Ramesh Powar

An ideal bits-and-pieces player for ODIs, the stocky offspinner is more than handy with the bat.

Date of Birth: 20 May 1978, Mumbai  Test Debut:  ODI Debut: Against Pakistan at Rawalpindi in 2004  Bats: Right Hand Bat  Bowls: Right Arm Offbreak

A stocky offspinner who is more than handy with the bat, Ramesh Powar has been a consistent performer in domestic cricket for the last four seasons, and was crucial to Mumbai's Ranji Trophy success in the 2002-03 season.

His 20 wickets with his flighted stuff was useful enough, but even more crucial was the runs he contributed. He never batted higher than No 7 - sometimes going in as low as No 10 - but ended up with the second-highest aggregate for Mumbai in the tournament, scoring 418 runs at more than 46, with most of those runs coming when his team was in strife.

His domestic exploits soon caught the selectors' notice, and he made to the Indian squad for the tour to Pakistan. Both his offspin and his batting stood the test in the couple of one-day internationals he played, but even more impressive was his combative attitude, as he bravely tossed the ball up on batting shirtfronts, and didn't bat an eyelid while striking some lusty blows against the pace of Shoaib Akhtar and Mohammad Sami. An ideal bits-and-pieces player for ODIs.