Rahul Dravid

Rahul Dravid

Rahul Dravid at GQ Men of the Year 2012 Awards
Personal information
Full name	Rahul Sharad Dravid
Born	11 January 1973 (age 44) Indore, Madhya Pradesh, India
Nickname	The Wall, Jammy, Mr. Dependable
Height	5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)
Batting style	Right-handed
Bowling style	Right arm off spin
Role	Batsman, occasional wicketkeeper, Coach
Website	www.rahuldravid.com
International information
National side	India
Test debut (cap 207)	20 June 1996 v England
Last Test	24 January 2012 v Australia
ODI debut (cap 95)	3 April 1996 v Sri Lanka
Last ODI	16 September 2011 v England
ODI shirt no.	19 (prev. 5)
Only T20I (cap 38)	31 August 2011 v England
Domestic team information
Years	Team
1990–2012	Karnataka
2000	Kent
2003	Scottish Saltires
2008–2010	Royal Challengers Bangalore
2011–2013	Rajasthan Royals
2014	Marylebone Cricket Club
Career statistics
Competition Test ODI FC LA Matches 164 344 298 449 Runs scored 13,288 10,889 23,794 15,271 Batting average 52.31 39.16 55.33 42.30 100s/50s 36/63 12/83 68/117 21/112 Top score 270 153 270 153 Balls bowled 120 186 617 477 Wickets 1 4 5 4 Bowling average 39.00 42.50 54.60 105.25 5 wickets in innings 0 0 0 0 10 wickets in match 0 0 0 0 Best bowling 1/18 2/43 2/16 2/43 Catches/stumpings 210/0 196/14 353/1 233/17
Source: Cricinfo, 30 January 2012

Rahul Dravid ( pronunciation (help·info); born 11 January 1973) is a former Indian cricketer and captain, widely regarded as one of the greatest batsmen in the history of cricket.^[1][2][3]Born in a Marathi family and brought up in Bangalore, he started playing cricket at the age of 12 and later represented Karnataka at the under-15, under-17 and under-19 levels. Hailed as The Wall, Dravid was named one of the best five cricketers of the year by Wisden Cricketers' Almanack in 2000 and received the Player of the Year and the Test Player of the Year awards at the inaugural ICC awards ceremony in 2004.^[4][5] In December 2011, he became the first non-Australian cricketer to deliver the Bradman Oration in Canberra.^[6]

As of December 2016, Dravid is the fourth-highest run scorer in Test cricket, after Sachin Tendulkar, Ricky Ponting and Jacques Kallis, and is only the second Indian cricketer, after Tendulkar to score 10,000 runs both in Tests and in ODIs.^[7][8] In 2004, after completing his century against Bangladesh in Chittagong, he became the first and the only player till date to score a century in all the ten Test-playing countries.^[9] As of October 2012, he holds the record for the most number of catches taken by a player (non-wicket-keeper) in Test cricket, with 210.^[10] Dravid holds a unique record of never getting out for a Golden duck in the 286 Test innings which he has played.

In August 2011, after receiving a surprise call in the ODI series against England, Dravid declared his retirement from ODIs as well as Twenty20 International (T20I), and in March 2012, he announced his retirement from international and first-class cricket. He appeared in the 2012 Indian Premier League as captain of the Rajasthan Royals.^[11]

Rahul Dravid, along with Glenn McGrath were honoured during the seventh annual Bradman Awards function in Sydney on 1 November 2012.^[12] Dravid has also been honoured with the Padma Shri and the Padma Bhushan award, India's fourth and third highest civilian awards respectively.^[13][14]

In 2014, Rahul Dravid joined the GoSports Foundation, Bangalore as a member of their board of advisors. In collaboration with GoSports Foundation he is mentoring India's future Olympians and Paralympians as part of the Rahul Dravid Athlete Mentorship Programme.^[15]Indian badminton player Prannoy Kumar, Para-swimmer Sharath Gayakwad and young Golfer Chikkarangappa S. was part of the initial group of athletes to be mentored by Rahul Dravid.

