Ishant Sharma

Few sights in modern cricket unsettled a batter more than Ishant Sharma charging in, his long hair flying, and the ball jagging back at chest height. He was the enforcer India always wanted: a tall, hostile seamer who could bruise ribs and nag away outside off for hour after hour, demanding respect through plain persistence as much as pace.

By the time his international career wound down after 2021, Ishant had become the senior statesman of India's attack. He was never the headline wicket-taker, but his seven for 74 at Lord's in 2014 won India a famous Test, and his tireless spells in Australia in 2018-19 helped deliver a first series win there. He matured from a raw teenage quick, one who famously worked over Ricky Ponting in Perth in 2008, into a tactical bowler who could reverse the old ball and set the leg-side strangle.

Injuries interrupted him constantly, but playing more than 100 Tests for India was a triumph of will. He has carried on in the IPL since his last international appearance, and his 434 international wickets stand as the measure of two decades of hard miles, sore shoulders, and outlasting his body's protests.