Mahendra Singh Dhoni profile

Full name Mahendra Singh Dhoni
Born July 7, 1981, Ranchi, Bihar
Current age 24 years 100 days
Major teams India, Jharkhand
Also known as Mahi
Batting style Right-hand bat
Fielding position Wicketkeeper

Full name Mahendra Singh Dhoni
Born July 7, 1981, Ranchi, Bihar
Current age 24 years 100 days
Major teams India, Jharkhand
Also known as Mahi
Batting style Right-hand bat
Fielding position Wicketkeeper
M.S. Dhoni Photos and Gallery....

Sakshi Rawat Profile Biography.....

Dhoni-Sakshi Marriage Pictures....

ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 Live
The spectacular arrival of Virender Sehwag was bound to inspire others to bat with the same mindset. But the odds of a clone emerging from the backwaters of Jharkhand, whose state side has consistently scraped the bottom, was highly remote. That was until Mahendra Singh Dhoni arrived. He can be swashbuckling with the bat and secure with the wicketkeeping gloves. His neck-length hair adds to his dash. Though Dhoni made his first-class debut in the 1999-2000 season, it was only in 2004 that he became a serious contender for national selection with some stirring performances when the occasion demanded - a rapid hundred which helped East Zone clinch the Deodhar Trophy and an audacious 60 in the Duleep Trophy final. But it was with his two centuries against Pakistan A, in the triangular tournament in Kenya, that he established himself as a clinical destroyer of bowling attacks. In just his fifth one-dayer, against Pakistan at Vishakapatnam, he cracked a dazzling 148 and for a while even put Sehwag in the shade
Sakshi Rawat Profile Biography.....

Dhoni-Sakshi Marriage Pictures....

Cricket: India names Dhoni to one-day captaincy
Mahendra Singh Dhoni took a huge step toward one of the biggest jobs in world cricket on Tuesday when he was named captain of India for its series of one-day matches against Australia and Pakistan, to be played over the next two months.

Dhoni, 26, who is leading India in the Twenty20 World Cup in South Africa, can make a strong case for also taking charge of the five-day test team if he performs well in the one-day matches. The job carries the pressure of meeting the expectations of India's huge population for its highest-profile national sport but also the prospect of great wealth.

India's next five-day series, against Pakistan, does not start until Nov. 22. The alternative to Dhoni is believed to be Sachin Tendulkar, India's greatest contemporary cricketing hero, who was only moderately successful when he captained the team in 25 tests from 1996 to 2002.

India's chairman of selectors, Dilip Vengsarkar, said of Dhoni, "He is a good captain, and this is the right time to groom him."

Dhoni's ferocious middle-order hitting has given him a high media profile and made him a highly effective one-day player. At one time, he was rated the best one-day international batsman in the world.

The main risk in appointing him to the five-day role would be that he is also a wicket-keeper, carrying an immense physical and psychological weight as the only man actively engaged in every single delivery in opposition innings that often extend over more than a day's play.

The vacancy was created by Rahul Dravid's resignation last week. World Cup years always bring their crop of captaincy changes. Inzamam ul-Haq and Brian Lara stepped down as captains of Pakistan and West Indies; Habibul Bashar lost the leadership of Bangladesh; and England finally concluded that Michael Vaughan's undoubted leadership qualities were outweighed by his limitations as a player in the shorter form of the game.

Dravid had survived India's miserable World Cup, where it was eliminated by Bangladesh, and led it to a series victory in England. His own form as a batsman had suffered, though. After scoring 87 runs per innings on previous visits to England, his average dropped to 25, and in the final test, he played one of the slowest innings in test cricket history, scoring only 12 runs in more than two and a half hours.

A consummate team player who never actively sought the captaincy, Dravid said he had stopped enjoying the job.

His was the second surprise departure in a week. Steven Fleming's replacement as captain of New Zealand by Daniel Vettori was a still greater shock. Fleming had come to look like the single fixed point in an ever-changing world. Not many captains get to lead their country in two World Cups. Fleming had done it in three, taking his team into the final four for the second time in West Indies this year.

The consensus pick as the world's shrewdest captain, he turned a squad of solid rather than brilliant performers into a tough, highly competitive team. Only quick bowler Shane Bond, on the rare occasions when he is fully fit, would be a serious contender for a World XI.

Fleming had led New Zealand in 80 five-day tests, second only to the record of 93 by Allan Border of Australia, and a record 218 one-day internationals.

Fleming chose to stand down as one-day captain but would happily have continued in the longer format. New Zealand's selectors have decided, though, to appoint Vettori.

It is an intriguing appointment. Selectors are often wary of bowlers as captains. That is because the most important single element in captaincy is deciding who should bowl at any given time, making it hard to detach personal from team considerations.

It is not hard to see, though, why New Zealand has long seen captaincy material in Vettori. He is an astute, intelligent cricketer who contests the title of the best slow left-arm bowler with Monty Panesar of England and has also, by playing sensibly within his limitations, developed his batting to the point where he is little short of being classified as an all-rounder.

He combines the air of the enthusiastic student with that of the hard-bitten veteran for the simple reason that he genuinely does have something of both. He is still only 28 but has been playing test cricket for a decade, taking 229 wickets in 73 five-day tests.
Sakshi Rawat Profile Biography.....

M S Dhoni's Big Shots.........

Twenty20 World Cup winning team.......

