Gursharan Singh

With a century in his maiden first class match against an international attack no less (for India U-22 vs England in 1981-82), Gursharan Singh kickstarted his career with rare panache. Two seasons later he was on the playing field during a Test match against West Indies at Ahmedabad, albeit as a substitute, and took an unprecedented four catches at forward short leg. His greatest but most tragic moment in a lengthy Ranji Trophy career for Punjab came during the quarter final against Bengal in 1988-89 when he ran out of partners after making a monumental 298. More was the pity since he finished on the losing side as Punjab fell 43 short of Bengal's 594. His unstinting efforts in domestic cricket finally gained him a solitary Test cap on the tour of New Zealand in the following season, where he batted No.7, before being consigned to the ranks of the also rans. Gursharan ended his Ranji career with 4067 runs (47.29) from 70 matches (Sankhya Krishnan).