Mohammad Kaif

India

Mohammad Kaif, who comes from the cricketing backwater of Uttar Pradesh, first came to prominence with his performances for India's Under-19s: he captained the side, which also included Yuvraj Singh, Ajay Ratra and Reetinder Sodhi, that won the Youth World Cup of 2000. Kaif's assured strokeplay, and composure that belied his age, earned him a Test cap against South Africa when he was only 20.

Though the selectors subsequently discarded him, stints at the Australian Cricket Academy and its Indian equivalent in Bangalore helped to iron out some of the kinks in his technique. Recalled to the one-day side during the 2001-2002 home season, he made an impact with some steady and purposeful batting. But it was during the 2002 NatWest series in England that he truly hit the high notes, culminating in a magnificent unbeaten 87 as India successfully chased 326 for victory in the final.

A superb century followed - against Zimbabwe in the ICC Champions Trophy - but he struggled at times to kick on after that, having a fairly quiet World Cup. His first experience of the county circuit was also a mixed bag, some typically dynamic efforts interspersed by a string of low scores. Kaif's exceptional fielding at cover often overshadowed his poor scores with the bat - including a horror run in 2005-06 - but even that hasn't been enough to win him a permanent place in the Test side.

Harbhajan Singh

India

A player of passion, with talent to match, Harbhajan Singh is India's most successful offspin bowler. Bowling with a windmilling, whiplash action, remodelled after he was reported for throwing, he exercises great command over the ball, has the ability to vary his length and pace, and can turn it the other way too. His main wicket-taking ball, however, is the one that climbs wickedly on the unsuspecting batsman from a good length, forcing him to alter his stroke at the last second.

In March 2001, it proved too much for the all-conquering Australians, as Harbhajan collected 32 wickets in three Tests, including the first Test hat-trick by an Indian, while none of his team-mates managed more than three. He has never quite managed to reach those heights again, but he remains an irresistible force on home pitches where he can be unplayable once he manages an opening. Purists might mutter about a lack of loop and flight, but he is very much a product of his times where short boundaries and heavy bats afford little latitude to slow bowlers.

His overseas record, despite two five-fors against West Indies in India's last tour there in 2006, remains a worry: he averages nearly 40 per wicket outside India, while at home he averages just over 25. He can be occasionally explosive with the bat and has scored nearly 1000 runs. At 26, he remains the prime candidate to carry on India's rich legacy in spin after the the retirement of Anil Kumble.

Sourav Ganguly

India

Some felt he couldn't play the bouncer, others swore that he was God on the off-side; some laughed at his lack of athleticism, others took immense pride in his ability to galvanise a side. Sourav Ganguly's ability to polarise opinion led to one of the most fascinating dramas in Indian cricket. Yet, nobody can dispute that he was India's most successful Test captain - forging a winning unit from a bunch of talented, but directionless, individuals - and nobody can argue about him being one of the greatest one-day batsmen of all time.

Despite being a batsman who combined grace with surgical precision in his strokeplay, his career had spluttered to a standstill before being resurrected by a scintillating hundred on debut at Lord's in 1996. Later that year, he was promoted to the top of the order in ODIs and, along with Sachin Tendulkar, formed one of the most destructive opening pairs in history.

When he took over the captaincy after the match-fixing exposes in 2000, he quickly proved to be a tough, intuitive and uncompromising leader. Under his stewardship India started winning Test matches away, and put together a splendid streak that took them all the way to the World Cup final in 2003. Later that year, in Australia, an unexpected and incandescent hundred at Brisbane set the tone for the series - Steve Waugh's last - where India fought the world's best team to a standstill. Victory in Pakistan turned him into a cult figure but instead of being a springboard for greater things, it was the peak of a slippery slope.

The beginning of the end came in 2004 at Nagpur - when his last-minute withdrawal played a part in Australia clinching the series - and things went pear shaped when his loss of personal form coincided with India's insipid ODI performances. Breaking point was reached when his differences with Greg Chappell leaked into public domain and his career was in jeopardy when India began their remarkable revival under Rahul Dravid. His gritty 30s at Karachi, when India succumbed to a humiliating defeat in early 2006, weren't enough for him to retain his spot and some felt he would never get another chance. Others, as always, thought otherwise and they were proved right when he was included in the Test squad for the away series in South Africa in 2006-2007.

Gautam Gambhir

India

As a 17-year-old stripling in 2000, Gautam Gambhir's attacking strokeplay at the top of the order for Delhi set tongues wagging in India, not least in the ranks of the opposition. Fast-bowler bullies have paid the price for mistaking Gambhir's slight build and shy demeanour for signs of meekness.

His compact footwork, high bat-speed and a brashly youthful approach befuddled bowlers more than once as cautious defence was replaced by the aerial route over point. His success took him close to the Indian side when Zimbabwe toured early in 2002. He had pasted successive double-centuries ­ one for Delhi and another for the Board Presidents' XI against the tourists ­ and seemed to be a shoo-in as Shiv Sunder Das's opening partner.