Profile Rahul Dravid

Rahul Dravid Statistics
Born: 11 January 1973, Indore
Major Teams: Karnataka, India, Kent.
Known As: Rahul Dravid
Batting Style: Right Hand Bat
Bowling Style: Right Arm Off Break
Other: Wicket-Keeper
Profile: Rahul Dravid
                         Rahul has been one  of the main pillars of the Indian batting with his blend of technical
                         proficiency & stylish strokes. His strokes are so perfect technically that he is considered as
                         the "wall" of the Indian Team. His batting style was regarded slow for the ODI’s initially but with
                         his imaginative placing of the ball & innovative strokes he made himself as an integral part of
                         the Indian team for both Tests as well as ODI’s. His temperament for both the versions of the
                         game is exemplary and has earned him respect from all the other players. The Indian Vice
                         Captain has frequently played the sheet anchor role to perfection. . He was verily the batsman
                         of the 1999 World Cup with two hundreds and the highest aggregate. For this, he was named
                         as Wisden cricketer of the year, one of the few Indians to receive this special accolade. His
                         good and innocent looks make him very popular among the girls.Dravid named World Player of Year
India batsman Rahul Dravid has been named World Player of the Year at the inaugural International Cricket Council (ICC) awards. He was chosen by a 50-strong panel of former cricketing greats, national captains, umpires and referees. "It is quite unbelievable, I am really proud," said Dravid, who was also named Test Player of the Year. "I am so happy to be recognised by some really great people."
The batsman, who has also turned his hand to wicketkeeping in the one-day game, received the Sir Garfield Sobers Trophy for being the best player in both forms of the game in the year to July 31, 2004.
England all-rounder Andrew Flintoff was chosen as One-Day International Player of the Year to top off a memorable week for the 26-year-old after his partner gave birth to a baby girl.
"If someone had said three years ago you would be getting One-Day Player of the Year I wouldn't have believed them," said Flintoff, who beat off competition from Australians Ricky Ponting and Adam Gilchrist and India's Sachin Tendulkar. "It has been a special week. I am pinching myself."
Ponting was named captain of both World XIs and asked who would win if there was a game between the one-day XI chosen by the panel and his Australia side, he said: "Probably just the Aussies by a run or two."
The awards, held at London's Alexandra Palace, were Dravid plays down Pakistan match hype
28 February 2003
South Africa, Feb 28  - India batsman Rahul Dravid has tried to play down the hype surrounding his side's crunch World Cup Group A match against Pakistan on Saturday.

"We look at it as an eight-point game. If we win we earn four points and go into the Super Sixes," Dravid told reporters on Friday. "We could also be taking another four if Pakistan qualify."

But India's vice-captain tried to play down extra pressure going into the match because of political tensions between the two southern Asian neighbours.

"I don't think it is the duty of the cricketers," Dravid said during a practice session at SuperSport Park.

"Our job is to play a game of cricket. That is exactly why we are out here.

"We are not trying to take any stance or make any statements. The opposition just happens to be Pakistan."

India, with 16 points, are almost into the next round, while Pakistan have eight and need to win their next two games to progress.

Dravid said most of the build-up was down to the media and emotional fans.

"The great advantage of playing outside the country is you don't get caught in such hype," he said.

"We are in our own world. We live and play together like a family."

There is huge anticipation over the game because the two teams have not played since June 2000.

Dravid was also unconcerned about criticism that he has problems accelerating the innings when batting in the middle-order.

"I like to bat in the middle overs and get the side to win," Dravid said. "In the last two matches I have batted in the middle overs and got the side to a competitive total."

"I have loved batting in the middle in this World Cup. End of the day I want India to win. Nothing else matters."

Dravid top-scored with 62 to help India beat England by 82 runs in Durban on Wednesday.

He also held the lower order together in making 43 not out in his side's 83-run win over Zimbabwe.
Rahul Dravid
Rahul Dravid

Profile Yuvraj Singh

Born: 12 December 1981, Chandigarh
Major Teams: Punjab, India.
Known As: Yuvraj Singh
Batting Style: Left Hand Bat
Bowling Style: Left Arm Medium           

 Yuvraj Singh Statistics
Profile:
At 19, Yuvraj is already an all rounder who has proven himself. One need look no further than his performance in the domestic youth competitions and in the Under-19 World Cup in Sri Lanka. In the final of the Cooch Behar Trophy in the 1999-2000 season, Yuvraj made 358 against Bihar. Any batsman who has the ability to play an innings of that length is bound to be a force to reckon with. Following that performance up with what was an extremely successful World Cup in Sri Lanka, Yuvraj caught the eye of many a cricket pundit. He was named player of the series for scoring heavily through the World Cup, including a tremendous half century that came off just 20 balls in the semifinals against Australia.

 A tall, well-built lad, Yuvraj Singh strikes the ball very hard. Although critics feel that he is uncomfortable and imbalanced driving off the front foot, this does not reflect in his performance so far. A useful left arm spinner, Yuvraj sometimes refrains from bowling because of a recurring back strain that has threatened to put him out of action more than once. Yuvraj's father Yograj Singh represented India in one Test match against New Zealand in 1981. A good fielder inside the circle, Yuvraj is regarded by many as an exciting One-Day prospect

       
Yuvraj hits six sixes in an over against England
DURBAN, September 19. 2007: Yuvraj Singh smashed fast bowler Stuart Broad for six sixes in an over as India piled up 218-4 in a must-win match against England in the Twenty20 world championships on Wednesday.

ball-by-ball commentary .........
18.1 Broad to Yuvraj Singh, SIX, that's out the ground, super shot over cow corner and it just kept going up.

18.2 Broad to Yuvraj Singh, SIX, now that really is sweet, no more than a dismissive flick off his legs, swatting a fly, and the ball arcs deep into the crowd beyond backward square leg. The dodgy TV measurement says that's 111 yards but as it landed outside the ground how do they know? They guess that's how.

18.3 Broad to Yuvraj Singh, SIX, he's hitting them everywhere, he steps to leg and smashes the ball over extra cover and it keeps on traveling. The fireworks start on top of the scoreboard and they've been going off in the middle for some time.

18.4 Broad to Yuvraj Singh, SIX, Shiver me timbers! Broad goes round the wicket, bowls a filthy wide full toss and Yuvraj steers it over backward point and it clears the rope again.

18.5 Broad to Yuvraj Singh, SIX, down on one knee and larruped over midwicket, that one was more nine iron, it went into the night sky and dropped with a thud in the jubilant crowd. England have a team meeting.

