Chetan Chauhan (1969-1981; avg 32 in 40 Tests) is best known for being Gavaskar's opening partner from the mid 1970s to 1981. Doughty and obstinate, he maximized his relatively modest talents to produce many memorable moments with his more illustrious partner - they're still the most successful opening pair in Indian cricket history. Despite scoring over 2000 Test runs, he never made a century. Karsan Ghavri (1974-1981; avg 21 in 39 Tests; 109 wkts at 34) was that rarity in the 1970s - an Indian medium pacer. His best moments came when Kapil Dev established himself at the other end; he even flowered as a batsman for a while. At his best, he was slippery and quite a handful as a bowler, attacking and useful as a batsman. Yajurvindra Singh (1977-1979; avg 18 in 4 tests; 11ct) took 7 catches in his first Test to equal a fielding world record, which remains the only thing of note he got a chance to do.

Anshuman Gaekwad (1974-1985; avg 30 in 40 Tests) had guts and patience, two qualities that came in extremely handy as an opening batsman in an era without helmets or bouncer restrictions. Best remembered for the 11 hours he spent at the crease for his 201 against Pakistan in 1983 - the slowest double hundred in history till then. He was also Gavaskar's opening partner besides Chauhan and later Srikkanth. Brijesh Patel (1974-1977; avg 29 in 21 Tests) was a dashing batsman of considerable quality (as was evidenced amply in the 1976 tour of West Indies). A suspected weakness to pace and swing was never really proved either way, as he was dropped before he got a chance to settle the issue conclusively.

Dilip Doshi (1979-1983; 114 wkts in 33 Tests at 31) was unfortunate to make his debut only at the age of 32, thanks to the spin quartet's hold in the Indian cricket scene. Only after the departure of Bedi did he break in, and had considerable success with his orthodox left-armers, reaching 100 wickets in just 28 Tests. Sadly, his alleged rift with Gavaskar (despite introducing his future wife to him) torpedoed his career. His overseas bowling average of 41 could also have played a part. Shivlal Yadav (1979-1987; 102 wkts in 35 Tests at 35) was a hard trier, a steady and reliable off-spinner. Operating with Doshi for the first part of his career and with Shastri later, Yadav was good at bowling long spells and keeping things quiet. He did enjoy some solo bowling glory, but not with enough consistency.

Syed Kirmani (1976-1986; avg 27 in 88 Tests; 160 ct, 38 st) is till date India's finest ever wicket-keeper and the man Dhoni has to overtake to be the best in his field. It's some way off though because Kirmani's 88-Test career began with exemplary keeping to the quartet of spinners at their best and ended with keeping to Kapil Dev with as much distinction. In between, he set new standards as keeper and was no mean batsman either - with 2 Test hundreds and 12 fifties to show for those efforts. Dhoni is of course ahead on the batting stakes (and is captain too) but if he can last out as a keeper without dropping his standards as long as Kirmani did, it may just be his biggest achievement.

Madan Lal (1974-1986; avg 23 in 39 Tests; 71 wkts at 40) was another medium pacer-middle/ lower order batsman who played some very useful support roles right through his career. A 5-21 to complement Kapil Dev's 5-70 to win against England in 1981 still remains his most significant Test bowling moment, and with the bat it was his 74 when India was 85-6 against Pakistan in 1983. Most famous though for his prominent role in the 1983 ODI World Cup. Roger Binny (1979-1987; avg 23 in 27 Tests; 47 wkts at 33) was another useful bits-and-pieces player whose medium pace swing bowling could be quite a handful in helpful conditions (England 1983, for one). Played a few aggressive knocks in the middle order during the 1980s and bowled some excellent spells right through his Test career. Yashpal Sharma (1979-1983; avg 33 in 37 Tests) is best known for being prolific at the 1983 World Cup. A determined batsman with a refreshing fighting spirit. He played some fine hands for the Indian middle order during his 5-year international career, none more memorable than the 316-run partnership with Viswanath, when both of them played out an entire day in the middle (much like Laxman-Dravid 2001) though the match was a high-scoring draw.

