A man who caught everyone's attention when he led India to the U-19 world cup victory in 2008 is now the most consistent batsman for India and his franchise, royal challengers Bangalore in limited overs cricket after making his international debut three years ago.
Having started his career as an ordinary player this youngster came into his own since the last two years, the period in which he was one the top run getter in 2010 season and then played a key role in India's world cup victory and also in RCB's tremendous success in this year's IPL and champions league with valuable performances.
A player with inborn aggression also has a cool head on his shoulders. he is also a brilliant fielder apart from being a good batsman. After seeing his captaincy skills in the Under-19 world cup one can say he has the potential to lead a team in the future and looks the next best man to lead Indian team after Dhoni.
He plays his part to perfection in teams filled with the sachin tendulkar, sehwag and chris gayle and walked away with many honors. He has made the no.4 slot his own in the Indian ODI batting line up. He is now the main stay in India's and RCB's ODI line up batting top of the order.
His notable performances in the Indian colors started off with the hundred against the Australians in Visakhapatnam when India chased down a near 300 target and from then on he never looked back and performed consistently till date by scoring in all conditions including a century in recently concluded England series and good scores in South Africa and West indies.
Although he hasn't made a mark in the lone - 3 test - series he has played in the west indies but he along with other young Indian players like suresh raina and rohit sharma are expected to fill the big shoes of the Indian batting legends, in test cricket, when they retire. He is the most technically correct young Indian batsman and can be vital part of the team in the longer format of the game in the future provided he keeps his hunger for runs going.
This Delhi lad has been the RCB's Mr.Dependable since they bought them and it came as no surprise when he was named as the only retained player by the franchise. In this year's champions league he is among the top run scorers scoring heavily at a brisk pace. He has been hugely instrumental in the last two matches of RCB in which they chased down the mammoth targets of above 200 in front of their home crowd and will now play a key role along with fellow mates Gayle and Dilshan if RCB are to win the champions league 2011.
He has started his career now on a very bright note and if he continues this consistency and improves further in the days to come then he can be one of the finest batsman the world has seen.
