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Sania Mirza was born in Mumbai, India on the 15th November, 1986 to Mr. Imaran Mirza and Naseema. Saniya Mirza’s father Imran was a sports journalist previously after that he went into the printing business and finally he became a builder and her mother Naseema was associated with the printing industry. The family later relocated themselves in the city of Hyderabad. Saniya Mirza got her schooling from Nasr School Khairatabad and passed her SSC examination with first division securing 63% marks.

Saniya Mirza has got a younger sister by the name of Anam. Saniya was drawn to the lawn tennis by her father; she started playing tennis at the tender age of six at Nizam Club Hyderabad. When Saniya was first taken to the coach he refused to coach her, later on after a week he called up the parents of Saniya and told them that he has never seen such a talent at such a tender age. Her initial training was handled by CK Bhupati father of Mahesh Bhupati, the legendary Indian tennis player.

Sania Mirza’s father was unable to take care of the expenses of the training of Saniya therefore he approached some business houses for help, GVK industries and Adidas started to sponsor her from the age of 12 years. Later on her father Imran took over as her coach. Her physiotherapist is Badrinath.


Sania Mirza learnt the professional tennis at Sinnet Tennis Academy in Secunderabad after that she moved to the Ace Tennis Academy in the United States. Currently her professional career is being managed by Global Sports, a company associated with Mahesh Bhupati and she has appointed Bob Brett who was previously the coach of Boris Becker as a specialist advisor.

Saniya Mirza started playing in international tournaments from the year 1999 when she first represented India in the World Junior Championship, Jakarta; after that Saniya went on to participate in the Asian Games in the year with Paes where she won a bronze medal. She again did India proud when she figured in the main draw for the girls doubles junior Wimbledon Tennis tournament with a 13 year old Russian player Alisa Kleybanova and won the Grand Slam title. Doing so Saniya became the first youngest Indian player to do so.

Jackie Robinson is a Baseball Player, civil rights activist. Born Jack Roosevelt Robinson on January on January 31, 1919, in Cairo, Georgia. Breaking the color barrier, Jackie Robinson became the first African-American to play in baseball's major leagues. The youngest of five children, Robinson was raised in relative poverty by a single mother. He attended John Muir High School and Pasadena Junior College, where he was an excellent athlete and played four sports: football, basketball, track, and baseball. He was named the region's Most Valuable Player in baseball in 1938.

Robinson's older brother, Matthew Robinson, inspired Jackie to pursue his talent and love for athletics. Matthew won a silver medal in the 200-meter dash just behind Jesse Owens at the 1936 Olympic Games in Berlin.

Jackie continued his education at the University of California, Los Angeles, where he became the university's first student to win varsity letters in four sports. In 1941, despite his athletic success, Robinson was forced to leave UCLA just shy of graduation due to financial hardship. He moved to Honolulu, Hawaii, where he played football for the semi-professional Honolulu Bears. His season with the Bears was cut short when the United States entered into World War II.


From 1942 to 1944, Robinson served as a second lieutenant in the United States Army. He never saw combat, however; Robinson was arrested and court-martialed during boot camp after he refused to move to the back of a segregated bus during training. He was later acquitted of the charges and received an honorable discharge. His courage and moral objection to segregation were precursors to the impact Robinson would have in major league baseball.

After his discharge from the Army in 1944, Robinson played baseball professionally. At the time, the sport was segregated, and African-Americans and whites played in separate leagues. Robinson began playing in the Negro Leagues, but he was soon chosen by Branch Rickey, a vice president with the Brooklyn Dodgers, to help integrate major league baseball. He joined the all-white Montreal Royals, a farm team for the Brooklyn Dodgers, in 1945. He moved to Florida in 1946 to begin spring training with the Royals, and played his first game on March 17 of that same year.

Rickey knew there would be difficult times ahead for the young athlete, and made Robinson promise to not fight back when confronted with racism. From the beginning of his career with the Dodgers, Robinson's will was tested. Even some of his new teammates objected to having an African-American on their team. People in the crowds sometimes jeered at Robinson, and he and his family received threats.

Despite the racial abuse, particularly at away games, Robinson had an outstanding start with the Royals, leading the International League with a 0.349 batting average and 0.985 fielding percentage. His excellent year led to his promotion to the Dodgers. His debut game on April 15, 1947, marked the first time an African-American athlete played in the major leagues.


and their manager Ben Chapman. During one infamous game, Chapman and his team shouted derogatory terms at Robinson from their dugout. Many players on opposing teams threatened not to play against the Dodgers. Even his own teammates threatened to sit out. But Dodgers manager Leo Durocher informed them that he would sooner trade them than Robinson. His loyalty to the player set the tone for the rest of Robinson's career with the team.