Contents

  [hide] 

• 1Early life
• 2Formative years and domestic career
• 3International debut
• 4Early years (1996-98) — a tale of two formats
  • 4.1Success in Test cricket
  • 4.2Struggle in ODIs
• 5Debut World Cup success
• 6Rise through the ranks
  • 6.1County stint
  • 6.2Golden years
    • 6.2.1Australia tour of India 2000/01
      • 6.2.1.1History at Eden
    • 6.2.2India tour of England, 2002
    • 6.2.32003 Cricket World Cup
  • 6.32011 Tour of England
  • 6.4Retirement
• 7Twenty20 career
• 8Personal life
• 9Playing style
• 10Controversies
  • 10.1Ball-tampering incident
  • 10.2Multan declaration
  • 10.3Other Notable Incidents
• 11Captaincy record
  • 11.1Test Matches
  • 11.2One Day Internationals
• 12Biographies
• 13Other work
  • 13.1Commercial endorsements
  • 13.2Social commitments
• 14See also
• 15References
• 16External links
  

Sachin Tendulkar

"Tendulkar" redirects here. For other people with the same surname, see Tendulkar (surname).

For the upcoming film based on the life of Sachin Tendulkar, see Sachin: A Billion Dreams.

Sachin Tendulkar

Tendulkar with the ICC Cricket World Cup
Personal information
Full name	Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar
Born	24 April 1973 (age 43)[1] Bombay (now Mumbai),Maharashtra, India
Nickname	Tendlya, Little Master,[1] Master Blaster[2][3]
Height	5 ft 5 in (165 cm)
Batting style	Right-handed
Bowling style	Right-arm medium, leg break, off break
Role	Batsman
Relations	Wife: Anjali Tendulkar (m. 1995) Daughter: Sara Tendulkar (b. 1997) Son: Arjun Tendulkar (b. 1999)
International information
National side	India
Test debut(cap 187)	15 November 1989 v Pakistan
Last Test	14 November 2013 v West Indies
ODI debut(cap 74)	18 December 1989 v Pakistan
Last ODI	18 March 2012 v Pakistan
ODI shirt no.	10
Only T20I(cap 11)	1 December 2006 v South Africa
Domestic team information
Years	Team
1988	Cricket Club of India
1988–2013	Mumbai
1992	Yorkshire
2008–2013	Mumbai Indians (squad no. 10)
2014	Marylebone Cricket Club
Career statistics
Competition Test ODI FC LA Matches 200 463 310 551 Runs scored 15,921 18,426 25,396 21,999 Batting average 53.78 44.83 57.84 45.54 100s/50s 51/68 49/96 81/116 60/114 Top score 248* 200* 248* 200* Balls bowled 4,240 8,054 7,605 10,230 Wickets 46 154 71 201 Bowling average 54.17 44.48 61.74 42.17 5 wickets in innings 0 2 0 2 10 wickets in match 0 n/a 0 n/a Best bowling 3/10 5/32 3/10 5/32 Catches/stumpings 115/– 140/– 186/– 175/–
Member of parliament, Rajya Sabha (Nominated)
In office
27 April 2012–
Source: Cricinfo, 15 November 2013

Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar (ⁱ/ˌsətʃɪn tɛnˈduːlkər/; born 24 April 1973) is a former Indiancricketer and captain, widely regarded as one of the greatest batsmen of all time.^[4] He took up cricket at the age of eleven, made his Test debut on 15 November 1989 against Pakistanin Karachi at the age of sixteen, and went on to represent Mumbai domestically and Indiainternationally for close to twenty-four years. He is the only player to have scored one hundred international centuries, the first batsman to score a double century in a One Day International, the holder of the record for the number of runs in both ODI and Test cricket, and the only player to complete more than 30,000 runs in international cricket.^[5]

In 2002, just halfway through his career, Wisden Cricketers' Almanack ranked him the second greatest Test batsman of all time, behind Don Bradman, and the second greatest ODI batsman of all time, behind Viv Richards.^[6] Later in his career, Tendulkar was a part of the Indian team that won the 2011 World Cup, his first win in six World Cup appearances for India.^[7] He had previously been named "Player of the Tournament" at the 2003 edition of the tournament, held in South Africa. In 2013, he was the only Indian cricketer included in an all-time Test World XI named to mark the 150th anniversary of Wisden Cricketers' Almanack.^[8][9][10]

