India's team to Bangladesh in 2000: Where are they now?

It has taken some time, but The Tigers, as they are called, finally make their way to India for a Test series. It is difficult to pinpoint as to why they did not do so in the last sixteen years, but differing financial resources of the two cricket boards seems to be the most likely cause.

Although the rivalry isn’t as highly anticipated as that of India and Pakistan, the enthusiastic, and a tad overzealous Bangladeshi fans make it a point to hype things up before any major fixture involving the two teams. Against India however, they still haven’t won even one out of the eight matches that the two teams have played.

Their Test journey started in November 2000, when Sourav Ganguly, on his first tour as a Test captain, led a strong side across the border for Bangladesh’s first match in the whites. As many had expected, India trumped the newest Test entrants by nine wickets, but the hosts did give them a fight in the first innings by scoring 400.

As the Bangladeshi’s return for the away leg sixteen years hence, we take a look at Ganguly’s team that cut the inauguration ribbon in Dhaka:

Sadagopan Ramesh

Ramesh, who made his debut against Pakistan in January 1999, had impressed one and all with his easy handling of the neighbour’s famed bowling line-up. Despite a strong start, he couldn’t play past 19 Tests, eventually representing India for the final time in 2001, against Sri Lanka.

He later turned out for domestic teams Kerala and Assam, after having represented Tamil Nadu for the rest of his career. His final game was against Tripura in 2007.

Post his playing career, he turned a new leaf by venturing into the film industry. He acted in two Tamil films, Santosh Subramaniam (2008) and Potta Potti 50/50 (2011), where he played the lead role.

Shiv Sunder Das

A Test opener of the classic mould, Shiv Sunder Das lost out in the race to be a permanent in the Indian team once Virender Sehwag established his foothold with his brazen strokeplay. Before that, Das, only the second player after Debashish Mohanty from Orissa to have represented India, sparkled on his debut against Zimbabwe, and showed promise and grit. A 23-Test career didn’t do justice to his ability to become a frontline batsman against the new ball. The Bangladesh Test was his first in the whites for the Indian team.

He continued playing domestic cricket until January 2013, although his last game for India was way back in 2002. Representing Tripura against Delhi, he returned with figures of 0 & 1.

Recently, he expressed his interest at becoming a selector, but was ruled out because he hadn’t spent five years since retiring from all formats of the game.

Sourav Ganguly

‘Dada’ or the ‘Prince of Kolkata’ as he was affectionately referred to as, started his stint as India’s Test captain, taking over the reins just after the cricketing world was coming to terms with the match-fixing saga.

He suffered a disappointing run of form in 2005, and the situation was compounded further when his tiff with coach Greg Chappell led to his ouster from the side. A sensational comeback against South Africa the very next year brought him back into the team, till he retired on his own terms in 2008.

He is currently the President of the Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB), also dabbling in commentary and match analysis, apart from co-owning the ISL (Indian Super League) side Atletico de Kolkata, his hometown side.

Sachin Tendulkar

With Murali Kartik having been promoted up the order to be the night watchman, Tendulkar went further down the order, coming in at No.5. Having played more than a decade of international cricket until then, Tendulkar carried on in the same vein until November 2013, when he retired in front of his home ground in Mumbai, scoring 76 in his final innings.

After his retirement, Sachin hasn’t been as actively involved with mainstream cricket as his teammates. He was sworn in as a member of the Rajya Sabha in 2012, and was also announced as India’s brand ambassador for the Rio Olympics 2016.

Walking away from the game has done little to his brand image, for he continues to endorse a number of products and is a strong brand icon. He is also the owner of one of the ISL (Indian Super League) sides, the Kerala Blasters.

He recently turned up for the MCC against the Rest of the World for a game in 2014, and was one of the forces that helped materialise the All Stars tournament in association with Shane Warne last year.

Rahul Dravid

A watershed year in 1999, complete with him being the highest run-getter in the World Cup, made Rahul Dravid one of the sheet anchors of the Indian batting line-up as they entered a new millennium. Against Bangladesh, he scored a sedate 41 that helped the visitors chase a paltry target of 61.