Broad looks quizzical and miserable. Can he, can Yuvraj do it. Broad looks like a man who knows he is about to be mauled again.

18.6 Broad to Yuvraj Singh, SIX, and he has, Yuvraj leans back and smacks that over wide mid-on. It was the maximum from the moment it left that bat and the crowd was roaring as it flew.


The left-hander's feat in the 19th over gave him the fastest 50 in the tournament off just 12 balls, eight deliveries less than what Bangladesh captain Mohammad Ashraful achieved against the West Indies.

Yuvraj finished with 58 off 16 balls with seven sixes and three boundaries as India set England a formidable target of 11 runs an over at a Kingsmead stadium overflowing with joyous Indian fans.

India, who lost their first match to New Zealand, must beat England and South Africa on Thursday to stay in contention for the semi-finals from group E.

New Zealand and South Africa top the group with two wins each, while England have already been knocked out of the semi-final race after losing their first two matches.

Yuvraj's blistering knock came after openers Virender Sehwag and Gambhir set the platform with a 136-run stand by the 15th over.

Sehwag made 68 off 52 balls with three sixes and four boundaries. His Delhi team-mate Gambhir hit 58 off 41 balls with seven fours and a six.

Gambhir began the run glut in the fifth over by smashing Broad over the mid-wicket fence for the first six of the innings.

Sehwag welcomed Dimitri Mascarenhas into the attack by slicing a six over point and cut Chris Tremlett over third man for his second big shot.

Sehwag's third six was over point against England captain Paul Collingwood in the 10th over, two balls after Mascarenhas floored a skier at third man.

Tremlett broke the partnership in the 15th over when he bowled Sehwag as the batsman went for a wild heave.

Two more wickets fell in the next two overs as Darren Maddy had Gambhir caught at short third man and Tremlett bowled Robin Uthappa in his fourth and final over.

....Karishma Kotak Profile Biography....
Yuvraj is primarily a left-handed batsman but can
bowl part-time left-arm orthodox spin. He is
regarded as being a better player of fast bowling
than spin bowling, and cites the Indian Oil
Cup 2005 as a turning point in his career .
He is one of the better fielders in the Indian team,
fielding primarily at point, with a good aim at the
stumps. A Cricinfo report in late 2005 showed that
since 1999, he was the fourth most prolific
fielder in effecting ODI run outs, and of those
on the list of prolific fielders, he had the second
highest rate of effecting a run out .
He was previously often characterized as having
attitude problems, but now often assumes
leadership positions whilst either captain
Rahul Dravid or vice-captain Virender Sehwag
are absent.     Yuvraj Singh

Profile Zaheer Khan

Zaheer Khan Statistics
Born: 7 October 1978, Shrirampur, Ahmednagar, Maharashtra
Major Teams: Baroda, India.
Known As: Zaheer Khan
Batting Style: Right Hand Bat
Bowling Style: Left Arm Medium FastZaheer Khan who quit his engineering studies to pursue a career in cricket is one of the best current findings of Indian team. His emergence has been a revelation for Indian cricket which was badly needing a genuine quick bowler. Zaheer's impressive debut  in the ICC KnockOut, when two yorkers in three balls speared into the off stumps of Kenyan batsmen, heightened people's expectations. His pace and willingness to angle the ball into the body has impressed even the best in the World. He is an aggressive wicket taking bowler and has unveiled another potent dimension of his game in the one-dayer at Jodhpur against  Zimbabwe, where he struck Henry Olonga for four sixes off the last four balls of the innings thus proving that he is an aggresive  batter too.

The emergence of Zaheer Khan has given the Indian new ball attack a sense of well-being after a long hiatus. Zaheer's impressive debut in the ICC KnockOut, when two yorkers in three balls speared into the off stumps of Kenyan batsmen, heightened expectations. He stayed in the forefront of India's ICCKO and Champions Trophy campaigns, picking up 15 wickets, the most prized being Steve Waugh's, which showed he could unsettle the best in the business. Always presenting a composed exterior, his bursts of speed and willingness to angle the ball into the body can discompose most batsmen. In two Tests on bland subcontinent wickets, Zaheer toiled for limited success but his enthusiasm never flagged. He unveiled another potent dimension to his game in the one-dayer at Jodhpur against Zimbabwe, smiting Henry Olonga for four sixes off the last four balls of the innings.

Three years with the MRF Pace Foundation moulded Zaheer into a fighting fit product, ready to pass through the turnstiles into international cricket. He was given the opportunity to train at the Commonwealth Cricket Academy in Adelaide in October 1999 and toured New Zealand with the Academy boys. Having played for Mumbai at the Under-19 level, he failed to break into the city's Ranji Trophy side and sensibly decided to shift allegiances to Baroda. The impact of his Australian sojourn was evident during his maiden first-class season in 1999-2000, which yielded 35 wickets. The lad from Srirampur who quit his engineering studies to pursue a career in cricket would soon rest assured he had made the right decision.

Test Debut: India v Bangladesh at Dhaka, Only Test, 2000/01
ODI Debut: India v Kenya at Nairobi (Gymk), ICC KnockOut, 2000/01

Profile Harbhajan Singh

Harbhajan Singh
Born: 3 July 1980, Jullundur
Major Teams: Punjab, India.
Known As: Harbhajan Singh
Batting Style: Right Hand Bat
Bowling Style: Right Arm Off Break






Profile: Harbhajan Singh
Harbhajan's elevation to the Indian cap in 1998 was a major surprise to the world because the 18-year-old was relatively unknown outside Punjab. An attacking spinner in the classical mould, he has not yet established himself in the side. The fact that he has  not fully enjoyed the confidence of the selectors is one reason for this but his action being deemed suspect by the ICC has also  stalled his progress. A stint with former England off spinner Fred Titmus seemed to have done him some good. The one quality  that Harbhajan Singh is well known for is that he is a fighter to the core. For a purveyor of slow off spinners, his attitude is  aggressive. He is back among the probables for the series against Australia - the opponents against whom he made his Test debut three years before - it is to be hoped that his best results could lie ahead since he has youth on his side.