Tendulkar received the Arjuna Award in 1994 for his outstanding sporting achievement, theRajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna award in 1997, India's highest sporting honour, and the Padma Shri and Padma Vibhushan awards in 1999 and 2008, respectively, India's fourth and second highest civilian awards.^[11] After a few hours of his final match on 16 November 2013, the Prime Minister's Office announced the decision to award him the Bharat Ratna, India's highest civilian award.^[12][13] He is the youngest recipient to date and the first ever sportsperson to receive the award.^[14][15] He also won the 2010 Sir Garfield Sobers Trophyfor cricketer of the year at the ICC awards.^[16] In 2012, Tendulkar was nominated to theRajya Sabha, the upper house of the Parliament of India.^[17] He was also the first sportsperson and the first person without an aviation background to be awarded the honorary rank of group captain by the Indian Air Force.^[18] In 2012, he was named an Honorary Member of the Order of Australia.^[19][20]

In December 2012, Tendulkar announced his retirement from ODIs.^[21] He retired from Twenty20 cricket in October 2013^[22] and subsequently announced his retirement from all forms of cricket,^[23][24] retiring on 16 November 2013 after playing his 200th and final Test match, against the West Indies in Mumbai's Wankhede Stadium.^[25] Tendulkar played 664 international cricket matches in total, scoring 34,357 runs.^[5]

Lionel Messi

"Messi" redirects here. For the biopic, see Messi (film).

Lionel Messi

Messi with Barcelona during the UEFA Super Cup in August 2015
Personal information
Full name	Lionel Andrés Messi[note 1]
Date of birth	24 June 1987 (age 29)
Place of birth	Rosario, Argentina
Height	1.70 m (5 ft 7 in)[1]
Playing position	Forward
Club information
Current team	Barcelona
Number	10
Youth career
1994–2000	Newell's Old Boys
2001–2004	Barcelona
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2003–2004	Barcelona C	10	(5)
2004–2005	Barcelona B	22	(6)
2004–	Barcelona	365	(327)
National team‡
2004–2005	Argentina U20	18	(14)
2008	Argentina U23	5	(2)
2005–	Argentina	116	(57)
Honours[show]
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 29 January 2017. ‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 16 November 2016

Lionel Andrés "Leo" Messi (Spanish pronunciation: [ljoˈnel anˈdɾes ˈmesi] ( listen); born 24 June 1987) is an Argentine professional footballer who plays as a forward for Spanish club FC Barcelona and captains the Argentina national team. Often considered the best player in the world and rated by many in the sport as the greatest of all time, Messi is the only football player in history to win five FIFA Ballons d'Or, four of which he won consecutively, and the first player to win threeEuropean Golden Shoes.^{[note 2]} With Barcelona he has won eight La Liga titles and four UEFA Champions League titles, as well as four Copas del Rey. Both a prolific goalscorer and a creative playmaker, Messi holds the records for most goals scored in La Liga, a La Liga season (50), and a football season (82), as well as those for most assists made in La Liga and the Copa América. He has scored over 500 senior career goals for club and country.

Born and raised in central Argentina, Messi was diagnosed with a growth hormone deficiency as a child. At age 13, he relocated to Spain to join Barcelona, who agreed to pay for his medical treatment. After a fast progression through Barcelona's youth academy, Messi made his competitive debut aged 17 in October 2004. Despite being injury-prone during his early career, he established himself as an integral player for the club within the next three years, finishing 2007 as a finalist for both the Ballon d'Or and FIFA World Player of the Year award, a feat he repeated the following year. His first uninterrupted campaign came in the 2008–09 season, during which he helped Barcelona achieve the first treble in Spanish football. At 22 years old, Messi won the Ballon d'Or and FIFA World Player of the Year award by record voting margins.

