32 year old Hussain was, would you believe it - born in apna tambi Madras? That was way back - 28th March 1968 to be precise. Since then he has moved on to becoming a cricketer of great repute. His ties with India now are replaced by loyalty to the English team.

Nasser was inducted into the England Test side against the West Indies at Kingston in 1989/90. His first One day International brought him back to his birth country, India. His debut in ODI was the match against Pakistan at Nagpur, Nehru Cup in 1989/90. He was 21 years old then. It was a difficult period in his life. At that time, this youngster faced a torrid time against the blistering pace attack and succumbed to injury on the tour. Thereafter, Nasser found himself a victim of poor form. He was tagged as being 'difficult'. Finally, he was dropped from the side for four long years.

After a long hibernation, he was recalled to the team. To the surprise and pleasure of every one, Nasser was a changed man. He was the top order batsman of the team. A dedicated and diligent player, Hussain in his new reformed avatar earned himself the praise of one and all. He applied himself to the task of scoring runs and was awarded with huge scores. He was well celebrated when he came away with a double century in the Ashes Series in 1997.

Hussain's great form and performance was finally noticed. In 1998, he was nominated as vice-captain. His amiable nature, clear thinking and organisational skills came into limelight. This culminated in the obvious; Hussain took over the captain's role in 1999. A right-handed batsman, Hussain is also an outstanding fielder - one of the best that we have today. A 23005 run record, with 36 catches to his credit in his 48 match long cricketing career is proof of his strong points in the game. Added to his virtues is his rare ability to read the game correctly.