Harbhajan Singh's road to glory has not been an easy one. The 20-year-old off-spinner from Jullunder has been plagued by allegations of a jerk in his bowling action and insinuations of him having attitude problems. After almost losing his job with employers Indian Airlines and being saddened immensely by the death of his father, Harbhajan was reborn as a cricketer. Training doubly hard, the fiery youngster readied himself for the touring Australians. In the absence of ace legspinner Anil Kumble, India were desperately on the look out for a strike bowler. Bowling with a high arm action, extracting good bounce and considerable turn on good Test match wickets, Harbhajan Singh destroyed the Aussies by scalping 32 wickets in the three Test series. Harbhajan's performance had outdone the previous best wicket tally for an Indian in a Test series against Australia, beating legendary left arm spinner Bishen Singh Bedi's haul of 31 wickets in 1977-78 in Australia. What makes the feat especially commendable is the fact that Harbhajan notched up his wickets in three Tests as against Bedi's five. The most special moment in the series for Harbhajan was undoubtedly the hat-trick he snared in the first innings of the second Test at Kolkata when he dismissed Ricky Ponting, Adam Gilchrist and Shane Warne off successive deliveries. In the three Tests, Harbhajan returned figures of 4/132, 13/196 and 15/217, thereby leading India to a famous 2-1 victory.

In the course of the series, Harbhajan was constantly aggressive, giving back in good measure any on field chatter he got from the Aussies. With the bat too Harbhajan struck some lusty blows, earning kudos from teammates, scribes and selectors alike. The arrival of Harbhajan at the international stage as a force to reckon with has been a whiff of fresh air for Indian cricket. India were struggling in the bowling department and Harbhajan has answered the call handsomely.

Test Debut: India v Australia at Bangalore, 3rd Test, 1997/98
ODI Debut: India v New Zealand at Sharjah, Coca-Cola Cup, 1997/98

 Delhi ODI: Harbhajan's bhangra rocks
New Delhi, March 28, 2006
After the humiliating Mumbai Test defeat, there was a vociferous clamour to get the Indian team rid of its two  'burdens' - Sehwag and Harbhajan.

After the Feroze Shah Kotla encounter, those demands will gain voice in the first case, but will die down in the second... at least for the time being.

Turbanator produced one of his finest ever bowling performance in recent past to steal the first of the seven ODI series from England's grasp on Tuesday. His exceptional utilization of the low bounce and 'square' turn offered by the pitch had the batsman twitching and prodding at his deliveries.

With just 204 runs needed to win after a yet another forgettable show by the Indian batsman, the tourists stumbled and stuttered and finally fell short of the target by 39 runs.

Harbhajan back with his black patka, posted not only his best ever figures of 5/31 in the limited version of the game, but also top scored for India with an enterprising 37 in the latter stages of a disappointing batting performance, which proved fatal for the tourists.

Having won the toss and put India to bat, Flintoff must have considered himself blessed with recurring windfalls, when Indian batsman played rash strokes one after the other to signal their demise. At the end of the first half, the skipper walked back pleased as a punch, with the hosts just about managing to surmount 200.

However, Fate has a knack of dishing out personal favours to the underdog, which catches the opponent off-gaurd.

At 117/3, England were cruising towards victory with the deadly combination of Kevin Peitersen and Andrew Flintoff at the helm and no speed-breaker in sight - India's fate looked as good sealed.

However, the fall of 3 crucial wickets for just 3 more runs on board got the hosts that vital 'foot in the door'. From then on, Bhajji showed his true colours with the second five-wicket haul of his career, as India successfully defended their meagre total.

At the match presentation, Bhajji rightfully looked relieved and satisfied. "It feels great to be back in the wickets...it's been a while and it really is special."

With a special win in their kitty, India will further look to turn the screws on England. The second of the seven match series will be played in Faridabad on Friday.

Profile Praveen Kumar

Full name Praveenkumar Sakat Singh
Born October 2, 1986, Meerut, Uttar Pradesh
Current age 21 years 154 days
Major teams India, Air India, India Red, Uttar Pradesh
Playing role Bowler
Batting style Right-hand bat
Bowling style Right-arm medium

Praveen Kumar honed his reputation as a man of many parts: A fast bowler with the ability to toil away on unresponsive Indian wickets who can double up as a carefree hitter down the order and as a surprise opener. Beginning his career in the Uttar Pradesh Under-19 team alongside RP Singh, Piyush Chawla, and Suresh Raina, he soon graduated to first-class cricket and shone on his Ranji Trophy debut, picking up nine wickets against Haryana. Kumar was key to UP winning the title in his first Ranji season, taking 41 wickets and scoring 368 runs. His consistency - 90 wickets in two first-class seasons - earned him a call-up to the India A squad touring Kenya in 2007.

Kumar excelled with both bat and ball in a triangular one-day tournament involving India A, Sri Lanka A and Kenya, winning the Man-of-the-Series award. He continued his fine run in the Challenger Trophy, during which he received his maiden call-up to the national squad for the first two ODIs against Pakistan. Another strong Ranji Trophy series, including eight wickets in an innings during the final, earned him a spot in India's 16-man squad for the CB Series in Australia.
                           BRISBANE, Reuters: India ended their tour of Australia on a high note when they beat the hosts by nine runs on Tuesday to win their best-of-three finals series 2-0.

Sachin Tendulkar scored a superb 91 and paceman Praveen Kumar went on to capture four wickets as the tourists followed up Sunday's six-wicket win in Sydney with a thrilling victory at the Gabba in Brisbane.

The Australians, who also lost last year's tri-series finals at home to England, recovered from a terrible start to give themselves a glimmer of hope when James Hopes (63) and Matthew Hayden (55) made half-centuries, only to come up short.