Three successful seasons followed, with Messi winning three consecutive FIFA Ballons d'Or, including an unprecedented fourth. His personal best campaign to date was the 2011–12 season, in which he set the La Liga and European records for most goals scored in a single season, while establishing himself as Barcelona's all-time top scorer in official competitions in March 2012. He again struggled with injury during the following two seasons, twice finishing second for the Ballon d'Or behind Cristiano Ronaldo, his perceived career rival. Messi regained his best form during the 2014–15 campaign, breaking the all-time goalscoring records in both La Liga and the Champions League in November 2014,^{[note 3]} and led Barcelona to a historic second treble.

An Argentine international, Messi is his country's all-time leading goalscorer. At youth level, he won the 2005 FIFA World Youth Championship, finishing the tournament with both the Golden Ball and Golden Shoe, and an Olympic gold medal at the 2008 Summer Olympics. His style of play as a diminutive, left-footed dribbler drew comparisons with compatriot Diego Maradona, who declared the teenager his successor. After making his senior debut in August 2005, Messi became the youngest Argentine to play and score in a FIFA World Cup during the 2006 edition, and reached the final of the 2007 Copa América, where he was named young player of the tournament. As the squad's captain from August 2011, he led Argentina to three consecutive finals: the 2014 World Cup, for which he won the Golden Ball, the 2015 and the 2016 Copas América.

Early life

Lionel Andrés Messi was born on 24 June 1987 in Rosario, Santa Fe, the third of four children of Jorge Messi, a steel factory manager, and his wife Celia Cuccittini, who worked in a magnet manufacturing workshop. On his father's side, he is of Italian and Spanish heritage, the great-grandson of immigrants from Marche and Catalonia, and on his mother's side, he is of primarily Italian descent.^[2] Growing up in a tight-knit, football-loving family, "Leo" developed a passion for the sport from an early age, playing constantly with his older brothers, Rodrigo and Matías, and his cousins, Maximiliano and Emanuel Biancucchi, both of whom became professional footballers.^[6] At the age of four years, he joined local club Grandoli, where he was coached by his father, though his earliest influence as a player came from his maternal grandmother, Celia, who accompanied him to training and matches.^[7] He was greatly affected by her death, shortly before his eleventh birthday; since then, as a devout Catholic, he has celebrated his goals by looking up and pointing to the sky in tribute of his grandmother.^[8][9]

"When you saw him you would think: this kid can't play ball. He's a dwarf, he's too fragile, too small. But immediately you'd realise that he was born different, that he was a phenomenon and that he was going to be something impressive."

—Newell's Old Boys youth coach Adrián Coria shares his first impression of the 12-year-old Messi.^[10]

A lifelong supporter of Newell's Old Boys, Messi joined the Rosario club when he was six years old. During the six years he played for Newell's, he scored almost 500 goals as a member of "The Machine of '87", the near-unbeatable youth side named for the year of their birth, and regularly entertained crowds by performing ball tricks during half-time of the first team's home games.^[11][12] However, his future as a professional player was threatened when, at age 10, he was diagnosed with a growth hormone deficiency. As his father's health insurance covered only two years of growth hormone treatment, which cost at least $1,000 per month, Newell's agreed to contribute, but later reneged on their promise.^[13] He was scouted by Buenos Aires club River Plate, whose playmaker, Pablo Aimar, he idolised, but they were also unable to pay for his treatment due to the country's economic collapse.^[14][15]

Messi enrolled at Barcelona's youth academy, La Masia, at age 13.

As the Messi family had relatives in Catalonia, they sought to arrange a trial with Barcelona in September 2000. First team director Charly Rexach immediately wanted to sign him, but the board of directors hesitated; at the time it was highly unusual for European clubs to sign foreign players of such a young age. On 14 December, an ultimatum was issued for Barcelona to prove their commitment, and Rexach, with no other paper at hand, offered a contract on a paper napkin.^[14][16] In February 2001, the family relocated to Barcelona, where they moved into an apartment near the club's stadium, Camp Nou. During his first year in Spain, Messi rarely played with the Infantiles due to a transfer conflict with Newell's; as a foreigner, he could only be fielded in friendlies and the Catalan league. Without football, he struggled to integrate into the team; already reserved by nature, he was so quiet that his teammates initially believed he was mute. At home, he suffered from homesickness after his mother moved back to Rosario with his brothers and little sister, María Sol, while he stayed in Barcelona with his father.