Others defended Jackie Robinson's right to play in the major leagues, including League President Ford Frick, Baseball Commissioner Happy Chandler, Jewish baseball star Hank Greenberg and Dodgers shortstop and team captain Pee Wee Reese. In one incident, while fans harassed Robinson from the stands, Reese walked over and put his arm around his teammate, a gesture that has become legendary in baseball history.

Jackie Robinson succeeded in putting the prejudice and racial strife aside, and showed everyone what a talented player he was. In his first year, he hit 12 home runs and helped the Dodgers win the National League pennant. That year, Robinson led the National League in stolen bases and was selected as Rookie of the Year. He continued to wow fans and critics alike with impressive feats, such as an outstanding .342 batting average during the 1949 season. He led in stolen bases that year and earned the National League's Most Valuable Player Award.

Robinson soon became a hero of the sport, even among former critics, and was the subject for the popular song, "Did You See Jackie Robinson Hit That Ball?" An exceptional base runner, Robinson stole home 19 times in his career, setting a league record. He also became the highest-paid athlete in Dodgers history, and his success in the major leagues opened the door for other African-American players, such as Satchel Paige , Willie Mays , and Hank Aaron.


Robinson also became a vocal champion for African-American athletes, civil rights, and other social and political causes. In July 1949, he testified on discrimination before the House Un-American Activities Committee. In 1952, he publicly called out the Yankees as a racist organization for not having broken the color barrier five years after he began playing with the Dodgers.

In his decade-long career with the Dodgers, Robinson and his team won the National League pennant several times. Finally, in 1955, he helped them achieve the ultimate victory: the World Series. After failing before in four other series match-ups, the Dodgers beat the New York Yankees. He helped the team win one more National League pennant the following season, and was then traded to the New York Giants. Jackie Robinson retired shortly after the trade, on January 5, 1957, with an impressive career batting average of .311.

After baseball, Robinson became active in business and continued his work as an activist for social change. He worked as an executive for the Chock Full O' Nuts coffee company and restaurant chain and helped establish the Freedom National Bank. He served on the board of the NAACP until 1967 and was the first African-American to be inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1962. In 1972, the Dodgers retired his uniform number of 42.

In his later years, Robinson continued to lobby for greater integration in sports. He died from heart problems and diabetes complications on October 24, 1972, in Stamford, Connecticut. He was survived by his wife, Rachel Isum, and their three children. After his death, his wife established the Jackie Robinson Foundation dedicated to honoring his life and work. The foundation helps young people in need by providing scholarships and mentoring programs.

The Gangster Frank Lucas Born September 9, 1930, in La Grange, North Carolina. Lucas was a country boy who grew up in Greensboro, North Carolina. He had almost no formal education when he moved to New York City's Harlem district in 1946.

There he entered the world of street crime. By the 1960s, he had constructed an international drug empire that spanned from New York to South East Asia. Killings, extortion, and bribery were his modus operandi. Lucas had millions in cash and property in several cities, when he was busted in 1975. Always the consummate con-man, Lucas turned states' evidence for a reduced sentence. After his incarceration, he denounced his crime activities and has tried to make amends for his past deeds, helping his daughter with a non-profit organization dedicated to helping children of incarcerated parents called "Yellow Brick Road." In 2007, Denzel Washington starred in a movie of his life of crime, American Gangster.

As with many "larger than life" personalities, the biography of Frank Lucas is shrouded in fact, mystery, and myth, much of which has been perpetuated by Lucas himself. He grew up in very poor conditions in rural North Carolina, during the depths of the Great Depression. Many Americans in the rural south were poor at this time, but most African-Americans were the poorest of the poor. Lucas spent much of his early youth looking after his younger siblings and getting into trouble. He has claimed that the one incident that sparked his life of crime was witnessing the murder of his cousin. He was only six years old when five members of the Ku Klux Klan, shrouded in sheets and hoods, showed up one night at the shack where he was living. The men killed Lucas's 13-year-old cousin on the spot, claiming he had looked at a white woman in a flirtatious way. But, like much of the folklore surrounding Frank Lucas, investigators have never uncovered evidence to support his claim.

As the oldest boy in the family, Lucas had to find ways for the family to survive. With the Depression raging on, it was difficult to obtain and hold a job, so he resorted to stealing food. Later, as he got older and stronger, he found some success mugging intoxicated customers outside the local tavern. In his later teen years, he got a job working as a truck driver for a pipe company until he was caught in the act of sleeping with the boss' daughter. In the ensuing fight, Lucas hit the father on the head with a pipe, knocking him out cold. He then stole $400 from the company till and set the establishment on fire. Fearing he would be arrested and jailed for much of his life, his mother pleaded with him to flee to New York.


