The Great Wall of India – Anshuman Gaekwad

We have heard about Rahul Dravid being one of the most patient batsmen in Indian cricket. But years before Dravid made his debut in the international arena, Anshuman Gaekwad used to be the defensive

stroke maker of the Indian batting line up. He was known for his defensive technique which proved to be a great weapon against the mighty fast bowlers of that time.

The first Indian opener and wicket keeper- Janardan Navle

• Navle faced the historic first delivery of India's first Test innings in 1932.
• He opened in both innings at Lord's in 1932 and also kept wickets.
  

(The 1932 Indian Test Cricket team that toured England. Janardan Navle is seen standing last in the first row of the team Captained by Maharaja of Porbandar.)

Lala Amarnath- The first skipper of Independent India

•        He was the first cricketer to score a Test century for the Indian cricket team, which he achieved on his debut.
  
•    He made his debut against England at Mumbai in the year 1933.
•      He was also independent India's first Test captain, leading the team on a tour of Australia in 1947-1948.
•         Amarnath as captain was complimented for being straightforward and aggressive, and possessing great tactical acumen.
•     U nder his leadership, India won its first-ever Test against the Pakistan cricket team in Delhi in 1952, and went on to win the series 2-1.

Ranjitsinhji

• Ranji, was the ruler of the Indian princely state ofNawanagar from 1907 to 1933, as Maharaja Jam Saheb, and a noted Test cricketer who played for the English cricket team.
  
• He also played first-class cricket for Cambridge University, and county cricket for Sussex.
•  Neville Cardus described him as "the Midsummer night's dream of cricket".
• He played more on the back foot.
• The first-class cricket tournament in India, the Ranji Trophy, was named in his honour and inaugurated in 1935 by the Maharaja Bhupinder Singh of Patiala. 
• Ranjitsinhji began to establish a reputation for unorthodox cricket, and attracted some interest to his play, but important cricketers did not take him seriously as he played contrary to the accepted way for an amateur or university batsman, established by the conventions in English public schools. In one match, he was observed by the captain of the Cambridge University cricket team and future England captain Stanley Jackson, who found his batting and probably his appearance unusual but was not impressed.

Cricket World Cup- History

• The first World Cup was organised in England in June 1975, with the first ODI cricket match having been played only four years prior. 

History of Zimbabwe cricket

• In common with all the other full members of the ICC, Zimbabwe – known as Rhodesia until independence from the United Kingdom in 1980 – had a national cricket team before it achieved Test status.

History of the Pakistani cricket team

• The Pakistan cricket team made its Test cricket debut in 1952.