Remembering the Legends of Indian Cricket

The indian cricket has had a long journey since the emergence of our cricket team. Before independence we have seen some special heroes like CK nayudu, Lala amaranth and Mohammad nissar which made their test debut in 1932 cricket team that included some players from Pakistan and Bangladesh. Lala amaranth was the first captain led India after independence in 1948 against the mighty Australia (kangaroos ) who were on a role under the leadership of Don Bradman and announced the emerging talent of the Indian cricket and legends about to come.

We did’t wait long to taste the success and were victorious against the English side which toured the sub-continent in 50’s but our first test victory came in 1952 in madras when we demolished the Pakistanis and tasted first ever test victory in the same year. Some of the stars of 50’s and 60’s include Vinoo Mankad, Hemu Adhikari, Chandu Borde, Sbhash Gupte and Mansur Ali Khan Pataudi, who were considered the pillars of the Indian cricket. They instilled a belief of winning in the team. Nawab Patudi one of the Legends of our cricket lost the sight of one eye in a car accident that impaired his right eye forever, he led India in 40 of 46 Tests he played in, and won 12 of them. Indians achieved their first ever victory on the foreign soil under him in 1967-68.

Most of the 70’s was dominated by the spin wizards of India Bishen Singh Bedi, Erapalli Prasanna, BS Chandrasekhar and Srinivas Venkatraghavan these guys don't need any introduction to the circket pundits and will always remain legends with their golden arms. In this era when the cricket was dominated by the fast bowlers they showed the world why they are regarded the best ever in cricket. Legends when unite they discover legends, the list of legends increased in this era which included Gundappa Viswanath and Sunil Gavaskar. Sunil went on to make history he was the first player to achieve 10,000 test runs studded with 34 test centuries now taken over by our little master Sachin Tendulkar. These bunch of players were responsible for the back-to-back series wins in West Indies and England in 1971. Kapil Dev emerged as a quality all-rounder towards the end of this decade.

Then came 1980s, players like Mohammed Azharuddin, Ravi Shastri, Sanjay Manjrekar, Krish Srikkanth, Madan Lal and Maninder Singh emerged. India won the Cricket World Cup in 1983 under Kapil Dev defeating Clive Lloyds formidable and very tough to beat West Indies in the final. This changed the outlook of cricket in India and cricket became a religion for the cricket lovers. In 1985, India won the World Championship of Cricket in Australia. The test series victory in 1986 in England remains, the most cherish able to date. Every youngster wanted to perform like kapil and sunil after the saga of successful Indian cricket and their unforgetable achievements.

Then came the youngster silently like a tiger is before the kill, he is undoubtedly the best any country has ever produced, Sachin Tendulakar the youngest Indian Cricket Player to make his Test debut at an age of 16 years, 205 days against Pakistan in 1989 in Karachi. Lot has been said about the passion, aggression, style, authority, elegance, outstanding technique and an eagerness to learn and master the game of cricket. An idol for the youngsters not only in India but wherever and whenever he traveled. He is considered to be the god of cricket who changed the way cricket was played in Indian and all over the world. The emergence of Sachin Tendulkar and Anil Kumble in 1989 and 1990 gave further proof of Indian cricket's depth and talent. The Indian side went from strength to strength during the 1990s.

Anil Kumble became the second bowler in the history of the game to take all ten wickets in a Test match innings when he took 10 for 74 against Pakistan at New Delhi. Sachin Tendulkar continued to set new records while Rahul Dravid, Saurav Ganguly, Javagal Srinath made their mark in international cricket during this decade. India reached the final of the 2003 Cricket World Cup played in South Africa.

The legend are still flowing in but one legend will be on top of my list is the Grandpa of cricket "Sachin Tendulkar". He has dedicated his 20 years to cricket, still looks eager to perform and learn. His hunger for runs has not yet diminished.

My Tribute to all.