Madras Day: 7 famous cricketers from the "Gateway of South India"

#2: Nasser Hussain

One of the most successful captains of England team

Many would be wondering why a former England captain is part of the list!

Nasser Hussain was born in Madras (Chennai) in 1968. In the search for a better standard of living, Nasser's family moved to England when he was 7 years old. Initially, he was a leg-break bowler until his trajectory was affected by sudden growth in height at the age of 15.

Since Nasser lost his natural bowling ability, he concentrated more on his batting skills and scored tons of runs in county cricket. Though he earned his international debut in 1990, Nasser had a stop-start career until he sealed his spot as No.3 batsman with 2 hundreds in India's tour of England, 1996.

In 96 Test matches, Nasser racked up 5764 runs with 14 hundreds. He also achieved a rare feat of scoring a century (103 not out) in his final Test match against New Zealand at Lord's.

Nasser has been one of the successful captains in England's cricket history, winning 17 out of 45 Test matches (4th most as England captain).

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#1: Ravichandran Ashwin

Ravichandran Ashwin- ICC Cricketer of the Year, 2016

When we talk about Chennai, the first Indian player that comes on to a youngster's mind is Ravichandran Ashwin. Fondly known as 'Ash', Ashwin has been a vital cog in the Indian team for the past 7 years.

Though Ashwin's performance in first-class cricket was exceptional, he came into limelight during his tenure with Chennai Super Kings. His economical bowling earned him a place in the ODI and Test XI.

Ashwin is the fastest Indian to reach 50, 100, 150, 200, 250 and 300-wicket mark in Test cricket. He lost his place in the ODI team after a lacklustre performance in Champions Trophy 2017. Since then, the wrist-spinning duo of Kuldeep and Chahal have effectively kept him out of the ODI squad.

Ravi Ashwin won ICC Cricketer of the Year award (only 3rd Indian) in 2016 for his mind-boggling performances in the home season of Test cricket.