Profile Yusuf Pathan

Full name Yusuf Khan Pathan
Born November 17, 1982, Baroda, Gujarat
Current age 26 years 87 days
Major teams India, Baroda, India Green, Rajasthan Royals
Batting style Right-hand bat
Bowling style Right-arm offbreak



Relations Half-brother - IK Pathan  Yusuf Pathan first made his mark as a hard-hitting batsman and offspinner for the Baroda Under-16 team in the Vijay Merchant Trophy in 1999-2000. His impressive showings saw him quickly climb the rungs to the Baroda U-19 and the West Zone U-19 sides. He made his Ranji debut against Saurashtra in 2001-02, but it wasn't until the 2004-05 season, by when younger brother Irfan Pathan was donning the national colours, that he established himself as a regular in the Baroda squad. He ended the 2004-05 season as Baroda's fourth-highest scorer and third-highest wicket-taker.

He has scored more than 250 runs and taken at least 15 wickets in each of the last three Ranji seasons but failed to impress in the two Challenger Trophies he played. His ability to score runs quickly - he had the highest strike rate in the 2006-07 Ranji Trophy - and impressive performances in the Deodhar Trophy and Twenty20 domestic tournament in the 2006-07 season was rewarded with a spot in India's squad for the Twenty20 World Championship in South Africa.

His impressive showing for the Rajasthan Royals in the Indian Premier League in 2008 - 435 runs with four fifties at a strike-rate of 179 - earned him an ODI call-up for the tri-series in Bangladesh and the Asia Cup in Pakistan. He recorded the fastest fifty of the IPL's first season - off 21 balls against the Deccan Chargers - and his dazzling all-round show in the final was instrumental in Rajasthan's triumph.

Yusuf Khan Pathan born 17 November 1982 in Baroda is an Indian cricketer. Pathan made his debut in first-class cricket in 2001/02. He is a hard hitting right handed batsman and a right-arm offbreak bowler. His half-brother Irfan Pathan is also an Indian cricketer. Though younger to Yusuf, it was Irfan who entered the Indian team first.

Following his impressive performances in the 2007 Deodhar Trophy and the Inter-state domestic Twenty20 competition held in April 2007, Pathan was made a part of the Indian squad for the inaugural Twenty20 World Championship, held in South Africa in September 2007. He made his Twenty20 international debut in the final against Pakistan. He opened the batting for India in the match, and scored 15 runs in the process.

After a good domestic season in 2007/08, he was signed by the Rajasthan Royals in the Indian Premier League for USD 475,000 (INR 1.9 crore). In the 2008 IPL season, he scored 435 runs and took 8 wickets. He recorded the season's fastest half century (from 21 balls) against the Deccan Chargers, and was also the Man of the Match in the final.

Following his good showing in the IPL, he was selected for the Indian one-day team. After the IPL though he played all the games in the Kitply Cup and Asia Cup he got to bat only four times.He couldn't perform nicely with the bat and the ball in the Asia Cup and in the Kitply Cup and so he wasn't selected for the Sri lanka Series. He performed well in domestic circuit and impressed the selectors and was selected for the England ODI series in November. He scored a fifty off just 29 balls in the second ODI against England in Indore, on his 26th birthday.

Yusuf had made his One-Day International debut for India against Pakistan at Dhaka on 10 June 2008. He has become a permanent feature of the national One-Day International team, but has yet to make his test debut

Profile Irfan pathan

Irfan PathanStatistics

Full Name: Irfan Khan Pathan
Born: 27 October 1984, Baroda, Gujarat
Major Teams: Baroda, India.

Shivangi Dev Irfan Pathan Girlfriend

Batting Style: Left Hand Bat
Bowling Style: Left Arm Medium Fast
Irfan Pathan Jnr - his namesake is also a left-arm seamer for Baroda - is India’s youngest pace-bowling hope. At 18, he has already established himself as part of arguably the most incisive pace trio in the country, alongside Zaheer Khan and Rakesh Patel; served consistently as spearhead of the national under-19 team; and finds himself regularly selected for the India A team. Tall, and well filled out for his age, Irfan does most of his work off the seam at a useful pace off a side-on action, and his left-handedness marks him out a natural danger to the right-hander. Like Zaheer, one of his two idols – Wasim Akram, naturally, is the other – Irfan has refined his raw ability at the Dennis Lillee-assisted MRF Pace Foundation in Chennai. In another two years, this boy could be a star
He has taken 5 wickets in an innings six times in Test cricket, and once in one-day internationals, against Zimbabwe in the 2005 Videocon Tri-Series. His spell in the final match against Pakistan in the 2004 tour was arguably his best performance in ODI cricket. His trademark weapon is an inswinger which darts into a right-hand batsman, and he also has the ability to reverse swing the old ball. In the ODI format, Pathan has been particularly impressive, frequently giving India early breakthroughs. He now consistently ranks in or near the top 10 of the LG ICC cricket ratings.

He is developing into an all-rounder, as part of a reallocation of responsibilities under the new Indian cricket coach Greg Chappell. Chappell has identified potential in Pathan's batting. Pathan has recently been used as both an opener and a top order batsman in late 2005 in one-day cricket, making 83 runs at more than a run a ball against Sri Lanka in a Test match. He also proved his enhanced batting skills by scoring 82 and 93 against Sri Lanka, opening the batting in the December 2005 New Delhi Test, when regular opener Virender Sehwag was hospitalised with illness. He scores primarily in front of the wicket, his main strength being his ability to drive. He has shown his batting strength against Pakistan (India's traditional rival) by hitting 90 in the second Test in Faisalabad (21-25 January, 2006).

Pathan recently took a hat trick in the first over of the Karachi Test against Pakistan becoming the first bowler to take a hat-trick in the first over of a Test match. It was also the highest in terms of total averages of the batsmen dismissed (130.18: Salman Butt 34.27, Younis Khan 46.04, Mohammad Yousuf 49.86). [1] This was also the first hat trick by a paceman from India and the first hat trick for any Indian bowler in an away match.

Pathan was the inaugural winner of the ICC Emerging Player of the year award in 2004, and is being groomed as the spearhead of the Indian attack for years to come, as well as a potential captain. Following his strong performances in 2005, Pathan was promoted in December to an A-grade contract by the BCCI.

