Rahul Sharad Dravid is an Indian cricket coach and former captain of the Indian national team, currently serving as its head coach. Known for his outstanding batting technique, Dravid scored 24,177 runs in international cricket and is widely regarded as one of the greatest batsmen in the history of cricket. He is colloquially known as Mr. Dependable and often referred to as The Wall. He helped the Indian national cricket team become the winner of the 2002 ICC Champions Trophy.
Vangipurapu Venkata Sai Laxman is a former Indian international cricketer and a former cricket commentator and pundit. A right-hand batsman known for his elegant stroke play, Laxman played as a middle-order batsman in Test cricket. Laxman is currently the Head of Cricket at the National Cricket Academy (NCA), and the head coach of the India Under-19 and India A teams. Laxman was a member of the Indian team that was one of the joint-winners of the 2002 ICC Champions Trophy, which the title was also shared with Sri Lanka.
An all-rounder is a cricketer who regularly performs well at both batting and bowling. Although all bowlers must bat and quite a handful of batsmen do bowl occasionally, most players are skilled in only one of the two disciplines and are considered specialists. Some wicket-keepers have the skills of a specialist batter and have been referred to as all-rounders, but the term wicket-keeper-batter is more commonly applied to them, even if they are substitute wicket keepers who also bowl.
The Duckworth–Lewis–Stern method (DLS) is a mathematical formulation designed to calculate the target score for the team batting second in a limited overs cricket match interrupted by weather or other circumstances. The method was devised by two English statisticians, Frank Duckworth and Tony Lewis, and was formerly known as the Duckworth–Lewis method (D/L). It was introduced in 1997, and adopted officially by the ICC in 1999. After the retirement of both Duckworth and Lewis, Steven Stern became the custodian of the method, which was renamed to its current title in November 2014.
The Border–Gavaskar Trophy is an International Test cricket trophy played between India and Australia. The series is named after distinguished former captains, Australia's Allan Border and India's Sunil Gavaskar. It is played via Test series scheduled using International Cricket Council's Future Tours Programme. The winner of a Test series wins the trophy. If a series is drawn, the country holding the trophy retains it. Given the competitive nature of the India-Australia rivalry and the high standings of both teams, the Border-Gavaskar trophy is considered to be one of the most prestigious bilateral trophies in world cricket.
In cricket, a team who batted second and scored significantly fewer runs than the team who batted first may be forced to follow-on: to take their second innings immediately after their first. The follow-on can be enforced by the team who batted first, and is intended to reduce the probability of a drawn result, by allowing the second team's second innings to be completed sooner and to avoid a team who were significantly better in their first innings from having to declare their second innings closed so they can attempt to win the match, giving the inferior team an undeserved advantage.
Ian Ronald Bell is an English former cricketer who played international cricket in all formats for the England cricket team and county cricket for Warwickshire County Cricket Club. A right-handed higher/middle order batsman, described in The Times as an "exquisite rapier," with a strong cover drive, Bell was also an occasional right-arm medium pace bowler and a slip fielder. He was also noted for his sharp reflexes and often fielded in close catching positions. He scored twenty-two Test centuries and four One Day International (ODI) 100s.
Sir Alastair Nathan Cook is an English former cricketer and former captain of the England Test and One-Day International (ODI) teams. He is considered one of the greatest opening batsmen in test cricket. Cook is the fifth-highest Test run scorer of all time and leading run scorer for England ever. He retired from Test cricket in September 2018 and played for Essex County Cricket Club in English domestic cricket until 2023, while also working for the BBC radio programme Test Match Special, between his commitments for Essex.
Peter John Parnell Burge was an Australian cricketer who played in 42 Test matches between 1955 and 1966. After retiring as a player he became a highly respected match referee, overseeing 25 Tests and 63 One Day Internationals.