Krish Srikkanth (1981-1992; avg 30 in 43 Tests) was a loveable, eccentric opener who made cricket match tickets value for money when he got going. Audacious and devastating when he got going and was in his element, ridiculous and wasteful when he did not. Sehwag without the consistency. Had considerable ODI success, though consistency was a problem there too. Captained India in one Test series (against Pakistan) when Tendulkar made his international debut. Sandeep Patil (1980-1984; avg 37 in 29 Tests) remains one of the greatest underachievers in Indian cricket. He was a special talent as was evident from his remarkable innings of 174 against Lillee and Pascoe of Australia (in 1981, after being felled for a superb 65 by a bouncer in the Test before) and 129* against England a year later when he famously hit Willis for 6 fours in one over. His aggressive and decisive batting was a great addition to the team in the early 1980s. There were centuries against Sri Lanka and Pakistan too but sadly he never fulfilled the obvious talent he had. A troubled personal life and too many off-field pre-occupations (including singing pop and film-acting) waylaid him. He had considerable success as a coach later though.

Ravi Shastri (1981-1992; avg 36 in 80 Tests; 151 wkts at 41) was an exemplary cricketer in that he optimised his ability with an iron will and harnessed his limited talents to achieve considerable success. He began as a middle-order (right-hand) bat but was promoted as an opener (averaged 44 in that position). An average of 78 against Australia in 9 Tests suggested his appetite for worthwhile challenges. His left arm slow orthodox bowling was functional but effective, sometimes surprisingly successful. He flourished in ODI cricket too (especially in the 1985 World Championship, where he was Man-of-the-Tournament). A cutting-edge strategist, he was perhaps the best captain India never had (captained 1 Test against West Indies, which India won).

Two other promising talents from the 1985 ODI World Championship in Australia surprisingly did not do much in Test cricket. L Sivaramakrishnan (1983-1986; 26 wkts in 9 Tests at 44) had looked like the next great find with his photogenic leg breaks. He got 23 wickets in his first Test series against England (at the astonishing age of 17) and then looked lethal in Australia during the above-mention ODI tournament. But he could not handle the attendant pressures of fame, dramatically lost form and faded away as quickly as he had arrived. Sadanand Viswanath (1985-1985; 31 runs in 3 Tests; 11 ct) had looked like a very exciting wicket-keeping find in Australia but somehow just couldn't get it together in Test cricket when given the chance (though he did take 6 catches in his last Test match). Somehow his aggressive exciting persona never found an expression in whites.

Contrary to the stereotyped notion of the Sikhs as India's most martial community, they did not produce aggressive robust fast bowlers but three of the finest spinners the country has seen. Bishen Bedi, Harbhajan Singh and Maninder Singh (1982-1993; 88 wkts in 35 Tests at 37). Unlike the other two however, Maninder under-achieved. He had some magic moments (like the ten wicket hauls against Pakistan and Sri Lanka, and consistent performances in the 1986 winning tour of England) with his delightful loop and rip off the pitch, but somehow wasn't consistent and eventually lost his mojo and his place. Narendra Hirwani (1988-1996; 66 wkts in 17 Tests at 30) had the greatest start by an Indian Test bowler till date - 16 wickets in his first Test (against West Indies, on an under-prepared pitch), 8 in his second, 7 in his third, 5 in his fourth (all against New Zealand in India) and it was rapidly downhill thereafter as soon as he went to the West Indies and elsewhere. His leg breaks and googlies lost their bite so emphatically that it makes one wonder if the seeds of preparing overly spin-friendly wickets in the 1990s were sown because of Hirwani's flash-in-the-pan success.

