Ravi Bopara

Ravi Bopara is only the second Sikh cricketer after Monty Panesar to play for England. At the age of 17, he managed to earn a professional contract with Essex. His consistent performances with both bat and ball caught the eye of the selectors and they marked him out as a potential talent to watch out for.

Bopara's allround capabilities were noticed by the national selectors and he was selected for the CB series against Australia in 2007. He was also named in the squad for the World Cup, where he performed admirably. During the super-six game against Sri Lanka, he managed to play with a cool head. He showed remarkable composure in scoring his maiden ODI fifty, but he could not get England over the line as they lost a thriller by three runs.

He continued to contribute on a consistent basis in ODIs and along the way made his Test debut against Sri Lanka in 2007. He had a torrid time in the longer form of the game and started off with three ducks. This prompted many analysts to conclude that Bopara looked out of his depth in this format. He continued to be on the fringes of the national team and chipped in with vital contributions in ODIs.

Following an injury to Andrew Flintoff, he was selected to play in the fourth Test against the West Indies at Bridgetown in 2009. In a high-scoring draw, Bopara managed to silence the critics as he scored his maiden Test century. This gave him plenty of confidence and he continued with the good form when West Indies came to England for the return series. He scored centuries at Lord's and Chester-Le-Street to become only the fifth Englishman to score a hat-trick of centuries.

However, in The Ashes 2009. Ben Hilfenhaus gave him a hard time and Bopara had a poor series. Bopara though, continued to play fine knocks in ODIs. He scored a gritty 60 in a low-scoring match against South Africa in the 2011 World Cup which earned him the Man of the Match award.

Bopara was in and out of the Test squad as selectors chose Eoin Morgan over him. However, he made an entry into the team as a cover for an injured Jonathan Trott in the final two Tests against India. Bopara then, managed to deliver a few notable performances against Australia in the ODIs, but looked out of sorts in the Test series against South Africa that followed. In the 2013 Champions Trophy he played eye-catching knocks, but could not help England beat India in the final. Bopara hit his maiden ODI hundred later that year in a one-off match against Ireland at Dublin. Although, he retained his place in the ODI squad against Australia and West Indies, there was nothing exceptional about his performances.

England off late have given the role of finisher to Bopara. They look up to him and Jos Buttler to provide the impetus at the end of the innings. Bopara has to an extent performed that role well. He along with Eoin Morgan and Buttler was supposed to form an essential part of the lower middle-order in the 2015 World Cup. However, he did not play until the final game against Afghanistan, by which point England had already been eliminated from the competition. He picked up figures of 2/31 but was not needed to bat as England won by nine wickets. He was signed up by the SunRisers Hyderabad in the 2015 IPL auction.

By Cricbuzz staff

As of April 2015