Experience, youth, determination: the Indian team that beat West Indies, Zimbabwe, Australia and England to lift the glittering Prudential trophy had them all. Following are career profiles of the squad that made the miracle at Lord’s possible. As limited overs statistics were not available, Test match figures have been given.Sunil Manohar Gavaskar, 33, has been around for a long time. “Sunny” began with a bang in the West Indies in l971, when he collected 774 against Gary Sobers’s men. Gavaskar, at 5 ft 4| in only a half inch taller than fellow cricketer and brother-in-law G.R. Viswanath, has amassed 7.625 runs in 90 Tests, at an average of 52.23. With 27 centuries, he is only two short of Don Bradman’s world record.Gavaskar’s strength is his copybook technique, and it is this which has enabled him to score two centuries in a Test thrice, become the first Indian to carry the bat in a Test innings -at Faislabad in Pakistan last winter -and be top scorer for India on 30 occasions.Krishnamachari Srikkanth, 23. is a sixes and fours man. A newcomer to international cricket six Tests. 147 runs, average 16.23, highest 65 -he is an ebullient batsman who can tear any attack apart, as he almost did in the Lord’s finals. “Anna’ began his Test career against England. In Pakistan, he didn’t do very well in the Tests, but produced a string of big scores in the other matches. Srikkanth is also a brilliant fielder, with an accurate eye for the run-out chance and a powerful, accurate throw.Dlllp Balwant Vengsarkar, 27. also known as ‘Colonel’ and ‘Sleepy’, is a pillar of the top order, and usually bats at number three. One of the most experienced and battle-hardened members -63 Tests, 3,484 runs at an 37.46 with six centuries -Vengsarkar has time and again made big scores over a respectable length of time to win a match or pull it out of the fire, as at Lord’s in 1979 when he scored a century and saved India from defeat. He can also keep wickets in an emergency.advertisementMohinder Bhardwaj Amarnath, 32, the man of the third Prudential World Cup for India, made his debut as far back as 1969-70, after which he did not play for the country until 1975-76. He was reinstated in 1979, but was dropped again after the England and Australia tours. The great comeback began in Pakistan last year when the “chest-on” stance that ‘Jimmy’ adopted allowed him to tackle Imran with confidence when others were taking regular walks back to the pavillion. The series brought him 584 runs, and the subsequent five Tests in the West Indies another 598-the discard had transformed himself into one of India’s finest batsmen. He now has 2,648 runs from 37 Tests at an average of 44.88 and has hit seven centuries. His casual right arm gentle medium pacers can be deadly, as India’s opponents discovered recently.Mulkraj Yashpal Sharma, 28. is one of the most tenacious batsmen in the side. He made his debut in 1979 and has been dropped from the team once or twice. But ‘Pappu’ has ISt I always made it back into the team, as much for his grit as his fielding- he is a sharp cover fielder. He has played in 33 Tests, amassed 1.550 runs at an average of 36.90, and hit two centuries.Ramlal Nikhanj Kapil Dev, 24, captain of India, is arguably the best all-rounder in the world today-although Ian Botham will no doubt have something to say to that. The statistics say it all: 53 Tests, 2,253 runs, average 32.65, three centuries. (Ian Botham is better on paper: 59 Tests, 3,266 runs, average 36.69, 11 centuries.) Kapil has also taken 206 wickets, at an average of 29.52 runs per wicket. (Here again Botham has an edge: 267 wickets at 24.47 runs apiece.)Kapil has just been chosen as one of Wisden’s five’cricketers of the year 1982. He is the youngest to capture 200 or more Test wickets-only two others have done so before the age of 30-and has thus completed the ‘double double’: 200 wickets and 2,000 runs in Tests. His infectious enthusiasm for the game and ‘lead-from–the-front’ captaincy was in large measure responsible for that incredible moment when he raised the Prudential