He continued to play for the Indian team for the next decade, becoming India’s most trusted batsman with his unique ability to soak in pressure and blunt the best of bowling attacks.

There were mixed results as captain of the Indian team, before he stepped down and continued as a pure batsman till March 2012, when he retired from the game after a poor series in Australia.

Now the coach of the India-A and U-19 sides, under his tutelage the India-junior side won the Asia Cup recently.

Saba Karim

The milestone match was Saba Karim’s first, and only Test match for the Indian team. One of the unluckiest players to have donned the Indian jersey, Karim’s promising career was truncated after a freak eye injury. Before that, he played 34 ODIs, first representing the team against South Africa in 1997.

With options in Sameer Dighe, MSK Prasad, and Nayan Mongia, Karim was pushed into the sidelines, before a comeback in 2000 saw him return, just to suffer a freak injury and was forcibly required to end his career.

Since then, he has worked as an analyst for various TV channels. In 2012, he became a selector from the East Zone under Sandeep Patil.

Murali Kartik

A number of Indian spinners came and went, but none could form a long-standing relationship with Anil Kumble and Harbhajan Singh, two of the longest-serving Indian spinners in Tests. Murali Kartik, for one, had the right ingredients, but could never fit in the Indian combination, especially under Sourav Ganguly.

He was promoted up the order in the first innings, where he reciprocated with a useful 43. He picked up a solitary wicket in the match, playing just seven more Test matches for the side.

He continued to sporadically appear in the T20 format, playing for as many as four IPL teams. He represented the Virgo Super Kings in the Masters Champions League in 2015.

Kartik now dabbles in commentary and post-match analysis for India games.

Sunil Joshi

It was surprising to see two left arm spinners in the Indian team together, but so was the case when neither Anil Kumble nor a young Harbhajan Singh were part of the playing XI, leaving the load on the quickly aging Sunil Joshi to guide a young Murali Kartik.

Joshi managed just two more Tests for the Indian team, both against the touring Zimbabwe team. In all, he played 15 Tests and 69 ODIs for the Indian team,

He had a contract with the Royal Challengers Bangalore in the first season of the IPL till 2010, but represented them only in the first two editions.

He has been chosen as the chief selector of the Assam Ranji trophy side for the next two seasons.

Ajit Agarkar

His skiddy pace and batting capabilities were a big bonus for the Indian team in the late 1990s and 2000s, but Agarkar’s career took a nosedive after he became increasingly erratic and leaked runs in bucketloads.

He was a different bowler when he first burst onto the scene, energetic and swift, quick in the field, and able with the bat. He made his debut way back in 1998, making his space in the team as a teenager.

After a decade-long career with the Indian team, Agarkar continued in the domestic circuit, hanging up his boots in 2013 after winning the Ranji with Mumbai.

After his cricket career, he has turned to Golf, and won the BMR Corporate Golf Championship in Bengaluru recently.

Javagal Srinath

An exponent of express pace bowling, a rarity in the Indian cricketing circles, Srinath served Indian cricket with earnestness. In a career that was hampered by injuries, Srinath managed to pick up the most number of wickets by an Indian pacer in ODIs, a record that still stands.

He picked up a total of 315 wickets in the shorter format, and is one of the highest wicket takers for India in World Cup cricket.

Post-2003, Srinath went into commentary, before becoming a match referee in 2006.

Zaheer Khan

One of three debutants for India in the one-off Test, Zaheer Khan’s career took flight after a stellar performance on his ODI debut during the Knock-Out Cup, helping him get a place in the Test side. However, towards the end of the first half of the 2000s, his form and fitness tailed off.

Injuries ran riot, determined, as if, to truncate Zak’s international career. He carried on, nevertheless, and found a new lease of life in 2006. After a restructured bowling action, and a bumper season in the English county, Khan was back to winning matches for India, with reduced pace but more craft.

In October 2015, Khan announced his retirement from international cricket. He did take part in IPL 2016, where he was also one of the mentors of the Delhi Daredevils. Khan has been seen doing commentary and post-match analysis ever since.