Kapil Dev

Kapil Dev was the greatest pace bowler India has produced, and their greatest fast-bowling allrounder. If he had played at any other time - not when Imran Khan, Ian Botham and Richard Hadlee were contemporaries - he would surely have been recognised as the best allrounder in the world. In any case he did enough to be voted India's Cricketer of the Century during 2002. His greatest feats were to lead India almost jauntily, and by his allround example, to the 1983 World Cup, and to take the world-record aggregate of Test wickets from Hadlee. It was the stamina of the marathon runner that took him finally to 431 wickets and only a yard beyond. He might not have been quite the bowling equal of Imran, Hadlee or Botham at his best, and his strike rate was less than four wickets per Test. But he was still outstanding in his accuracy and ability to swing the ball, usually away from right-handers. And he could hit a ball even more brilliantly than he bowled it, with uncomplicated flair.

Kapil's most memorable knock was an unbeaten 175 in the 1983 World Cup against Zimbabwe at Tunbridge Wells in England, where he rescued India from 17 for five to 266 in 60 overs.

Kapil has claimed 434 Test and 253 One-day wickets in 15 years. He surpassed Richard Hadlee of New Zealand to become the world's highest wicket taker. Walsh of West Indies recently beat him to the world record.
Ever since he broke on the cricketing scene in 1978 as a young fast bowler, Kapil Dev Ramlal Nikhanj has become a household name in Indian cricket. Kapil Dev was the first genuine fast bowler on Indian soil and toiled hard under conditions not very conducive for his type of bowling to become the highest wicket taker in the world.
West Indian war horse Courtney Walsh recently surpassed Kapil's great effort of 434 Test wickets. Though Kapil reached the pinnacle of glory in Test cricket, his high water mark was winning the World Cup in 1983. He was named as the Wisden "Cricketer of the Year" in 1983.
Kapil began his career at Pakistan under the captaincy of Bishen Singh Bedi in 1978. He never looked back, emerging as the strike bowler for India.
Kapil made his Test and Limited Overs International (LOI) debuts in Pakistan during India's tours of 1978-79. Both his debuts were not very impressive in terms of wickets taken.
The tall and well-built Haryana 'Jat' showed that he had the potential to develop into a world-beater. The innings against Zimbabwe during the 1983 World Cup stands out for his ability to win matches single-handedly.
With India tottering at 17 for five, the country's chances of making further progress in the championship looked very bleak. But Kapil scored a marvelous unbeaten 175 (a record which stood for a long time) to take India through to World Cup triumph.

Full name	Kapildev Ramlal Nikhanj
Born	January 6, 1959, Chandigarh
Major teams	India, Haryana, Northamptonshire, Worcestershire
Batting style	Right-hand bat
Bowling style	Right-arm fast-medium

Career statistics
Test debut	Pakistan v India at Faisalabad - Oct 16-21, 1978
Last Test	New Zealand v India at Hamilton - Mar 19-23, 1994
ODI debut	Pakistan v India at Quetta - Oct 1, 1978
Last ODI	India v West Indies at Faridabad - Oct 17, 1994
First-class span	1975/76 - 1993/94
List A span	1977/78 - 1994/95

Irfan Pathan

Irfan Khan Pathan is considered by many, with reason, as the most talented swing and seam bowler to emerge from India since Kapil Dev. When he made his Test debut in Australia in 2003-04, it was with the energy of a 19-year-old, but a composed nous that was striking even for one who had been specifically readied for the purpose via the A-team and age-group channels. His instinct is not merely what to bowl to who and when, but also to keep learning new tricks. Already he possesses perhaps the most potent left-armer's outswinger in the world, is adept at reversing the ball, and enjoys the long spell. Thus equipped, he played a big part in India's one-day and the Test series wins on their revival tour of Pakistan. His batting reserves are expected to yield significant lower-order, perhaps even lower-middle-order, runs in the future.

ICC Emerging Player of the Year 2004

Full name	Irfan Khan Pathan
Born	October 27, 1984, Baroda, Gujarat
Major teams	India, Baroda, Middlesex
Batting style	Left-hand bat
Bowling style	Left-arm medium-fast

Career statistics
Test debut	Australia v India at Adelaide - Dec 12-16, 2003
ODI debut	Australia v India at Melbourne - Jan 9, 2004
First-class span	2000/01 - 2005/06
List A span	2001/02 - 2005/06

Wasim Jaffer

Wasim Jaffer (born February 16, 1978 in Bombay - now Mumbai) is an Indian cricketer, and a prolific scorer in Indian domestic cricket. He is a right-handed batsman and he bowls a right-arm offbreak.