He moved to the second spot in the ICC ODI Bowling rankings but a poor performance against West Indies saw him go down to 7th in the rankings.
Irfan Pathan named Emerging Player of the Year at ICC Awards
Stephanie Beltrame September 7, 2004
Indian pace bowler Irfan Pathan was tonight named Emerging Player of the Year in front of 1000 guests at the ICC Awards at London's Alexandra Palace.
The 19-year-old claimed the award in a category featuring some of international cricket's most talented players.
The ICC Awards, presented by Hyundai in association with FICA, recognise the game's most outstanding players of the past 12 months.
Accepting his award, Pathan paid tribute to his family and friends: "My family has supported me a lot as well as my coaches, right throughout my career. Everyone has helped me and I'd like to thank them all."
ICC Chief Executive Malcolm Speed said: "On behalf of the ICC and the cricket community, we congratulate Irfan Pathan on winning the Emerging Player of the Year award. He is a highly gifted player and along with the other nominees in this category, all have very bright futures in cricket," said Mr Speed.
With 100 votes, Pathan claimed the award ahead of Pakistan's Yasir Hameed (75 votes). Australia's Michael Clarke finished in third place with 45 votes, while another Pakistan youngster, Umar Gul, rounded out the top four on 21 votes.
In the 12-month voting period (1 August 2003 to 31 July 2004), Pathan played five Test matches and 18 One-Day Internationals.
He took 16 Tests wickets at an average of 38.00 during the voting period, and 36 ODI scalps at an average of 23.19, including best figures of 4-24 against Zimbabwe in the VB Series in Australia in February.
Pathan's 36 ODI wickets was more than double the tally of any of his colleagues in the Emerging Player of the Year category, with Australia's Michael Clarke (16 wickets) the next highest wicket-taker in limited-over matches during the year.
Nominees for the Emerging Player of the Year Award must have been under 26-years-of-age at the start of the voting period (1 August 2003), and have played no more than five Test matches and/or 10 One-Day Internationals before the start of the voting period.
Voting for the Emerging Player of the Year was completed by the 50-member ICC Awards voting Academy, who cast a 3-2-1 vote (3 votes being the greater value) from the list of nominees, with the votes tallied to produce a winner.
The voting Academy included the 10 ICC Full Member captains, the Emirates Elite Panel of eight ICC Umpires, seven members of the Emirates Elite Panel of ICC Referees (the eighth member did not officiate in the voting period), and a combination of 25 former legends and respected members of the media.

Piyush Chawla Profile Biography

    Piyush Chawla Profile Biography

Full name Piyush Pramod Chawla

Born December 24, 1988, Aligarh, Uttar Pradesh

Major teams India, Air India, India Green, India Under-19s, Kings XI Punjab, Rajasthan Cricket Association President's XI, Sussex, Uttar Pradesh

Playing role Allrounder
Batting style Left-hand bat
Bowling style Legbreak
Piyush Pramod Chawla is an Indian regular first class cricketer and also occasional member of Indian national cricket team.

He was born on 24th December, 1988 in Aligarh, Uttar Pradesh, India.

Chawla plays cricket matches for India’s team under-19 and Indian central zone. He is a left handed batsman and right arm leg spin bowler.

His first under-19 match was against England in the year 2004-05.
Piyush Chawla Profile Biography



Piyush Chawla Profile Biography
Chawla made his test entrance against England in the year 2006 and one day international beginning against Bangladesh in the year 2007 that was successful innings for him, taking three wickets.

Chawla played matches for his domestic teams Uttar Pradesh, Kings XI Punjab. He signed for Sussex County Cricket Club.

Chawla is an amazing all rounder cricket player, who represented India under-19 cricket team in just age fifteen years.

He has played two test matches for India, Twenty one, one day international matches and thirty four twenty20 matches in his cricket career till now. He played well and scores better in first class matches than another innings.

Piyush Chawla is one for early impact. As a 15-year-old he represented India Under-19 and Uttar Pradesh U-22. Before he made his first-class debut, at 17, he had already bowled Sachin Tendulkar with a googly in a Challenger Series match. In his first first-class season, he took 35 wickets and scored 224 runs to help UP win their first Ranji Trophy. In his teens he played two Test matches too, against England and South Africa. He took three wickets on ODI debut in Bangladesh in 2007, and 14 during India's tour of Ireland and England the same year, often troubling Kevin Pietersen with the googlies and the straighter ones.

Chawla is a legspinner who has good control and variations, but can do with a bigger stock legbreak to make the other aspects of his bowling more effective. He has not been able to make himself a permanent place in the Indian team so far, losing out to a more conventional legspinner Amit Mishra after Anil Kumble retired from Tests. He stayed closer to the ODI team, also helped by an impressive performance in the first IPL. But after an ordinary Asia Cup in Pakistan in 2008, he was sent back to domestic cricket to work on his game. After a long time in the side-lines, when the likes of Amit Mishra and Pragyan Ojha overtook him in the Indian spinner stakes, Chawla made a surprise comeback to the side when he was included for the World Twenty20 in 2010, and then made it to the squad for the 2011 World Cup

Profile Ashish Nehra

Ashish Nehra Statistics
Born: 29 April 1979, Delhi
Major Teams: Delhi, India.
Known As: Ashish Nehra
Batting Style: Right Hand Bat
Bowling Style: Left Arm Medium Fast

Profile:
Ashish Nehra's selection for the Asian Test Championship match against Sri Lanka at Colombo in February 1999 came as a surprise for he was then in the midst of his second first class season and had done little to suggest he was ready for the highest level. With Javagal Srinath resting a sore shin, Nehra was named to the squad and he sneaked ahead of Laxmi Ratan Shukla into the playing eleven. Still two months short of his twentieth birthday, the leftarmer trapped Marvan Atapattu leg before in his third over for his only success.

