এলটন চিগুম্বুরা

A hard-hitting allrounder, and the captain of Zimbabwe's side in the shorter forms of the game, Elton Chigumbura, was a product of the board's development programme and took to the game at Chipembere Primary School in the Highfield township of Harare. He made his First-Class debut, aged only 15 for the Mashonaland Eagles in 2002 and has represented Zimbabwe in two Under-19 World Cups.

A lovely stroke-maker, Chigumbura's attacking batsmanship has often turned games aorund. A crisp striker of the ball, Chigumbura likes to play lofted shots straight down the ground. He is a fine driver of the ball as well and has a wonderful eye. He is also a medium pace bowler, who relies on attacking the stumps. In the outfield, Chigumbura is one of the best fielders and has taken some stunning catches.

It was in the Under-19 World Cup in 2004, when Chigumbura stunned the Aussies with four wickets that earned him a place in the national side after the absence of the rebel players. He made his Test debut against Sri Lanka in 2004 and didn't look at home, playing against the big boys.

Chigumbura's career was set back by a stress fracture on his back that reduced his ability to bowl quick. He sat out most of 2005 and after his comeback was included to play the Asia XI in 2007. He played a crucial role in his side's shock upset victory over Australia in the 2007 T20 World Cup.

Chigumbura was part of the Zimbabwean squad for the 2007 World Cup in the West Indies. He registered his the-then career-best ODI bowling figures of 3/25 and scored 38 runs from 34 balls in Zimbabwe's shock win against the West Indies on 30 November, 2007.

Chigumbura was appointed his country's captain after Prosper Utseya's resignation and did well to lead his side to the final at India's expense in a tri-series at home in 2010. But his own form suffered and after the 2011 World Cup, where Zimbabwe didn't reach the knock-out stages, he was replaced as captain by Brendan Taylor.

In March 2010, Chigumbura signed up as Northamptonshire's overseas player for the County Championship and 40-over league competition.

He was retained in the team for Zimbabwe's victorious return to the Test fold in an one-off match against Bangladesh in August 2011. He took three wickets in the match, but was then forced out of the following game against Pakistan with a knee injury.

Chigumbura has been one of Zimbabwe's most experienced allrounders for quite a few years now. In August 2014, Chigumbura was handed the ODI and T20I captaincy. He took over from Taylor, who remained the Test captain. Chigumbura had a good outing in the tri-series involving South Africa and Australia. He scored a 90 in a losing cause against South Africa, but his unbeaten 52 versus Australia saw Zimbabwe register their first win in 31 years. Even though, his side was drubbed in the bilateral series against Bangladesh, the selectors showed faith in Chigumbura and named him the captain for the 2015 World Cup side.

By Cricbuzz staff