Full name	Wasim Jaffer
Born	February 16, 1978, Bombay (now Mumbai), Maharashtra
Major teams	India, India A, Indian Board President's XI, Mumbai, West Zone
Batting style	Right-hand bat
Bowling style	Right-arm offbreak

Career statistics
Test debut	India v South Africa at Mumbai - Feb 24-26, 2000
ODI debut	South Africa v India at Durban - Nov 22, 2006
First-class span	1996/97 - 2007
List A span	1996/97 - 2006/07

Rudra Pratap Singh

Rudra Pratap Singh pronunciation (helpinfo) (born 6 December, 1985) is a left arm fast-medium bowler who has represented India in one day cricket and Test cricket.

R.P. Singh first came into contention during the under-19 World Cup in Bangladesh in 2004, when he took eight wickets for a very impressive average of 24.75. He later performed consistently in the Ranji Trophy for Uttar Pradesh and impressive performances saw him earn a place in the ODI side in 2005.

In his third one-day match, Singh got his first man of the match award as he played his part as India restricted Sri Lanka to a modest 196 all out. Swinging the ball on a batting wicket, he took 4 important wickets to rattle Sri Lanka. His bowling figures of 8.5 overs, 2 maidens, 35 runs and 4 wickets announced his arrival on the international stage.

He was selected to make his Test debut in the 2nd Test against Pakistan in Faisalabad, Pakistan in January 2006. He won the man of the match award on his debut after taking 5 wickets in the match.

His 4 wicket-haul in the fourth match of the one-day series against Pakistan in 2006, helped India take an unassailable 3-1 lead in the series, and won him the man of the match award. India went on to win the series 4-1. In just 11 ODI matches, he has been awarded the man of the match award 3 times.

He was favoured to S. Sreesanth for the ICC Champions Trophy 2006 due to his superior economy rate. However, he has been unable to maintain his level of performance, and is now no longer in the playing XI for ODIs.

In 2007 it was announced that Singh would be signing for English side Leicestershire as their second overseas signing. He was however unexpectedly recalled to the Indian side following their poor World Cup campaign and only made a handful of appearances.

He was included in the test squad for the tour to England and has performed well.

Full name	Rudra Pratap Singh
Born	December 6, 1985
Major teams	India, India A, India Under-19s, Leicestershire, Rajasthan Cricket Association President's XI, Uttar Pradesh
Batting style	Right-hand bat
Bowling style	Left-arm fast-medium

Career statistics
Test debut	Pakistan v India at Faisalabad - Jan 21-25, 2006
ODI debut	Zimbabwe v India at Harare - Sep 4, 2005
First-class span	2003/04 - 2007
List A span	2004/05 - 2007

Joginder Sharma

Joginder Sharma (born October 23, 1983 in Rohtak, Haryana, India) is an Indian cricketer who has made sporadic appearances for the Indian cricket team. A bowling all rounder, he is a right-handed batsman and a right-arm medium-fast bowler and captains his state, Haryana. He had often been compared to fellow Haryanan Kapil Dev, India's greatest all rounder, due to his similar aggressive batting style and fast bowling.

Sharma made his first-class debut for Haryana against Madhya Pradesh in the 2002/03 Ranji Trophy, hitting 81 before taking 11/84 to lead Haryana to a 103 run victory. He had made his debut in the limited over domestic arena the season before. Sharma finished his debut season with 24 wickets at 17.41 and 280 runs at 46.66 He followed this with 148 runs at 68.51 and 23 wickets at 23.39 in 2003/04 Ranji season. He was selected for the North Zone team for the Duleep Trophy, and took 6/59 in a match against West Zone during the victorious campaign.

Sharma gained national attention in a match for India A against the national team at Bangalore, when he dismissed Rahul Dravid, V. V. S. Laxman and Yuvraj Singh. He also played for the Rest of India side, which defeated Mumbai in the Irani Trophy.

Having scored two successive centuries, and securing a 14/116 in the 2004/05 Ranji Trophy against Vidarbha, Sharma won his place in the Indian side for the Bangladesh tour. He had limited batting opportunities, scoring 34 in two brief knocks at the end of the innings without being dismissed, but his bowling was uneffective, taking 1/99, and was dropped after playing in that ODI series. He ended the Ranji Trophy with 36 wickets, the second highest at 15.47 and 472 runs at 52. In 2005/06, he topped the Duleep Trophy bowling averages.

