Jimmy Hansra

Amarbir Singh Hansra, known as Jimmy Hansra, is Indian-born Canadian middle-order batsman and occasional off-spinner. He made his Canada debut as an opener in an Intercontinental Cup game against Kenya in August 2009. It was a disastrous start for him as he got out on a duck. Hansra also plays for the Abbotsford cricket club.

He shot to limelight two years later when he started batting at Number 5 in the 2011 World Cup. He scored 43 against Pakistan and then in the next game against Kenya scored a 70, sharing a match-winning stand with Ashish Bagai. He followed that with another score of 70, this time against New Zealand.

After Ashish Bagai stepped down as the captain, Hansra was appointed as the skipper for the ICC America's T20 tournament in July 2011. Since then, he continued to lead Canada through various series and tournaments successfully. But the luck did not last long and as Canada began faring poorly in the matches that followed, Hansra decided to step down as the captain in early 2012.

With the return of Bagai, Hansra began concentrating on his batting skills instead. However, when Bagai finally announced his retirement from the game in 2013, Hansra was once again named the skipper of Canada team for the 2015 World Cup Qualifier.

Interesting fact: In a T20 match against Scotland in June 2013, Hansra hit six 6s in an over.

By Sonali Dhulap

As of May 2014