Gautam Gambhir
Source: Cricinfo, 13 March 2013 Gautam Gambhir ( pronunciation (help·info); born 14 October 1981) is an Indian international cricketer. He is a left-handed opening batsman who plays domestic cricket for Delhi, and captains Kolkata Knight Riders in the Indian Premier League (IPL). He made his One Day International (ODI) debut against Bangladesh in 2003, and played his first Test the following year against Australia. He captained the Indian team in six ODIs from late-2010 to late-2011 with India winning all six matches. He played an integral part in India's wins in the finals of both the 2007 World Twenty20 (75 from 54 balls) and the 2011 Cricket World Cup (97 from 122 balls). Gambhir is the only Indian and one of four international cricketers to have scored five hundreds in five consecutive Test matches. He is the only Indian batsman to have scored more than 300 runs in four consecutive Test series. As of February 2014, he is the highest run-scorer for India in Twenty20 Internationals. Under Gambhir's captaincy, the Kolkata Knight Riders won their maiden IPL title in 2012 and again in 2014. Fellow Indian team-mate Virender Sehwag called Gambhir "the best Indian opener since Sunil Gavaskar". He was conferred the Arjuna Award, India's second highest sporting award, in the year 2008 by the President of India. In 2009, he was the number one ranked batsman in ICC Test rankings. The same year, he was the recipient of the ICC Test Player of the Year award.