Sharma performed strongly in the 2006/07 Indian domestic season to bring himself into contention for national selection. His batting for North Zone in the Duleep Trophy yielded 421 runs in three matches, and he was subsequently the leading wicket-taker in the Ranji Trophy, taking 39 wickets in seven matches, as well as two ten-wicket hauls and a hat trick. Despite being unable to prevent Haryana from being relegated to the Plate division, he was recalled in January 2007 to the team at the expense of Irfan Pathan for the ODI series against the West Indies. He was selected for the second ODI in Cuttack, but after scoring 1 and failing to take a wicket, Pathan was immediately recalled and Sharma dropped. Sharma was not named in the Indian squad for the 2007 Cricket World Cup.

Full name	Joginder Sharma
Born	October 23, 1983, Rohtak
Major teams	India, Haryana, Tripura
Batting style	Right-hand bat
Bowling style	Right-arm fast-medium

Career statistics
Test debut
ODI debut	Bangladesh v India at Chittagong (MAA) - Dec 23, 2004
First-class span	2002/03 - 2006/07
List A span	2001/02 - 2006/07

Mahendra Singh Dhoni

Mahendra Singh Dhoni

Full Name: Mahendra Singh Dhoni

Born: July 7, 1981 in Ranchi, India

Batting Style : Right-handed batsman

Bowling Style : Right-arm medium

Fielding Position: Wicketkeeper

Test Debut : Sri Lanka vs. India at Chennai – December 2-6, 2005

ODI Debut : Bangladesh vs. India at Chittagong – December 23, 2004


Affectionately called ‘Mahi’, Mahendra Singh Dhoni is one of the avant-garde cricketers to have rocked the Indian cricket scenario. Noticeable for his shoulder length hair, Dhoni has become a popular youth icon in India. He has made a big impact in and outside the cricketing world. His power-packed performances, on-field agility, panache for bikes, et al have had fans, especially girls, swooning all over.

Hailing from the state of Jharkhand, Mahendra Singh Dhoni made his debut in the end of 2004 and has now become the skipper of the Team India. An aggressive batsman and secure wicketkeeper, Dhoni has changed the perception of ‘gentleman’s game’. He, along with a few other new-age cricketers, has shown how to give an eye for an eye.

Having played 106 One-day internationals, Mahendra Singh Dhoni has an impressive average of 45.50 and a swashbuckling strike rate of 92. Dhoni has ravaged the reputations of the world’s best bowling attacks with his powerful and daredevil hits. This is the only way he knows of playing cricket

Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s moment of reckoning came in a match against Pakistan, where he scored a dazzling 148 runs. He then went on to crack a superb 183 not out against Sri Lanka at Jaipur. These knocks are simply unforgettable for all those who witnessed them. His wicketkeeping has won him accolades of late. Dhoni has displayed exemplary skills when keeping wickets to world-class bowlers.

Chaminda Vaas

Chaminda Vaas

Full Name: Warnakulasuriya Patabendige Ushantha Joseph Chaminda Vaas

Born: January 27, 1974 in Mattumagala, Sri Lanka

Batting Style : Left-handed batsman

Bowling Style :Left-arm fast-medium

Test Debut : Pakistan vs. Sri Lanka at Kandy – August 26-28, 1994

ODI Debut : India vs. Sri Lanka at Rajkot – February 15, 1994


Chaminda Vaas can easily be the most inconspicuous players in the Sri Lankan cricket team. But, when it comes to new-ball bowling, he is counted amongst the best in the world. Incisive and out of the ordinary, Vaas has scripted numerous victories for his side

Despite being subjected to flat pitches in the subcontinent, Chaminda Vaas has mastered the art of wicket-taking. As a pace bowler, he has been remarkably consistent and rarely out of the national team. During the ICC Cricket World Cup 2007 in West Indies, he will be instrumental in shaping Lankans’ fortunes

Chaminda Vaas boasts of having a wide array of bowling styles in his repertoire. His off-cutters, reverse-swings, and late in-dippers have deceived the best of batsmen, making him highly credible as the spearhead of Sri Lanka’s bowling attack. After spin wizard Muttiah Muralitharan, he is the country’s most successful bowler.

Chaminda Vaas is a sincere batsman, chipping in with well-timed 20s at the hour of need. It is this sincerity that makes him one of the key players in Sri Lankan team for World Cup 2007.

Featuring in 290 one-dayers, Chaminda Vaas has taken 370 wickets at an economy rate of 4.20. His credentials in longer version of the game are equally laudable – 313 wickets in 96 Test matches. As a seamer, Vaas is virtually irreplaceable. His contribution and form will stand Sri Lanka in good stead at the ninth edition of World Cup.