இந்தியன் கிரிக்கெட் அணி பற்றி சில துளிகள்...

The Indian cricket team is the national cricket team of India. Governed by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), the richest cricket board in the world,[1] it is a full member of the International Cricket Council (ICC) with Test and One Day International status.

Though cricket was introduced to India by European merchant sailors in the 18th-century and the first cricket club in India was established in Calcutta in 1792, India's national cricket team didn't play their first Test match until 25 June 1932 at Lord's.[2] They became the sixth team to be granted Test cricket status.[3] As of October 21, 2008, the Indian team has played 423 Test matches, winning 22.69%, losing 32.15% and drawing 44.91% of its games, with also 1 tied match (0.24%).[4] India has a relatively better record in One Day Internationals, winning over 50% of matches played. The team is currently ranked by the ICC third in Test cricket and second in One Day Internationals.[5] As of October 2008, Mahendra Singh Dhoni serves as the captain of the Indian cricket team in all forms of the game.[6] Under his leadership, the Indian team has set a country record for most back-to-back ODI wins (9 straight wins).

Traditionally much stronger at home than abroad, India proved weaker than Australia and England, winning only 35 of the 196 test matches they played in their first fifty years.[7] The team, however, gained strength near the end of the 1970s with the emergence of players such as Sunil Gavaskar, Kapil Dev and the Indian spin quartet. The Indian team has continued to be highly ranked since then in Test and limited overs cricket. It won the Cricket World Cup in 1983 and was runners-up in 2003. It also won the inaugural World Twenty20 in 2007. The current team contains many of the world's leading players, including Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid, who hold numerous cricketing world records.[8]