Born: April 24, 1973 in Mumbai.

Right-hand bat, part-time spinner. Rated among the all-time great batsman. Holds the records for most ODI appearances, runs and hundreds.

Test debut: v Pakistan, Karachi, November 1989. 125th Test, 35 centuries. 10,134 runs, average 57.05 (before current innings).

ODI debut: v Pakistan, Gujranwala, December 1989. 358 matches, 13,909 runs, 38 hundreds, 71 fifties, average 44.01. 140 wickets.

Wisden Cricketer of the Year in 1997.

Ranked second in both all-time Test and one-day lists by Wisden, behind Australia's Don Bradman and West Indies' Viv Richards respectively.

Teenage prodigy. As a schoolboy, scored 326 not out and added 664 runs with Vinod Kambli, also a future India Test player.

Aged 15, scored 100 not out on debut for Mumbai v Gujarat.

Became India's youngest Test player at 16 in 1989. Aged 17, hit his maiden Test hundred, 119 not out v England at Old Trafford.

In 1990, became the first overseas player to sign with English county Yorkshire.

Two unsuccessful terms as India captain, the first aged 23 in 1996 before being axed 17 months later after his batting suffered. Re-appointed in 1999, but stood down after a 3-0 Test series rout in Australia the following year.

Equalled Bradman's 29 Test centuries, scoring 117 at Port of Spain in April, 2002 v West Indies when India won their first Test in the Caribbean for more than 26 years.

Named player of the 2003 World Cup, scoring a record 673 runs to help India reach their second final, which they lost to Australia.

December 2004, equalled Sunil Gavaskar's 34 Test hundreds against Bangladesh. Went on to get 248 not out, his highest first-class score and fourth highest Test knock by an Indian. Virender Sehwag heads the list with 309 v Pakistan in Multan in 2004.

March 2005, crossed 10,000 Test runs at the Eden Gardens in second Test against Pakistan, a week after falling six short of a world record 35th century in Mohali. Surpassed Gavaskar's Indian record Test aggregate of 10,122 in the next game in Bangalore.

Has suffered a series of back, foot and hand injuries since 1999, mainly attributed to wear and tear of constant play. Was sidelined for six months after undergoing elbow surgery in May.

December 2005, scores a record 35th hundred on the first day of the second Test against Sri Lanka in New Delhi, surpassing compatriot Gavaskar's mark.