Nehra has been in sensational form in the 2000-01 first class season, grabbing 36 wickets at 12.83 in five games for Delhi in the zonal league. In the Duleep Trophy, he played a generous hand in North Zone's title triumph with 14 wickets at less than 20 apiece, including figures of 7/14 against East Zone at Guwahati. Having been named in the 25 probables for the Test series against Australia, Nehra is clearly bracing to slip back imminently into the national team.

Test Debut: India v Sri Lanka at Colombo, Asia-Test, 1998/99
ODI Debut: India v Zimbabwe at Harare, Coca-Cola Cup (Zimbabwe), 2001

Indian media salutes Nehra's six-wicket burst
27 February 2003
NEW DELHI, Feb 27 - Left-arm bowler Ashish Nehra's match-winning six for 23 against England on Wednesday has been hailed by the Indian media as one of the great one-day spells.

The lanky New Delhi bowler, who almost missed the match due to an ankle injury, bowled India to an 82-run victory over England in their World Cup Group A match to stay on course for a place in the tournament's Super Six stage.

"Nehra began the day sitting in the dressing room, waiting for his fitness test... He ended it with six wickets for 23, the third-best bowling figures in World Cup history," the Indian Express said in an article headlined: "Ashish Wednesday".

Left-armer Zaheer Khan and the experienced Javagal Srinath also contributed in a rare display of top-class pace bowling for India, traditionally known to rely on spin.

"Nehra bowled 10 inspired, lethal overs in one single spell to destroy England almost single-handed and to redefine the face of Indian cricket: roll over batsmen, the pace attack is winning matches," the Indian Express added.

Large pictures of Nehra, who had never taken more than three wickets in a one-day match before Wednesday, were splashed on all the leading dailies.

"Rarely has one seen an Indian opening attack, spearheaded by Ashish Nehra's chilling, searing spell, bowl with the kind of venom, speed, movement and accuracy as they did under floodlights at Kingsmead," said the Hindustan Times.

In an article headlined "Nehra lives a dream, England a nightmare", the paper added: "The way England played and missed, they might has well have been facing the wrath of a (Dennis) Lillee or a (Jeff) Thomson."

India now have 16 points from five matches, with an encounter against traditional rivals Pakistan on Saturday.

England, with 12 points, will have to beat world champions Australia in their last group match on Sunday to stay in the hunt for a berth in the next stage.

Ashwin Profile Biography

R. Ashwin Profile Biography

Ravichandran Ashwin

Full name Ravichandran Ashwin

Born September 17, 1986, Madras (now Chennai), Tamil Nadu

Current age 24 years 133 days

Major teams India, Chennai Super Kings, Tamil Nadu, Tamil Nadu Under-14s

Playing role Bowler

Batting style Right-hand bat

Bowling style Right-arm offbreak
R. Ashwin Profile Biography
                      
                    R. Ashwin Profile Biography

Ravichandran Ashwin

Full name Ravichandran Ashwin

Born September 17, 1986, Madras (now Chennai), Tamil Nadu

Current age 24 years 133 days

Major teams India, Chennai Super Kings, Tamil Nadu, Tamil Nadu Under-14s

Playing role Bowler

Batting style Right-hand bat

Bowling style Right-arm offbreak
R. Ashwin Profile Biography
ODI Debut: vs Sri Lanka, On Jun 5, 2010 at Harare Sports Club, Zimbabwe
Last ODI played: vs New Zealand, On Dec 10, 2010 at MA Chidambaram Stadium, India
Test Debut: vs ..Not Decided
Last Test played: vs ..Not Decided
T20 Debut: vs Zimbabwe, On Jun 12, 2010 at Harare Sports Club, Zimbabwe
Last T20 played: vs South Africa, On Jan 9, 2011 at Moses Mabhida Stadium, South Africa
IPL Debut: vs Mumbai Indians, On Apr 18, 2009 12:00:00 AM at Newlands, South Africa
Last IPL played: vs Mumbai Indians, On Apr 25, 2010 12:00:00 AM at Dr DY Patil Sports Academy, India

Ravichandran Ashwin Who is popularly known as R. Ashwin came to fame during 2010 IPL when M.S. Dhoni threw him the ball to bowl in power play overs. He showed tremendous nerve and not only contained the flow of runs but also took crucial wickets. He was also the highest wicket taker in Champions league T20 2010 where Chennai Super kings won. Since then he has never looked back. Currently he is a member of Indian national cricket team, and also Tamilnadu cricket team. He is a right-handed batsman and right arm off-break bowler.

A tall offspinner who bowls with a high-arm action and is studying to be an engineer, R Ashwin has some uncanny similarities with S Venkataraghavan, but for the moment the comparison should end there. Ashwin is taking his first steps in Ranji Trophy cricket. He made big strides in his debut season in 2006-07, leading the wickets tally for Tamil Nadu with 31 scalps at under 20. He was impressive the following the season with both bat and ball before a wrist injury unfortunately forced him out for four weeks in the middle of the season. He later made it to the Chennai Super Kings squad in the inaugural Indian Premier League. Ashwin continued to perform consistently at the domestic level, earning a Grade D contract by the BCCI, and under his captaincy Tamil Nadu were crowned Indian domestic one-day champions in 2009. He earned his first call-up for India, for the home ODIs against South Africa in early 2010, after Harbhajan Singh opted out of the first couple of games due to personal commitments. He was a revelation in the IPL with his miserly spells with the new ball, conceding only 6.10 runs per over and taking 13 wickets. He followed that with a near-spotless performance in the 2010 Champions League where his Man-of-the-Series performance helped Chennai lift the big prize. Ashwin's growing confidence and widening repertoire of tricks will keep him in the frame for a consistent run for India in the shorter formats.


