batsman and captained the Indian cricket team for much of the 1990s, until his involvement in a match-fixing scandal forced him into retirement.A member of the Indian National Congress, Azharuddin won election from the Moradabad constituency of Uttar Pradesh to the Lok Sabha, the lower house of the Parliament of India.

In his prime, he had a graceful, fluid batting style, comparable to that of his English contemporary, David Gower and Australian batsman Greg Chappell. The wrist flick was his most characteristic shot and he fared best against spinners. The grace and fluidity of his wrist once prompted John Woodcock, a noted cricket writer, to say, "It's no use asking an Englishman to bat like Mohammad Azharuddin. For, it would be like expecting a greyhound to win the London Derby!" Former Indian captain and International umpire Venkataraghavan said that "Azharuddin had the best wrists in the game, but Tendulkar isn't too far behind" while

SACHIN TENDULKAR

Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar (born April 24, 1973) is an Indian cricketer, widely considered to be one of the greatest batsmen of all time. He currently holds the records for the most cumulative runs in One-Day Internationals, and the most number of centuries scored in both One-day Internationals and Test cricket. He made his international debut against Pakistan in 1989 at the age of sixteen, becoming India's youngest Test player. Although primarily a top-order batsman, Tendulkar has often proved to be a useful and effective slow bowler. He received India's highest sporting honour, the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna in the year 1997-1998 and the civilian award Padma Shri in 1999. His cricketing and batting abilities are widely regarded as genius by many stalwarts of the game. For instance, Sir Donald Bradman, the Australian great said of Sachin, "He reminds me of myself". He is affectionately known as The Little Master by his adoring fans.