Lucas and Atkinson created an "army inside the Army" of draftees and enlisted men in order to set up the international distribution system. Key military personnel had to be "bought" into the system, including high-ranking officers, both American and South Vietnamese. Lucas used a combination of charm and pricy bribes to recruit his team. As he did with nearly all parts of his enterprise, Lucas would oversee the operations personally in southeast Asia, sometimes disguising himself as an Army officer.

The plan was to send shipments of heroin on military planes to military bases on the eastern seaboard. From there, the packages would be sent to accomplices who unpacked the heroin and prepared it for sale. Hyperbole suggests that much of the dope was stuffed into the coffins of dead service men, or even stuffed into the cadavers. Lucas testified that he recruited a North Carolina carpenter and flew him to Bangkok to build over two dozen government-issued coffins with false bottoms, big enough to load in 6 to 8 kilos of heroin. But it has been reported that Atkinson only packed the smuggled heroin in furniture.


In setting up his organization back in the States, Frank Lucas combined toughness with intelligence, being very careful to make sure every detail was covered. He contracted only trusted relatives and close friends from North Carolina; people like Leslie Atkinson. He believed they were less likely to steal from him and be tempted by the vices of the city. He recruited his five younger brothers, and moved them to New York. In the city, they became known as the "Country Boys," and they controlled the territory on 116th Street between 7th and 8th avenues in Harlem.

Lucas approached marketing his product like any entrepreneur by offering value for the right price. Because he was getting nearly pure heroin directly from the source, he was able to "cut" the drug at a higher level usually between 10 and 12 percent when most street heroin was only about 5 to 6 percent. Lucas hired several young women to mix the imported heroin with mannite and quinine. To prevent theft, these women wore nothing but plastic gloves. To protect his investment, Lucas inflicted brutal violence against anyone who stood in his way, inflicting fear in adversaries and inspiring respect from friends and business partners.

Just as Lucas had planned, the money came pouring in. He often bragged that he was making a million dollars a day. There often wasn't enough space to hide the cash, so he would launder the money, personally driving large bags of bills to a bank in the Bronx where the bankers would count it and exchange it for legitimate bills. Bank executives would later plead guilty to 200 misdemeanor violations of the Bank Secrecy Act. At the height of his career, he had over $52 million in various Cayman Island banks and 1,000 kilograms of heroin on hand worth $300,000 a kilo. To "hide" the exchanged money, Lucas bought into legitimate businesses such as a string of dry cleaners and gas stations in the hopes of avoiding detection. He also owned office buildings in Detroit, apartments in Los Angeles, Miami, and Puerto Rico, and a several thousand acre ranch called "Paradise Valley" in North Carolina where he had 300 head of Black Angus cattle and prize breeding bulls.

Frank Lucas arrived in Harlem in the summer of 1946. People told him to be smart and get a decent job as an elevator operator or door man at a hotel. But Lucas saw how real money was made on the streets, through illegal gambling and drugs. With each ensuing crime, he became more bold and ruthless. He first robbed a local bar at gunpoint. Then he stole a tray of diamonds from a jewelry store, breaking a guard's jaw with a slug from his brass knuckles. Feeling confident, he brazenly broke into a high-stakes crap game at local club and robbed all the players. Then, in the summer of 1966, on a crowded sidewalk, Lucas shot a local thug who reneged on a dope deal. His efforts caught the eye of Ellsworth "Bumpy" Johnson, a long-time Harlem gangster who controlled gambling and extortion operations.

Denzel Washington is an Actor and Director was born on December 28, 1954, in Mount Vernon, New York, where the Boys & Girls Club would help keep him out of trouble. When he was 14, his parents' marriage broke down and he and his older sister were sent away to boarding school.

Washington went to Fordham University to study journalism. But when he got the acting bug, Washington won a scholarship to the American Conservatory Theater in San Francisco, and afterwards worked with the Shakespeare in the Park ensemble.

Washington made his feature film debut in the comedy A Carbon Copy (1981). He also appeared in a number of off-Broadway productions and in television movies before being cast in a starring role in the hit television medical drama St Elsewhere (1982–88).

Washington grabbed his first of five Oscar nominations for Cry Freedom (1987) as real-life South African apartheid martyr Steve Biko. He won a Best Supporting Actor Oscar for Glory (1989).

Washington proved time and again he could disappear into a role and mesmerize audiences.