But the selectors persisted instead with the band-aid solution of Deep Dasgupta. Gutted but determined, Gambhir soldiered on, pressing his case with particular urgency in the West Indies with the Indian A side early in 2003. When several senior players asked to be rested after the World Cup, Gambhir was summoned from the wings into the national squad for the TVS Cup in Dhaka. And then, the biggest reward: a call-up into India's Test squad for the fourth Test against Australia at Mumbai, in 2004-05.

MS Dhoni

India

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 - putting even Sehwag in the shade - and followed that up with a colossal 183 not out at Jaipur against Sri Lanka in November, when he broke Adam Gilchrist's record for the highest score by a wicketkeeper in ODIs. He made an instant impact on the Test level too, pounding 148 at Faisalabad, in only his fifth Test, when India were struggling to avoid the follow on, and established himself as one of the critical members of a revitilised side.

Though he struggled with the bat in the West Indies, he wicketkeeping was top-class, especially when standing up to the stumps against the spinners.

Ajit Agarkar

India

Slight, fiery and gifted, Ajit Agarkar is still coming to terms with being Kapil Dev's replacement as India's matchwinner with bat and ball. The ingredients are there, and in the right proportions, but are yet to form a heady and long-lasting mix. Agarkar's entry into international cricket - with an avalanche of wickets that made him the fastest to 50 in ODIs - was matched for speed only by an astonishing batting slump that saw him collect seven consecutive Test ducks against Australia. But India knows he can bat, because tailenders simply do not score half-centuries in 21 balls, as Agarkar did in a one-day game against Zimbabwe, or score Test centuries at Lord's, as Agarkar did in some style in 2002. His aggression is an asset, but the body cannot sometimes support it. Over the last couple of years he's turned into a one-day specialist - arguably India's most effective ODI bowler since 2005 - and occasionally chipped in with the bat as well.

Rahul Dravid

Indian cricketer - the one and only Rahul 'The Wall' Dravid.

Dravid hails from the South Indian state of Karnataka. His father and uncle played cricket, perhaps that's what aroused his interest inthe game. He started at the age of 12 and like most Indians his early cricketing was in the streets.

His school, St. Joseph's had a goodteam and Dravid did well in the junior tournaments to merit selection in the State under-15, under-17 and under-19 tournaments. At one timehe was captain of the Under-19 team and was very successful with the bat.

In 1991 he made his Ranji debut against Maharashtra. Batting at number 7, he scored a masterful 82. He got his maiden first classhundred in the next game against Bengal (134 at number 6). The next year brought more success for Rahul as he scored centuries againstteams like Goa and Kerala.

He got tremendous support from great former players like Gundappa Vishwanath, K.K.Tarapore, Roger Binny andBrijesh Patel. All this time he did not neglect his studies - he studied at St.Joseph's College of Commerce and though he had toremain absent from college for long periods of time, he maintained a first class record throughout.

In 1995-96 he broke into the international team for the first time and since then he has delivered consistent and solid performances. Heis admired for his classy and technically correct batting. For a long time he was labelled a Test batsman because of his low strike rate eventhough he showed signs of some explosive batting - we all remember the way he thrashed Alan Donald in a crucial match, driving the fearsome bowler to despair. He has solved the problem of missing out on centuries long ago.

The New Zealand tour in Dec 1998 - Jan 1999 saw him come into his own and cement his place in the One-Day team. No longer does he plod around, wasting hittable balls. His strike rate is comparable with the best and his average has also risen to a decent level. This shows his strength of character, since he has come back strongly after being outof the team for so long.

At World Cup '99 he moved into the realms of greatness with a fantastic performance which saw everybody singing his praises. Today Rahul is an integral part of the Indian team, both in One-Day and Test matches.

Rahul's abilities are not confined to batting alone. He bowls right-arm offbreaks and keeps wickets too, both of which he has done for the country at some time or the other.

Infact, at the World Cup he did a good job in the absence of Mongia. As a consequence many experts are suggesting that he be groomed as a wicket-keeper batsman. This will allow the selectors to drop the non-performing Mongia andreplace him with a good all-rounder.

Cricket - Sachin Tendulkar - INDIA

Born in a middle class Rajapur Saraswat Brahmins community in Bombay, now known as Mumbai, Tendulkar was named after his family's favourite music director Sachin Dev Burman. His late father Ramesh Tendulkar was a Marathi novelist. He was encouraged to play cricket by his elder brother, Ajit Tendulkar. Sachin Tendulkar married Anjali Mehta, the paediatrician daughter of Gujarati industrialist Anand Mehta, in 1995, some years after they were introduced by mutual friends. They have two children, Sara (born 12 October 1997) and Arjun (born 23 September, 2000). Tendulkar sponsors 200 under-privileged children, every year through Apnalaya, a Mumbai-based NGO associated with his mother-in-law, Annabel Mehta. He is reluctant to speak about this, or other charitable activities, choosing to preserve the sanctity of his personal life despite the overwhelming media interest in him.