Matthew James Prior is a South African-born English former cricketer, who played for England in Test cricket and for Sussex County Cricket Club in domestic cricket. He was a wicket-keeper and his aggressive right-handed batting enabled him to open the innings in ODI matches, even though he made very limited appearances in shorter forms of the game. With an international Test debut score of 126, Prior became the first English wicket-keeper to hit a century in his debut match in early 2007. His glovework, however, was criticised. Despite a successful tour of Sri Lanka with the bat, Prior's keeping was less successful, and he was dropped from the team for the 2008 tour of New Zealand. He returned for the 2008 series against South Africa, and was retained into 2009, where he became the second-fastest England keeper to reach 1,000 Test runs, behind Les Ames. He retired in June 2015 from all forms of professional cricket due to a recurring Achilles tendon injury.
Moeen Munir Ali is an English cricketer who serves as vice-captain for England in limited overs cricket. He played Test cricket for England between 2014 and 2023, when he became only the 16th person to hit 3,000 runs and take 200 wickets in Tests. In domestic cricket he represents Warwickshire, having previously played for Worcestershire. He has also played in multiple Twenty20 leagues, including for Royal Challengers Bangalore and Chennai Super Kings in the Indian Premier League.
Shikhar Dhawan is an Indian cricketer. A left-handed opening batsman, he captains Punjab Kings in the Indian Premier League and plays for Delhi in first-class cricket. At the 2013 Champions Trophy and 2017 Champions Trophy, Dhawan was the leading run-scorer and was awarded the 'Golden Bat' in both the tournaments. He was the leading run scorer for India at the 2015 Cricket World Cup. He also became the first player in the history of IPL to score two back-to-back centuries. He was awarded the 'Player of the Tournament' for his exploits in the 2013 ICC Champions Trophy, which he won with his national side. In the 2018 Asia Cup which Dhawan won with his national side, he was named Player Of The Tournament as he was the top scorer of the tournament with the bat.
Steven Peter Devereux Smith is an Australian international cricketer and former captain of the Australian national team in all three formats of the game. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest Test batsmen since Don Bradman. Smith was a member of the Australian teams that won the 2015 and 2023 Cricket World Cup, the 2021 ICC T20 World Cup, and the 2023 ICC World Test Championship final.
Jonathan Marc Bairstow is an English cricketer who plays internationally for England in all formats. In domestic cricket, he represents Yorkshire, and has played in multiple Twenty20 leagues, including for Sunrisers Hyderabad and Punjab Kings in the Indian Premier League.
Joseph Edward Root, is an English international cricketer, who plays for the English cricket team and formerly captained the Test team. He also represents Yorkshire in English domestic cricket. Root is currently the leading run-scorer among all active batsmen and the tenth highest run-scorer of all time in Test cricket. Root is considered to be one of the greatest batsmen of his era and one of the greatest batsmen England has ever produced. He was part of the England team that won the 2019 Cricket World Cup where he top scored for England. He is also England's leading run scorer in the ICC World Cup and the only English player to score over 1000 runs.
Benjamin Andrew Stokes is an English international cricketer who is the captain of the England Test team and plays for the England team in ODIs and T20Is. In domestic cricket, he represents Durham and has played in multiple Twenty20 leagues around the world. He was part of the England team that won the 2019 Cricket World Cup and 2022 T20 World Cup.
Krishnakumar Dinesh Karthik is an Indian professional cricketer and commentator who plays for the India national cricket team and currently in Indian Premier League playing for Royal Challengers Bangalore. He is also the current captain of the Tamil Nadu cricket team in domestic cricket. He made his debut for the Indian cricket team in 2004. Karthik has become the 4th Indian batsman to play 300 T20 matches. Karthik was a member of the team that won both the inaugural 2007 T20 World Cup and the 2013 ICC Champions Trophy.
Frank Dimuth Madushanka Karunaratne, popularly known as Dimuth Karunaratne, is a professional Sri Lankan cricketer and former captain of the Sri Lanka Test and ODI teams. Considered as one of the best Test openers in the world, he has been included 3 times in the ICC Test Cricket Team of the Year. He is the opening batter for Sri Lanka in Test cricket and ODIs. He plays first-class cricket for the Sinhalese Sports Club.