He appeared in several notable films throughout the 1990s, including his first of four Spike Lee collaborations Mo’ Better Blues (1990), Malcolm X (1992) in another Oscar-nominated performance, Philadelphia (1993), Crimson Tide (1995), Courage Under Fire (1996) and The Hurricane (1999), for which he received a Golden Globe for Best Actor and another Oscar nomination.

In 2001, he received his second Oscar (this time in a leading role) for the cop thriller Training Day. The following year, he directed his first film, the drama Antwone Fisher, in which he also co-starred.


Several blockbusters followed, including Man on Fire (2004), The Manchurian Candidate (2004) and Spike Lee's Inside Man (2006). He also starred as Frank Lucas, a real-life heroin kingpin from Harlem, in the 2007 film American Gangster, opposite Russell Crowe. In 2009, Washington starred as MTA Dispatcher Walter Garber in the remake of the classic film The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3.

Denzel Washington married actress Pauletta Pearson in 1983; they have four children. Their oldest son, John David, was drafted in 2006 by the NFL's St. Louis Rams. Their other children are daughter Katia, who attends Yale University and twins Olivia and Malcolm.

Abraham Lincoln was born on February 12, 1809, near Hodgenville, Kentucky, U.S.—died April 15, 1865, Washington, D.C.16th president of the United States (1861–65), who preserved the Union during the American Civil War and brought about the emancipation of the slaves. (For a discussion of the history and nature of the presidency, presidency of the United States of America.

In February 2010, on the 201th anniversary of Abraham Lincoln's birth, Britannica asked two prominent contributors to answer some Lincoln-related questions on the Britannica Blog. Noted historian James McPherson, author Tried by War and of Britannica's article “Translating Thought in Action: Grant's Personal Memoirs,” addresses Lincoln's role as commander in chief during thAbrahame American Civil War, and New Yorker writer Adam Gopnik, author Angels and Ages and of the cultural life section of Britannica's United States article, considers Lincoln's similarities and differences with Charles Darwin, with whom he shares his birthday.

Among American heroes, Lincoln continues to have a unique appeal for his fellow countrymen and also for people of other lands. This charm derives from his remarkable life story the rise from humble origins, the dramatic death and from his distinctively human and humane personality as well as from his historical role as saviour of the Union and emancipator of the slaves. His relevance endures and grows especially because of his eloquence as a spokesman for democracy. In his view, the Union was worth saving not only for its own sake but because it embodied an ideal, the ideal of self-government. In recent years, the political side to Lincoln's character, and his racial views in particular, have come under close scrutiny, as scholars continue to find him a rich subject for research. The Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C., was dedicated to him on May 30, 1922. Life.

Born in a backwoods cabin 3 miles (5 km) south of Hodgenville, Kentucky, Lincoln was two years old when he was taken to a farm in the neighbouring valley of Knob Creek. His earliest memories were of this home and, in particular, of a flash flood that once washed away the corn and pumpkin seeds he had helped his father plant. His father, Thomas Lincoln, was the descendant of a weaver's apprentice who had migrated from England to Massachusetts in 1637. Though much less prosperous than some of his Lincoln forebears, Thomas was a sturdy pioneer. On June 12, 1806, he married Nancy Hanks. The Hanks genealogy is difficult to trace, but Nancy appears to have been of illegitimate birth. She has been described as “stoop-shouldered, thin-breasted, sad,” and fervently religious. Thomas and Nancy Lincoln had three children: Sarah, Abraham, and Thomas, who died in infancy.

Childhood and youth


In December 1816, faced with a lawsuit challenging the title to his Kentucky farm, Thomas Lincoln moved with his family to southwestern Indiana. There, as a squatter on public land, he hastily put up a “half-faced camp” a crude structure of logs and boughs with one side open to the weather in which the family took shelter behind a blazing fire. Soon he built a permanent cabin, and later he bought the land on which it stood. Abraham helped to clear the fields and to take care of the crops but early acquired a dislike for hunting and fishing. In afteryears he recalled the “panther's scream,” the bears that “preyed on the swine,” and the poverty of Indiana frontier life, which was “pretty pinching at times.” The unhappiest period of his boyhood followed the death of his mother in the autumn of 1818. As a ragged nine-year-old, he saw her buried in the forest, then faced a winter without the warmth of a mother's love. Fortunately, before the onset of a second winter, Thomas Lincoln brought home from Kentucky a new wife for himself, a new mother for the children. Sarah Bush Johnston Lincoln, a widow with two girls and a boy of her own, had energy and affection to spare. She ran the household with an even hand, treating both sets of children as if she had borne them all; but she became especially fond of Abraham, and he of her. He afterward referred to her as his “angel mother.”

