Sachin Tendulkar

Sachin Tendulkar India
Born on 24 April 1973, at Bombay (now Mumbai) and named after Sachin Dev Burman, the great music composer of yesteryears. Right-handed attacking batsman and right arm spin / swing bowler. Excellent fielder, whether close in or in the country.
Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar made his test debut against Pakistan at Karachi in 1989-90 when he was only 16 years of age. Has played more than 105 tests since then, scoring 8000 plus runs at an average of around 59, including 31 hundreds, 35 fifties and a highest score of 217. He has also captured 27 wickets with 3-10 as his best. Sachin has also played 314 one-day matches, scoring 12,219 runs, and has a highest score of 186 n.o. He has scored 34 one-day hundreds and 62 fifties, besides capturing 112 wickets with a best of 5-32.
One of the finest batsmen the world has seen, Sachin is a legend even as he celebrates his 30th birthday. He has received the adulation of players past – Sir Donald Bradman and Sir Garfield Sobers being his greatest fans – and present. Shane Warne vouches for the fact that he is the best batsman in the world today. He is one of the few personalities the world over who can change the mood of an entire nation by his deeds. ‘Sachin has three strokes for every delivery’, say bowlers who have been mauled by him, but the cover drive and the bowler’s back drive, punched and timed to a nicety with a heavy bat, are breathtaking and a treat to watch. The lofted six over long on is his trademark shot.
Sachin enjoys bowling his wobbly-dobbly swingers and mixing them up with his disguised leggies, googlies and off breaks. An exciting fielder, he leaves the impression that he enjoys every moment on the field. Though mentally very strong himself, he could not get the best out of his men when he was the captain of the Indian side. He has many years of cricket left in him, and the day he decides to hang up his boots, there will have been many records tumbled and fresh targets set for cricketers of the 21st century.
Sachin loves driving fast cars. He owns a Mercedes, a BMW and a Ferari besides a few others. He is a prized model and owns the Tendulkar’s restaurant in Mumbai.

VVS Laxman

VVS Laxman

India

The VVS in Laxman’s name reads as Vangipurappu Venkata Sai, a tougue twister by any standards. But Sunil Gavaskar interprets it as ‘VERY VERY SPECIAL’. Born on 1 November 1974 at Hyderabad, he is a right-handed middle order batsman and an occasional right arm off break bowler. Laxman made his test debut for India in the first test against South Africa at Ahmedabad in 1996-7. He made his one-day debut against Zimbabwe at Cuttack in the Pepsi Triangular series of 1997-8. Laxman was chosen Wisden Cricketer of the Year in 2002.
Laxman has till date played 56 tests, scoring 3637 runs at an average of 44.35 with 7 hundreds and a highest score of 281. In 82 one-day internationals, he has scored 2266 runs at an average of 31.47 with 6 hundreds and a highest score of 131.
A very talented player, in the mould of his idol Mohammad Azharuddin, Laxman can play delightful strokes on both sides of the field. He seems to be more inclined to play the off-drives of pace bowlers and the delectable on-drives – the most difficult shot to play in the game of cricket - off spinners who pitch the ball on middle and leg stumps. When he gets going, there is no better sight in cricket, and he even punishes top class pace bowlers like McGrath and Shoaib with his wristy flicks to mid-wicket.
Laxman played one of the finest innings played in over 100 years of cricket when he scored 281 in the Kolkatta test against Steve Waugh’s invincible ‘Wizards of Oz’ in 2001, to win the test match for India, along with Dravid, after being down in the dumps. He is enigmatic, however, and tends to throw away his wicket just when he seems to be set and going for a big one. With experience and age, he has shown signs of maturity and looks more assured in recent times. He was surprisingly dropped form the 2003 World Cup, but then came back with a roar in the series in Australia and Pakistan. Plagued by the bad form of his talented colleagues in the Indian team in the recent series, he has not been able to bat freely to score runs. One feels though that he is due for a big innings in the coming matches.

Vivian Richards

Vivian Richards

West Indies
Isaac Vivian Alexander Richards was born on 7 March 1952 at St. John’s, Antigua. Considered to be one of the finest batsmen of all time, he was also a part time off break bowler. One of the five Wisden Cricketers of the Century, he was nominated Wisden Cricketer of the Year in 1977.
Richards made his test debut at Bangalore against India in 1974-5 and his one-day international debut against Sri Lanka in the World Cup of 1975. His last test was against England at the Oval in 1991 and his last ODI was at Lord’s in the same series. Playing 121 tests, he scored 8,540 runs at an average of 50.23, with 24 hundreds and 291 as his highest score. He claimed 32 wickets and took 122 catches. In 187 ODIs, he scored 6,721 runs at an average of 47.00, with 11 hundreds and 189 n.o. as his highest score. He also claimed 118 wickets and took 100 catches.
For more than fifteen years, Richards dominated cricket – the traditional as well as the instant version – like nobody’s business. The very sight of him walking in with his famous swagger, chewing gum, his huge shoulders loosening up for action, sent shivers down the spines of international bowlers. He could play all the shots in the game, but his flicks to mid-wicket and the pull shots were absolutely breathtaking. He could easily dispatch a short of a good length ball to the cover boundary with a classical back foot drive, or just swish it through mid-wicket for four. Such was his genius. A brilliant cover fielder in his early days, he later took some outstanding catches in the slips.
One young – highly rated - England fast bowler once beat him with his first four deliveries in a side game. Cock-a-hoop at troubling the great man, the bowler said, “ Hey, Viv. It’s round and red in colour. Can you see it?” Richards did not say a word, but dispatched the next delivery right out of the ground, into the river across the road. While the groundsmen were looking for the ball, Richards walked down the pitch, tapping at imaginary bootmarks, and chewing his gum and drawled, “ You know how the ball looks like. Now, go get it!”
A genius and a gentleman! Modern cricket badly needs someone like him.