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Full Name: Virender Sehwag
Born: October 20, 1978, Delhi, India
Major Team: India, Asia XI, Delhi, Delhi Daredevils, ICC World XI, India Blue, Leicestershire, Rajasthan Cricket Association President's XI
Batting Style: Right-hand bat
Bowling Style: Right-arm offbreak
Test Debut: South Africa v India at Bloemfontein, Nov 3-6, 2001
ODI Debut: India v Pakistan at Mohali, Apr 1, 1999
T20 Debut: South Africa v India at Johannesburg, Dec 1, 2006

Virendra Sehwag mostly called as viru has achieved more than any one at all level of the games. He is the only batsman in Indian cricket history to score triple century in test cricket. He has achieved the feet twice.

The Delhi born cricketer has modelled his playing style on his idol Sachin Tendulkar. In 2004, he became the first Indian batsman to score a triple ton in an innings of a Test match.

He always uses to score freely whether it’s test cricket, ODI or T20. He has highest strike rate by far in test cricket. Virendra Sehwag brilliance has no word to describe, his strike rates in test cricket are far better than any other players who have played the test cricket. Sachin Tendulkar (12,917 runs at 54.73) has a strike-rate of 54.12, Ricky Ponting (11,400 runs at 55.88) scores at a rate of 59.41, Matthew Hayden (8625 runs at 50.73) got his at 60.10, and Brian Lara (11,953 runs at 52.88) at 60.51. Sanath Jayasuriya comes closest, with a strike-rate of 65.10, but his average is just over 40.

He also hit more double century than any one else Indian cricketers with six double centuries to his name. When he is on song he is very hard to stop can attack any bowling units on his day.

Any team Captain playing against Sehwag always like to have him back in the pavilion as quickly as possible.

Any team Captain playing against Sehwag always like to have him back in the pavilion as quickly as possible.

Virendra Sehwag Cricket Records

Full Name: Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar
Born: April 24, 1973 in Mumbai, India

Batting Style : Right-hand Batsman
Bowling Style : Right-arm Off Break and Leg Break Bowler

Test Debut : Pakistan v India at Karachi – Nov. 15-20, 1989

ODI Debut : Pakistan v India at Gujranwala – Dec. 18, 1989

Often referred to as a living cricketing legend, Sachin Tendulkar is one the best cricketers the world has even seen. Sachin is regarded as the greatest batsman in the world today, holding several batting records to his name. Till date he has scored 35 Test and 40 ODI centuries, surpassing even the Test records of legendary cricketers like Sir Don Bradman, Sunil Gavaskar and Allan Border. Sachin Tendulkar was just 15 years and 232 days when he made his Test debut against Pakistan on 15 November 1989 at the National Stadium at Karachi. Though Sachin could score only 15 runs in first inning, he impressed the cricketing world with his strong determination and desire to dominate the opposition.

Sachin Tendulkar most recently became the only first batsman on this planet to score double century in One Day International history.

He also became the most capped player in test cricket. He achieved this feet in the 3rd test match played against Sri Lanka from 3rd to 7th August 2010.

Sachin Tendulkar is a stylish right-hand batsman and right-hand bowler, and when his bat is on song the whole cricketing world comes to his feet. He is renowned for his flawless batting techniques and has enthralled his fans with many a great innings in the 17 years that he has played cricket. He was also chosen to lead the Indian cricket team twice without much success, and so preferred to concentrate on his batting. At 35, Sachin Tendulkar is still going strong and is a regular member of Indian Test and ODI squad. In all probabilities, Sachin TendulkarAsia. will be part of Indian squad for the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 which will be held in Asia.

Both teams will look forward to win this game before advancing into knockout stage starting from 23rd of March 2011. Win here will certainly help the morale of the team going into the quarter final. Win for India will allow them to meet Australia in the quarterfinal and West Indies will play Pakistan but if result goes other way then India will play Sri Lanka and West Indies will play Australia in the quarterfinals.

Going into this game there are lot of question needs to be answered for the Indian. There batting department despite of solid start given by there openers, middle order failed to capitalize on the same. There bowling looked ordinary despite of consistency from Zaheer Khan and Yuvraj Singh.

India will treat this game to fine tune their bowling and batting combination. Because they know one failure can lead to another and they don’t want to repeat the mistakes they have done so far in the earlier games.

Indian fielding is some how improving and that is good sign for the Indians. The opening pair has delivered almost on every occasion in the tournament and that’s why Indians opening pairs are two of the leading run scorer in the tournament.

India has tried various combinations, fans and media have been crying out for the inclusion of offspinner Ravichandran Ashwin — who is yet to play. But Sunday match is likely to give chance to R.Ashwin to play in front of his home crowd.

Batsman Suresh Raina could also play a role, also at his home venue, as India hopes to finally settle on its ideal combination ahead of the quarterfinals — where there will be no more room to experiment.

On the other hand West Indies who entered this tournament as underdogs will look to get a win here and get into the knockout stage with lost of confidence. However they know they have big work load ahead. They need Chris Gayle and K.Pollard to fire to post a challenging total for the Indians to chase down or to achieve the target.

As a bowling unit West Indies has performed well in the tournament with S.Benn and K.Roach performing consistently.

All in all a good game on the card on Sunday.

Pitch & Conditions

The Pitch at Chepauk will be the most spin friendly wicket India came across in this world cup and that will be great news for the Indians. Also fast bowler will get the required reverse swing with the old ball. Team winning the toss is likely to bat first and put runs on the board. Any score from 240-250 will be considered comparative total on this wicket.

Likely Playing XI for both teams (Match is schedule to begin at 14:30 PM India Time)

With injury to dashing opener Virendra Sehwag it’s likely that Suresh Raina may get a chance in place of him. Ashish Nehra fitness is still in doubt so R. Ashwin might get a chance to partner Harbhajan Singh on a wicket which likely to help spinner.

West Indies on the other hand is likely to get into the game with same XI unless S.Chanderpaul declared himself fit which has played against England in the last game.

India: Sachin Tendulkar, Gautam Gambhir, Virat Kohli, MS Dhoni (Captain & WK), Yuvraj Singh, Yusuf Pathan, Suresh Raina, Harbhajan Singh, R.Ashwin, Zaheer Khan, Munaf Patel.