His stepmother doubtless encouraged Lincoln's taste for reading, yet the original source of his desire to learn remains something of a mystery. Both his parents were almost completely illiterate, and he himself received little formal education. He once said that, as a boy, he had gone to school “by littles” a little now and a little then and his entire schooling amounted to no more than one year's attendance. His neighbours later recalled how he used to trudge for miles to borrow a book. According to his own statement, however, his early surroundings provided “absolutely nothing to excite ambition for education. Of course, when I came of age I did not know much. Still, somehow, I could read, write, and cipher to the rule of three; but that was all.” Apparently the young Lincoln did not read a large number of books but thoroughly absorbed the few that he did read. These included Parson Weems's Life and Memorable Actions of George Washington (with its story of the little hatchet and the cherry tree), Daniel Defoe's Robinson Crusoe, John Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress, and Aesop's Fables. From his earliest days he must have had some familiarity with the Bible, for it doubtless was the only book his family owned.

In March 1830 the Lincoln family undertook a second migration, this time to Illinois, with Lincoln himself driving the team of oxen. Having just reached the age of 21, he was about to begin life on his own. Six feet four inches tall, he was rawboned and lanky but muscular and physically powerful. He was especially noted for the skill and strength with which he could wield an ax. He spoke with a backwoods twang and walked in the long-striding, flat-footed, cautious manner of a plowman. Good-natured though somewhat moody, talented as a mimic and storyteller, he readily attracted friends. But he was yet to demonstrate whatever other abilities he possessed.


After his arrival in Illinois, having no desire to be a farmer, Lincoln tried his hand at a variety of occupations. As a rail-splitter, he helped to clear and fence his father's new farm. As a flatboatman, he made a voyage down the Mississippi River to New Orleans, Louisiana. (This was his second visit to that city, his first having been made in 1828, while he still lived in Indiana.) Upon his return to Illinois he settled in New Salem, a village of about 25 families on the Sangamon River. There he worked from time to time as storekeeper, postmaster, and surveyor. With the coming of the Black Hawk War (1832), he enlisted as a volunteer and was elected captain of his company. Afterward he joked that he had seen no “live, fighting Indians” during the war but had had “a good many bloody struggles with the mosquitoes.” Meanwhile, aspiring to be a legislator, he was defeated in his first try and then repeatedly reelected to the state assembly. He considered blacksmithing as a trade but finally decided in favour of the law. Already having taught himself grammar and mathematics, he began to study law books. In 1836, having passed the bar examination, he began to practice law.
Prairie lawyer

The next year he moved to Springfield, Illinois, the new state capital, which offered many more opportunities for a lawyer than New Salem did. At first Lincoln was a partner of John T. Stuart, then of Stephen T. Logan, and finally, from 1844, of William H. Herndon. Nearly 10 years younger than Lincoln, Herndon was more widely read, more emotional at the bar, and generally more extreme in his views. Yet this partnership seems to have been as nearly perfect as such human arrangements ever are. Lincoln and Herndon kept few records of their law business, and they split the cash between them whenever either of them was paid. It seems they had no money quarrels.

Brian lara was born in Cantaro, Santa Cruz, Trinidad and Tobago a West Indian cricketer, one of the sport's most renowned contemporary players. The compact left-handed batsman is the record holder for most runs scored in an innings in both Test (international) and first-class cricket.

One of a family of 11, a natural athlete, and a member of the national under-(age)14 football (soccer) team, Lara was expected from an early age to be the next great West Indian cricketer. He was first selected for the West Indies national team in 1990 at age 21, but he did not make his mark until 1994, when he broke the two most coveted batting records in cricket, scoring 375 runs against England (besting Sir Garfield Sobers's 36-year-old record) and 501 runs (not out) for Warwickshire, his English county team. In 2004 Lara then became the first player to retake the Test batting record when his 400 runs (not out) against England surpassed the 380 runs posted by Australian Matthew Hayden in 2003.Between these Herculean feats, Lara sometimes struggled to perform at the level expected of him, and some questioned his dedication to the sport. Likewise, under his captaincy the record of the West Indies national team was undistinguished. However, there is no doubt that he ranks with the likes of Sobers, Sir Don Bradman, Clive Lloyd, and Sir Viv Richards as among cricket's greatest batsmen.

He is 10th in a family of 11 children. His dad Bunty Lara passed away in 1988. His mother Pearl Lara suffered from cancer and died in January 2002. He is also the father of an eight-year-old daughter called Sydney with Trinidadian model Leseal Rovedas.