KAPIL DEV

Kapildev Nikhanj

India
Kapildev Ramlal Nikhanj, India’s greatest allrounder was born at Chandigarh on 6th of January 1959. Known as the ‘Haryana Hurricane’, he was a right arm fast medium bowler and a hard hitting lower middle order batsman. He was an outstanding fielder anywhere in the field. During a career lasting 17 years, Kapildev represented Haryana, Northamptonshire, Worcestershire and India.

The legendary allrounder made his debut against Pakistan at Faisalabad in 1978-9 and his one-day debut on the same tour at Quetta. He bid farewell to international cricket in 1994-5 after the one-day international against the West Indies at Faridabad. Kapildev played his last test against New Zealand at Hamilton in 1993-4. He was chosen Wisden Cricketer of the Year in 1983.

Kapildev played 131 tests, scoring 5,248 runs with eight hundreds and an average of 31.05. His highest score in tests was 163. He claimed 434 wickets at an average of 29.64 and had best bowling figures of 9-83, besides taking 64 catches. In 225 ODIs, he scored 3,783 runs at an average of 23.79, had a strike rate of 95 and scored one hundred. He claimed 253 wickets at an average of 27.45 and had best figures of 5-43. Kapildev led India in the mid ‘eighties with a lot of flair. He will always be remembered for how he led from the front to bring the Prudential World Cup home in 1983.

Kapildev was a cricketer with a lot of charisma. He could bowl fast medium, with a nice bounding runup and an exaggerated sideon action. The outswinger being his stock ball, he could also bowl the late inswinger, and in his early days used the bouncer to good effect. A batsman who really walloped the ball, his 175 n.o. against Zimbabwe in the World Cup of 1983 will be remembered for all time to come as one of the finest innings, played under tremendous pressure. He was an excellent fielder and had perhaps the safest pair of hands on the cricket field. Who can forget the catch he took in the World Cup final to dismiss Vivian Richards to put India on the path to a historic win?

Kapildev overtook Hadlee’s record of 431 wickets and then went on to claim three more before bidding adieu to test cricket. There have been a few bowlers who have overtaken him since then, including Anil Kumble recently. But not many will have had the adulation that the ‘Haryana Hurricane’ had the world over. Amongst the great allrounders of his era, which included legends like Imran Khan, Sir Richard Hadlee and Ian Botham, Kapildev had his pride of place and commanded a lot of respect from the greatest cricketers past and present.

After his retirement, Kapildev was coach of the Indian team for a short while and is now involved in media and event management. He plays golf at the competitive level and is a brand ambassador for many Indian products. Married to Romi, he has a daughter.

WORLD CRICKETERS

Nasser Hussain

(England)
Former England captain, Nasser Hussain was born on 28 March 1968 at Madras (now Chennai). His parents having settled down in Essex, England, he grew up wanting to represent England in international cricket. A stylish right-handed batsman, he is considered to be one of England’s finest captains of all time. Hussain made his test debut in 1989-90 against the West Indies at Kingston, Jamaica and his one day international debut against Pakistan at Nagpur in the Nehru Cup of 1989-90. He was awarded the OBE in 2001, having been nominated Wisden Cricketer of the Year in 2001.
Hussain had many chinks in his batting armour, not the least of them being too stiff in his stance. His selection to the England side was the result of a dearth of good, reliable middle order batsmen in the team, and he took advantage of the call up to cement his place in the squad struggling for some recognition. In 96 tests, he scored 5,764 runs at an average of 37.18, with 14 hundreds, 33 fifties and a highest score of 207. In 88 ODIs, he scored 2,332 runs at an average of 30.28 and only one hundred.
As a captain, Hussain was par excellence. He took over from Alec Stewart in 1999 and suddenly lifted the England test performance to dizzy heights, winning four series in a row. Though he fared badly against the mighty Australians, losing two consecutive Ashes series, he was an imaginative and inspirational captain. He however decided to abdicate his one-day captaincy after the disastrous World Cup of 2003, and then gave up the England captaincy all together after the series against South Africa. After a successful tour of the West Indies and a hundred against the touring New Zealanders at Lord’s in 2004, Hussain, who was now clearly getting tired of international cricket, called it a day.