trophy high in the air on June 25, 1983, at Lord’s.Sandeep Madhusudan Patil, 26, was the man who hit Bob Willis for six fours in an over last year, who hammered 174 off Lillee, Pascoe and company, and whose drive for four off Imran Khan off his knee at Faislabad in Pakistan was considered the best shot of the recent Indo-Pak series. ‘Sandy’ has, in three-odd years, collected 1.254 runs in 20 Tests at an average of 43.24, with three centuries. His style of batting is ideally suited to one-day cricket, as was evident when he drove, pulled and lofted England’s bowlers to score 51 not out to take India to victory in the Prudential semi-final last fortnight.advertisementSyed Mujtaba Husain Kirmani, 33, took over from Farokh Engineer in 1975-76 after a long understudy period. Since then, he has crouched behind the stumps in 69 Tests, scored 2,100 runs at an average of 24.70, with one century. He has also caught 128 batsmen and stumped 32, thus becoming the only Indian wicket-keeper to do the double: 1,000 and more runs and 100 or more victims.As a measure of his experience-of India’s current squad, only Gavaskar has played more Tests-‘Kiri'(also known as ‘Ganga Hassan’) was made vice-captain of the team that toured the West Indies this year but had a lean tour -and the vice-captaincy went to Mohinder. Kirmani has claimed six victims in a Test thrice. He does take off the gloves sometimes: he has bowled one ball in Test cricket but that was a no-ball.Roger Michael Binny, 28, is a useful alU rounder, just how useful came to light last fortnight when his accurate medium pace did a little more than its bit to get India the trophy. He has played nine Tests for the country, scored 198 runs-highest 46-at an unimpressive average of 15.23. But he is an asset for any side, because quite apart from his bowling – 15 Test wickets at 42.13 runs each -he is an excellent fielder. Incidentally, ‘Jackie’ and Sanjay Desai knocked up a record 451 for the first wicket for Karaataka against Kerala in 1977-78-and were still there when the innings was closed, Binny scoring 211 not out.Kirti Bhagwat Jha Azad, 24, made his Test debut in 1980-81 but has not quite lived up to expectations, with 107 runs in four Tests at an average of 17.83. However, his slow off-breaks were invaluable in the World Cup competition, tying spin-shy batsmen to their crease, keeping the run rate down, and capturing some crucial wickets in the process.Madan Lai Udhouram Sharma, 32, is like a rubber ball-he keeps bouncing back into the team and game. ‘Muddy’ is a never-say-die player, extremely competitive on the field, and refuses to .wilt even when his medium pace gets the stick. He “has played in 31 Tests, scoring 762 runs at an average of 20.59. His highest is 55 not out. He is the ideal foil to Kapil Dev in the medium pace attack-64Test wickets at 36.95 runs apiece-and, not the least, he is a brilliant, hard-running fielder-nobody will forget his fantastic catch to dismiss Peter Toohey of Australia at Sydney in the 1977-78 series.Ravi Shankar Jayadrith Shastri, 20, was an emergency recruit in the 1980-81 tour of New Zealand when he was flown down to make up the eleven for the Test at Wellington. Shastri captured three wickets in four balls in that Test and finished the series with 15 wickets at an average of 18. His orthodox left-arm spin had brought him into the side, but his batting soon strengthened his position. In 19 Tests he has taken 42 wickets at about 40 runs each. He has also scored 669 runs, at an average of 30.40, with two centuries.advertisementBalwinder Singh Sandhu, 26, a medium pace bowler, made his mark as a batsman on his debut in Pakistan when he scored 71. ‘Ballu’ is able to swing the ball and this, more than his pace, has accounted for the nine wickets he has taken in seven Tests, at 53.22 runs apiece. He has also scored 206 runs at an average of 34.33.Sunil Valson, 25, was the player whose selection earlier this year for the World Cup squad created a bit of a furore. Ironically, the left arm medium pacer did not play in the tournament. read more