From an early age, Lara showed precocious talent. His father Bunty and one of his older sisters were first to recognize young Brian's exceptional batting talents and enrolled him in the local Harvard Coaching Clinic only at the age of six for weekly coaching sessions on Sundays. As a result, Lara had a very early education in proper batting techniques.

Lara's first school was St. Josephs Roman Catholic primary. Then he went to San Juan secondary, but played no cricket there. A year later, fourteen years old, he moved on to Fatima College. He moved in with his fellow Trinidadian test player Michael Carew in Woodbrook, Port-of-Spain (a 20 minute drive from Santa Cruz). Michael's dad Joey Carew was very instrumental in his cricketing & personal career development. Michael got Lara his first job at the Angostura ? Bitters in Marketing department. Lara played in Trinidad and Tobago junior soccer and table tennis sides, but cricket was always the path to recognition in Trinidad in those times. Lara wanted to emulate his idols: Gordon Greenidge, Viv Richards and the left-handed Roy Fredericks.


Lara began his cricket career while at school in Fatima College. When he was 14, he played in the under-16 and First Divisions of national schoolboys' cricket. He amassed 745 runs in the schoolboys' league that year at an astounding average of 126.16 per innings. Immediately afterwards he was selected for the Trinidad national under-16 team. When he was 15 years old, he played in his first West Indian under 19 youth tournament. In 1984, Lara represented West Indies in Under-19 Test Cricket. 1987 was a breakthrough year for Lara, when he broke the West Indies youth batting record. In January, 1988, Lara made his first-class debut for Trinidad and Tobago in the Red Stripe Cup against Barbados.


The Bajan attack contained Joel Garner and Malcolm Marshall. Lara batted nearly a full day and made 92. Later in the same year, he captained the West Indies team in Australia for the Bicentennial Youth World Cup. His innings of 182 as captain of the West Indies under 23 XI against the 1988-89 Indians elevated Lara's reputation even further. He was selected for the Port-of-Spain Test of that season. He did not play, however, and at the same time suffered the personal setback of the death of his father. In 1989, he captained West Indies B Team in Zimbabwe and scored 145 for the West Indies 'B' team in Zimbabwe, a side that included several players with Test experience. In 1990, at the age of 20, Lara became Trinidad and Tobago's youngest ever captain and won the one-day Geddes Grant Shield. It was also in 1990 that he made his Test debut for West Indies against Pakistan, scoring 44 & 6.

Lara loves carnivals, Chinese & Italian foods, and is known to be a practical jokester.

Shane Keith Warne was born on September 13, 1969 is an Australian cricketer, born in Victoria.

Shane Warne is regarded by many as the best leg spin bowler ever to play cricket. Despite an undistinguished debut performance against India in 1991, he has since revolutionised cricket thinking with his mastery of what many cricket authorities regarded as a dying art. Combining the ability to turn the ball huge distances, even on unhelpful pitches, with unerring accuracy and a wide variation of deliveries (notably including the flipper), he has become Australia's greatest ever wicket taker, with 517 wickets at a bowling average of 25.42. Many of his most spectacular performances have occurred in Ashes series against England, whose inexperience against legspin bowling made their players particularly vulnerable, though with feats like the famous "Gatting Ball" which spun furiously to bowl a bemused Mike Gatting in the 1993 series most of the credit is Warne's. Warne has also been highly effective bowling in one-day cricket, something few other leg spin bowlers have managed. Warne is also noted for his exuberant (and sometimes effective) lower-order batting (once famously throwing away his wicket on 99 with a Test century beckoning), and on several occasions has captained Australia effectively.

Despite nearly universal recognition of Warne's talents, his reputation with fans and cricket authorities is mixed. In 1998, he was forced to admit that he had taken money to provide pitch and weather reports from a man later discovered to be operating with bookmakers. While such an offence was trivial compared to the likes of Hansie Cronje who took money to throw matches, the extreme naivete Warne avowed struck many observers as somewhat dubious. His exuberance and occasional intemperate remarks and actions on and off the field have also not endeared him to the more conservative parts of the cricketing public and officialdom. His private life has also been subjected to scrutiny by British tabloid newspapers.

After several years of indifferent performances, Warne had much success in the 2001 Ashes series in England.


In February 2003 during the 2003 cricket World Cup, Warne was sent home in sensational circumstances after a positive drugs test for a banned diuretic from the one-day series in Australia earlier in the year.

In a PR blitz Warne initially claimed that he took only one of what he called a "fluid tablet" - the prescription drug Moduretic - in an attempt to improve his appearance, and claimed ignorance of the banned nature of the tablet he took, as well as much of the drug policy of the Australian Cricket Board (despite extensive briefings on the matter in the past).