Navjot Sidhu (1983-1999; avg 42 in 51 Tests) was India's best opening batsman between Gavaskar and Sehwag. He began as a cautious stonewaller but gradually developed into an aggressive and adventurous stokeplayer, particularly fond of lofting spinners over their head (his similar treatment of Warne in 1998 kick-started India's dominance in that series). Just three Test failures in a row (in Zimbabwe and New Zealand) ended his career, perhaps slightly prematurely. Manoj Prabhakar (1984-1995; avg 33 in 39 Tests; 96 wkts at 37) opened the batting and bowling for India in the 1990s for a while. An excellent foil to Kapil Dev initially, Srinath later, his swinging deliveries and a deceptive slower one brought him some moments of success. Always more a support act than a lead player, his best Test innings was a gutsy 120 against West Indies on a lively Mohali pitch as opener. Sanjay Manjrekar (1987-1996; avg 37 in 37 Tests) had a great start to Test cricket - centuries in West Indies and Pakistan, the second series itself yielding 569 runs in 4 Tests at 95. His talent was indisputable but an obsession with technical perfection (by his own admission later) weighed him down mentally to the extent where he lost his touch and focus. He eventually tried to do the job the other established batsman in the side were unwilling to do - of opening the innings, and despite a useful 34 against South Africa in his last Test was not picked again, perhaps unfairly.

Kiran More (1986-1993; avg 26 in 49 Tests; 110 ct, 20 st) replaced Kirmani as wicket-keeper with reasonable success. Had a great beginning in India's winning tour of England in 1986 where he contributed consistently with the bat too. His infectious energy and never-say-die spirit made him a valuable member of the side, and he was rewarded with the vice-captaincy in 1990 when he had another outstanding series in New Zealand. He lost batting touch somewhere at the end of 1992 and never quite got it back. Nayan Mongia (1994-2001; avg 24 in 44 Tests, 99 ct, 8 st) replaced More and had a fruitful period as India's premier wicket-keeper. The big highlight of his career was the 152 he scored as an opener against Australia in 1996 - the only century he scored and the only MoM he received in Tests. He played many useful support innings and kept very competently right through his career. But sadly, his term ended in controversy with questions asked about his commitment and his suspected involvement in match-fixing which was never proved.

Pravin Amre (1992-1993; avg 43 in 11 Tests) is perhaps the most unfairly treated Indian cricketer in the modern era. His century in South Africa in his debut Test (1992) seemed to signal the arrival of a major talent, as he handled a fiery South African attack led by Donald after walking in at 38-4. There were three consecutive fifties in the next series against England, and in the next two Tests in Sri Lanka he averaged 29. But bizarrely, he was dropped from the Test side. He played a few ODIs after, and even made a high pressure 48 against South Africa in the Hero Cup semi-final but was dropped soon from that side too. He continued playing first class cricket and averaged 49 in 86 matches when he finished in 2001. The politics and intrigue of Indian cricket's first three decades have claimed victims in this era too, none more significant than Amre.

Vinod Kambli (1993-1995; avg 54 in 17 Tests) is another example of unfulfilled talent but this time it was self-inflicted. Right through his career, he had always had great starts - like the 664-run partnership with Tendulkar in school cricket, or the six he hit off the very first ball he faced in his first Ranji Trophy match. He took it forward in Tests too with back-to-back double hundreds against England and Zimbabwe in 1993 and then consecutive hundreds in Sri Lanka four months later. Perhaps he was nouveau riche on fame and was ODing on the attention he got, but when his game inevitably dropped (he was human after all) he did not have the mental strength or the resolve to collect himself and get back on track. 7 Tests without a fifty and he was gone.

Venkatpathy Raju (1990-2001; 93 wkts in 28 Tests at 31) was a great support act to Kumble during the phase when all home series were expected to be won. At times, he even overshadowed the mainstay and produced some magic spells - like against Sri Lanka and then West Indies in 1994, both at home. He fell away after that, as his consistency dropped, and except for an excellent complementary performance with Kumble against Australia in Chennai 1998, he faded away gradually. Rajesh Chauhan (1993-1998; 37 wkts in 21 Tests at 40) was the third in the ostensible spin trio formed with Kumble and Raju. Very emphatically a support act, the wily off-spinner played his part competently but was not a force on his own.