Gautam Gambhir

Gautam Gambhir born 14 October 1981,in Delhi is an Indian opening batsman. He has been a member of the Indian national cricket team since 2003 (ODIs) and 2004. Gambhir had been a prolific run-scorer in domestic cricket with an average of over 50 but his two successive double-hundreds in 2002 (one of them against the visiting Zimbabweans) made him a strong contender for India's opening slot. He became only the fourth Indian batsman to score a double century in a tour game at home; the previous three being Sunil Gavaskar, Dilip Vengsarkar and Sachin Tendulkar. He is the only Indian batsman to score more than 300 runs in four consecutive Test series. He is also the only Indian, and one of only four international cricketers, to have scored five hundreds in five consecutive test matches.On July 2009, for a period of ten days he was the number one ranked batsman in ICC Test rankings.
Gambhir attended Modern School, New Delhi.Gambhir was selected in 2000 for the first intake of the National Cricket Academy in Bangalore.

Mahendra Singh Dhoni

Mahendra Singh Dhoni, sometimes called as Mahi born 7 July 1981 in Ranchi, Bihar
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 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, first time in history. Dhoni has also been the recipient of many awards including the ICC ODI Player of the Year award in 2008 and 2009 , 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 Forbes. He was named as the captain of ICC World Test and ICC ODI teams for 2009.
Mahendra Singh Dhoni was born in Ranchi,His paternal village Lvali is in the Lamgarha block of the Almora District of Uttarakhand. Dhoni's parents, moved from Uttarakhand to Ranchi where Pan Singh worked in junior management positions in MECON. Dhoni has a sister Jayanti and a brother Narendra. Dhoni had long hair which he has now shortened; he cut it because he wanted to look like his favourite film star John Abraham.Dhoni is a fan of Adam Gilchrist, and his childhood idols were cricket teammate Sachin Tendulkar, Bollywood actor Amitabh Bachchan and singer Lata Mangeshkar.
Dhoni studied at DAV Jawahar Vidya Mandir, Shyamali,(now the school is known as JVM , Shyamli,Ranchi) Ranchi,Jharkhand where he initially excelled in badminton and football and was selected at district and club level in these sports. Dhoni was a goalkeeper for his football team and was sent to play cricket for a local cricket club by his football coach. Though he had not played cricket, Dhoni impressed with his wicket-keeping skills and became the regular wicketkeeper at the Commando cricket club (1995–1998). Based on his performance at club cricket, he was picked for the 1997/98 season Vinoo Mankad Trophy Under-16 Championship and he performed well. Dhoni focused on cricket after his 10th standard.

Yuvraj Singh

Yuvraj Singh born 12 December 1981 in 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.
Yuvraj first came to attention when he captained the U-19 Punjab cricket team in the final of the Cooch-Behar Trophy against Bihar U-19s, in which he scored 358.He then gained selection for the U-19 World Cup in Sri Lanka in January 2000, where he was part of a team lead by Mohammed Kaif which won the tournament. Yuvraj was subsequently selected in 2000 for the first intake of the National Cricket Academy in Bangalore

Mohammad Azharuddin

Mohammad Azharuddin born 8 February 1963, Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh also known as Azhar, is a former captain of the Indian cricket team who was disgraced after being involved in a match-fixing scandal. He was a right-handed batsman and usually batted at five in Test cricket. He is presently a member of Indian parliament. He represents the Moradabad constituency of Uttar Pradesh and is a member of the Indian National Congress.
In his prime, he had a graceful, fluid batting style, comparable to that of his English contemporary, David Gower. 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 praising Sachin Tendulkar.
Azhar, as he is popularly known, grew up in Hyderabad and attended a catholic convent boys school All Saints High School in Hyderabad. Indian cricketers such as Venkatapathy Raju and Noel David have also attended the same school.
Azhar scored a total of 22 centuries in Test cricket at an average of 45, and 7 in ODIs at an average of 37. He scored a century in each of his first three Tests which is a record. An excellent fielder, he took a world record 156 catches in ODI cricket.

He was given LBW out for 199 in a test match against Sri Lanka and it was his highest Test Score.In 1991 he was named as a Wisden Cricketer of the Year and was for many years an inspirational figure in the Indian team with his athletic fielding and leadership.

Anil Kumble

Anil Kumble born 17 October 1970 in Bangalore, Karnataka is a former Indian cricketer and captain of the Indian Test cricket team. He is a right-arm leg spin (legbreak googly) 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 International Cricket Council. 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.

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.
Srinath was born in Mysore in Karnataka. He was attracted towards cricket right from an early age. He holds a Bachelor of Engineering degree in Instrumentation Technology from Sri Jayachamarajendra College of Engineering, Mysore.