Charged with using "a prohibited method to enhance performance", Warne faced a two-year ban from cricket if found guilty. Extensive pressure was placed on the panel by comments from Dick Pound, head of the World Anti-Doping Agency, who in comments described by the head of the Australian Sports Drug Agency as "highly inappropriate", poured scorn on Warne's excuse and stated that Australian sport was well-known for accusing others for cheating but was considerably less enthusiastic about prosecuting its own. Pound's comments were however at least partly endorsed by members of Olympic sports such as retired swimming champion Kieren Perkins, who expressed concern that a lenient verdict would make a mockery of Australia's stand against drugs in sport.

In the end, the panel found Warne guilty of breaching the ACB's drug code, and imposed a one-year ban. It was further revealed, and confirmed by Warne in a subsequent television interview, that he had actually taken two of the pills. Warne's testimony, and that of his mother's, was described by the panel as "vague and inconsistent". The panel decided against invoking the full two year ban because the drug would have had no performance-enhancing effect, there was no evidence that Warne was using the diuretic to mask steroid use, and that medical opinion stated that steroids would have not have enhanced Warne's recovery or assisted his game in any case. A disappointed Warne initially considered appealing, but decided against it, as several people, including Pound, pointed out that the penalty could have been increased if an appeal was made.

During his suspension he has considered working for the St. Kilda Saints Australian rules football club as an assistant coach, before the Australian Football League told the club that it would be inappropriate to have somebody convicted of sports drug offences advising its players. He has also been offered chance to play in various celebrity "park cricket" teams, and the newly renamed Cricket Australia has reserved its decision on whether Warne, as a contracted player, should be allowed to play in such matches.

Shane Warne currently has come under criticism for text messaging women whilst on tour, sending lewd and harassing messages. However the woman, Helen Cohen Alon, who made the claims has been charged with extortion in her own country.

During his enforced break from cricket due to suspension, Warne became a popular TV commentator for Channel 9 in Australia.


On completion of his suspension Shane was immediately rushed back into the Victorian and the Australian test cricket team. He took his 500th test wicket, Hashan Tillakaratne, in the first test against Sri Lanka at Galle. He is only the second bowler after Courtney Walsh to do so, followed closely by his main spin bowling rival, Muttiah Muralitharan. However, Muralitharan beat him to the world record of 519 for the amount of test wickets taken, previously set by Courtney Walsh of the West Indies.

Here you can find the All cricket Player in the world. Now You can find out Your Favorite Cricket Player.

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Cricket is a sport that has been played around the world for more than eight centuries. In fact, there is written evidence of Prince Edward playing cricket in 14th century England. It wasn't until the 17th century, however, that cricket became a professional sport played in competition, and not until a hundred years later that it became known around the world.

Cricket is played by two teams of eleven players each, which take turns to bowl a hard-leather ball. AT first view, cricket looks somehow similar to baseball, with players batting a ball and trying to score as many runs as possible. The differences, however, are many. For starters, cricket is played with a flat bat, rather than a rounded one, and players do not run on a square to score a point, but instead run forward in an effort to reach the opposite end of the pitch. If the ball is hit hard enough to go far, a player may keep running back and forth between the opposite ends, scoring one point every time they complete the full distance.

A cricket pitch is always a grassy rectangle measuring 66 x 10 feet (20.12 x 3.05 m). Wooden stakes at each end of the field mark the points to reach in order to score a run. Several additional lines mark the infield and outfield areas, used to determine if a pitch is legal according to the position of the player and the direction of the ball.


Cricket follows a complicated system of 42 rules, which can be modified prior to a game if both teams agree to it. This applied mainly to the field, the playing structure, and the positioning of the players. Players usually stay in one position, either as batsmen or bowlers; all-rounders (players who can take either position in any given game) are rare and considered extremely invaluable in a team.


Games are controlled by two on-field referees known as umpires, although a third, off-field referee, is sometimes involved in international matches. Cricket innings are extremely long, lasting up to six hours on a day, with several breaks for coffee and refreshments. Cricket cannot be played in rainy days or at night; while some indoor cricket games exist, the sport is meant to be played outside.

It's Popular Game in England, Australia, India, Pakistan, South Africa, New zealand etc.

