Tinu Yohannan

Tinu Yohannan is a product of the MRF Pace Academy. The son of a former Asian Games record-holder in long jump, Yohannan initially took up athletics, following in the footsteps of his illustrious father. He preferred the high jump, however, and won gold and silver at the state junior level. A visit to the MRF Pace Academy in 1997, after seeing a newspaper ad, and four years of training under Dennis Lillee and TA Sekhar, played a major role in helping him break into the Indian Test squad for the home series against England. He has played an odd Test here and there since, but is yet to claim a permanent slot in the Indian eleven. With Javagal Srinath having announced his retirement from Test cricket, the tour of England, then, offers Yohannan his great opportunity of cementing his place in the Indian bowling line-up.

Yohannan made his Ranji Trophy debut in the 1999-2000 season against Goa and has, at the time of writing, only played a handful of domestic matches. This tall fast bowler from Kochi knows only one mantra - working hard at improving himself. He made his Test debut against England at Mohali and immediately made an impression by dismissing their opening batsmen in both innings. This soft-spoken gentle giant has all the right qualities to make a name for himself in this game. Yohannan swears that whatever he knows about fast bowling has been passed on to him by the legend himself, Dennis Lillee. If Yohannan can reproduce what he has learnt from the great Aussie, you can rest assured that India will be well-served in the years to come.(Santhosh S)