Kambli

Kambli was born in Mumbai. He rose to prominence, when he shared an unbroken partnership of 664 in a school match with Sachin Tendulkar. Kambli contributed 349* before their coach Acharekar forced the pair to declare. Kambli, who started his Ranji trophy career with a six off the first ball he faced, soon followed Sachin in to the Indian team. Kambli had an exciting start to his test career making two double-centuries and two centuries in just seven tests. However, he lost his touch midway through his career and was subsequently dropped from the team. His technical insecurity against fast short-pitched bowling, and disciplinary problems, militated against his selection. He played in his last Test match aged just 24.
Kambli, nevertheless, was able to make frequent comebacks into the one-day squad, but could not cement his place in the team. He played his last ODI in 2000.
Test debut: India vs England at Kolkata, 1st Test, 1992/93
Latest Test: India vs New Zealand at Cuttack, 3rd Test, 1995/96
ODI debut: India vs Pakistan at Sharjah, Wills Trophy, 2nd Match, 1991/92
Latest ODI: India vs Sri Lanka at Sharjah, Coca-Cola Champions Trophy, 2000/01
In August 2009, Indian TV channels reported that Kambli opened Khel Bharti Sports Academy in Mumbai and declared to retire from his cricket career and teach as a coach in Khel Bharti Academy on 15th Aug 2009

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.He was born into a Jat family from Haryana. 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.
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 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.

Sourav 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. Although his playmanship was appreciated, he was only mildly successful and was condemned as being arrogant.

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 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.

Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar

Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar pronunciation born 24 April 1973 in Mumbai is an Indian cricketer widely regarded as one of the greatest batsmen in the history of cricket. He is the leading run-scorer and century maker in Test and One Day International cricket.In 2002, Wisden ranked him the second greatest Test batsman of all time, next to Donald Bradman, and the second greatest one day international batsman of all time, next to Viv Richards.In September 2007, the Australian leg spinner Shane Warne rated Tendulkar as the greatest player he has played with or against.Tendulkar was the only player of the current generation to be included in Bradman's Eleven.He is sometimes referred to as Little Master or Master Blaster.
Tendulkar is the highest run scorer in both Test matches and ODIs, and also the batsman with the most centuries in either form of the game. The first player to score fifty centuries in all international cricket combined, he now has ninety international centuries.

On 20 November 2009, Tendulkar passed 30,000 runs in international cricket.

On 17 October 2008, when he surpassed Brian Lara's record for the most runs scored in Test Cricket, he also became the first batsman to score 12,000 runs in that form of the game,having also been the third batsman and first Indian to pass 11,000 runs in Test cricket.He was also the first player to score 10,000 runs in one-day internationals, and also the first player to cross every subsequent 1000-run mark that has been crossed in ODI cricket history. In the fourth Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy against Australia, Tendulkar surpassed Australia's Allan Border to become the player to cross the 50-run mark the most number of times in Test cricket history, and also the second ever player to score 10 Test centuries against Australia, after only Sir Jack Hobbs of England more than 70 years back.Tendulkar has been honoured with the Padma Vibhushan award, India's second highest civilian award, and the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna award, India's highest sporting honour.

Sunil Gavaskar

Sunil Manohar "Sunny" Gavaskar born 10 July 1949 in Bombay, Maharashtra, is a former cricketer who played during the 1970s and 1980s for Bombay and India. Widely regarded as one of the greatest opening batsmen in test match history, Gavaskar set world records during his career for the most runs and most centuries scored by any batsman. He held the record of 34 Test centuries for almost two decades before it was broken by Sachin Tendulkar in December 2005.
Gavaskar was widely admired for his technique against fast bowling, with a particularly high average of 65.45 against the West Indies, who possessed a four-pronged fast bowling attack regarded as the most vicious in Test history. His captaincy of the Indian team, however, was less successful. The team at one stage went 31 Test matches without a victory. There were incidents like crowd displeasure at Eden Gardens in Calcutta leading to multiple matches being disrupted, in response to the poor performance of the Indian team. Turbulent performances of the team lead to multiple exchanges of captaincy between Gavaskar and Kapil Dev, with one of Gavaskar's sackings coming just six months before Kapil led India to victory at the 1983 Cricket World Cup.

Kapil Dev

Kapil Dev Ramlal Nikhanj(born 6 January 1959, Chandigarh), better known as Kapil Dev, is a former Indian cricketer. He captained the Indian cricket team in the 1983 Cricket World Cup, which India won. Kapil Dev was named by Wisden as the Indian Cricketer of the Century in 2002.Kapil Dev had a rather prosaic stint as India's national cricket coach for 10 months between October 1999 and August 2000.
Kapil was a right-arm pace bowler noted for his graceful action and potent outswinger, and was India's main strike bowler through most of his career. He also developed a fine inswinging yorker during the 1980s which he used very effectively against tail-enders. As a batsman he was a natural striker of the ball who could hook and drive effectively. A naturally aggressive player, he often helped India in difficult situations by taking the attack to the opposition. He was nicknamed The Haryana Hurricane he represented the Haryana cricket team in domestic cricket. He retired as India's highest wicket taker in both main formats of the game (Test, as well as ODI) and to date is the only person to take 400 wickets and score more than 5,000 runs in test cricket.