Sourav Chandidas Ganguly made his entry into this world on July 08, 1973 in Calcutta, the ‘City of Joy’, now Kolkata. He was born into a sports loving family and was the second of two sons born to Chandidas and Nirupa Ganguly. He was born into immense wealth, unlike many Indian cricketers, with the exception of royalty. His parents gave him the nickname of ‘Maharaj’ meaning ‘Prince’. Perhaps, they knew that their son was born to lead. Sourav’s father, Chandidas Ganguly runs a flourishing printing business, the 3rd largest in Asia, that has helped make the Gangulys among the 5 richest in Kolkata. Even today, Dada's father is one of the major barons in the printing business in Kolkata. His palatial, joint-family home which has nearly 30 members in the Kolkata suburb of Behala has more than 45 rooms. There is suggestion of affluence everything in the Ganaguly household, from the palatial 4-storey building itself to the beautifully decorated rooms. The annual turnover of Sourav's family is nearly 80 crores, with just a profit of 40 crores! As a child, Sourav was extremely mischievous, a typical Cancerian one could say. His brother Snehashish (nicknamed Raj) was born five years before him and became an accomplished left handed batsman. Though Sourav is a natural right hander, he learned to bat with his left hand from his brother, Snehashish. Sourav does everything else, including writing and bowling with his right hand. Convenience was one of the reasons for Sourav to become a left-handed batsman as he could then use his brother's cricket gear.

For someone who is one of the best cricketers of contemporary times, it would come as a surprise to many of Sourav’s fans that cricket was not his first love. Like all people who dwell in the city of Kolkata, Sourav’s first sporting passion was football. But like most Indian kids, he had to make the difficult choice between academics and sport and his mother wasn’t very supportive of Sourav taking up cricket or any sport as a career. But Snehashish, who was an established cricketer for Bengal only strengthened his brother’s resolve to be a cricketer and he asked his father to get Sourav enrolled in a cricket coaching camp during Sourav's class ten holidays.

For a young man who used his brother's cricket gear during practice, it was indeed ironical that he replaced his brother in the Bengal cricket team and consequently, Snehashish was dropped. And thus, Sourav began a glorious cricketing career.

Sourav made his debut in international cricket way back in 1992 during a tour Down Under. But unfortunately, the 19-year old played in just one match against West Indies at Brisbane in which he failed to make an impression, and hence, was dropped from the side. A young Sourav had to face more than just the frustration of being dropped after one opportunity. Rumors of his attitude problems and lack of respect for the senior players hurt Sourav the most. There were also reports in certain newspapers that Sourav refused to carry drinks on the field for a senior cricketer, which he denies till date. He was given a raw deal on his first tour when some prominent cricketers tagged him to be ‘arrogant’ and a ‘boy with no cricketing talent’. He was ignored for well over four years and many thought that his days as an international cricketer were numbered.

A few years later, however, Sourav came back strong and more determined than ever to make his mark in the world of cricket. He made his debut along with his good friend and now vice captain, Rahul Dravid in the 2nd test vs. England at Lord’s. Sourav amazed cricketers and critics alike when he smashed a century in his debut Test.
He went on to score a century in the very next innings as well. More success came his way when Sourav was named ‘man of the series’ in his Debut. Weeks after his successful tour of England, Sourav eloped with childhood sweetheart Dona Roy. All hell broke lose when the the families of Sourav and Dona heard learnt about the secret wedding. However, both families reconciled and a formal wedding was held in February 1997. Happily married, Sourav and Dona are proud parents of a girl named Sana, born in November 2001.

Sourav hasn’t looked back since his debut and today, he has many records to his name including that of the highest score in a World Cup and is the 2nd highest century getter in ODI after teammate Sachin Tendulkar. He is also referred to as 'the golden arm' in the Indian team as his gentle medium pace bowling has given India many a vital breakthrough in one-day cricket. In Test matches today, he, Rahul Dravid and the great Tendulkar form the core of the Indian batting line up.

This man is revered in his home town where he enjoys a God like status. But that is the price one has to pay for being a celebrity in India. If people in Kolkata come to know that Sourav is home, there is a huge crowd that gathers at the gate of his palatial home. As likeable as he is, Sourav also has been firm enough to let overbearing fans and prying media persons know that he deserves and needs his share of privacy. Sourav prefers a quiet evening alone with his wife rather than have photographers and lensmen chasing him all over Kolkata. Sourav is also a deeply religious person and observes a fast every Tuesday.

In just a few years, Sourav rewrote the rules of captaincy. Unlike some of his predecessors, he was impartial, non-parochial, and forever pushed his players to perform better. Off the field, Sourav’s interactions with the media, his fans, and detractors were uncompromisingly honest and earned him the respect of cricket followers everywhere. His 5-year reign as India's most successful skipper came to an end in October 2005 when vice-captain Rahul Dravid was given the hot seat.