Looking at the who's who of IPL

Who is who at the Indian Premier League. Here's looking at players who were up for auction in Mumbai on Wednesday. Group AMS Dhoni: The India wicketkeeper is a T20 heavyweight, as the only World Cup winning captain in that format. He's a dependable batsman, a fine keeper and is turning out to be a shrewd thinker of the game. Shane Warne: Arguably the finest leg-spinner to have played the game. He retired from Australian duty in 2007 as Test cricket's leading wicket-taker. He's a keen student of the game, and a handy lower order batsman. Adam Gilchrist: To many, he's the greatest wicketkeeper to have played the game. A bowler's nightmare, he's spearheaded Australia to three straight comprehensive wins in World Cup finals. The most successful keeper of his times, by far. Shoaib Akhtar: Controversial, but on his day he's a dangerous bowler. His has been a career full of ups and downs, and would have been doubly successful had it not being for countless injuries. Mahela Jayawardene: An elegant batsman and a fine leader of men. He turned around his team's sagging fortunes and made them a combative unit that reached the World Cup finals last year. Commands immense respect as a batsman. Muttiah Muralitharan: The most successful bowler in international cricket, his records may not be broken for the next couple of decades, if not more. A vicious spinner, a trigger-happy slogger, he's a bowler every captain wants. Group B Anil Kumble: India's Test captain and also the country most successful bowler, having recently hit the 600-wicket mark. Also turning out to be a fine leader but doesn't have T20 experience. Glenn McGrath: The greatest pace bowler of the modern era, his line and length had the best batsmen in trouble. Retired as the leading pace bowler in Tests. He is injury-prone and may be a little too old for T20. Mohammad Yousuf: He has been Pakistan's best player for long. An elegant batsman, he set the record for most calendar runs in a year in 2006. Harbhajan Singh: India's leading off-spinner in the modern era, Harbhajan has had form problems in recent times. He's also courted controversy on the field recently. A useful lower order batsman, he's also a slippery fielder. Sanath Jayasuriya: One of the most dangerous batsmen ever to have played the game. He retains his keen eye and quick reflexes at age 38. More than useful with the ball, he's also a World Cup winner for Sri Lanka. Kumar Sangakarra: Possibly the heir to Adam Gilchrist's throne. A fine keeper, an even better batsman, and an even fiercer attitude to the game, he's an asset to any team. Group C Ricky Ponting: Australia's captain, he has been the best batsman on the scene for long now, scoring runs in all conditions, against all opposition. He has been struggling with form of late, but trust him to bounce back. Brett Lee: Once one of the two fastest bowlers in the world, he's cut down on pace to concentrate on accuracy, which has only made him more lethal. He spearheads the Australian attack now, and is a capable lower order bat. Andrew Symonds: Some say he's the best ODI allrounder now. He can get big scores, he can bowl both seam and spin, and he can field anywhere on the ground. Any captain would love to get him in his side. Michael Hussey: Mr Cricket has been Australia's Mr Consistent ever since he broke into the national team in 2005. A late starter, he has an average in the 70s in ODIs and in 80s in Tests. Need we say more?Daniel Vettori: He's the leading left-arm spinner in world cricket today and had been recently made New Zealand's captain after over a decade of service. More than a handy batsman, he's played many vital knocks for the Kiwis. Matthew Hayden: The best opening batsman in world cricket, he's made runs against all opposition and in the most difficult conditions. His catching is sharp and fielding surprisingly swift for a man his size. Brendan McCullum: An underrated cricketer, but he's played the leading hand in several occasions when humble New Zealand laid the mighty Australia low. A combative batsman with a cover-drive from hell, his keeping has also been high class. Jacob Oram: One of the best all-rounders in the business right now. He's underrated, given his usefulness. He can turn a game on its head with his hard-hitting abilities and he's a more than useful seamer. Group D Stephen Fleming: New Zealand's Captain Cool has also been a prolific left-hand batsman for New Zealand. He will retire from national duty in March and says he's looking to this IPL phase of his life. Graeme Smith: Captain Courageous from South Africa, he's best remembered for how he took on the mighty Australia and beat them despite all odds in a home series in 2006. An attacking left-hand opener, he's capable of some very big scores. Herschelle Gibbs: South Africa's attacking opening batsman, he sprung into limelight last year after hitting six sixes in an over of the World Cup last year. He's also been one of the best fielders, ranking with the likes of Jonty Rhodes and Ricky Ponting. Chris Gayle: A destructive opener and a useful spinner, he's been one of the reasons why West Indian cricket has stayed afloat in their years of crisis. Shoaib Malik: A dependable middle-order batman and a useful spinner, he's taken on the Pakistan top job after Inzamam-ul Haq quit the game. He leads by example, both with his hard-hitting batting and sharp fielding. Shahid Afridi: One of the most dreaded batsmen in cricket, if he bats the distance, Pakistan never lose. He is also a panther on the field and a fine leg-spinner. Younis Khan: A spirited batsman who thrives under pressure, he's batted Pakistan out of many holes. Also a good fielder in the close region. Mohammad Asif: Despite the off-field controversies, he's on his way to become a world-class fast bowler in the league of the McGraths and Walshs. Jacques Kallis: Arguable the finest all-rounder in Test cricket today, he was controversially left out of South Africa's T20 campaign last year. He's among the game's best batsmen, and a very competitive seam bowler. Zaheer Khan: After a brief hiatus from Indian duty, he's returned as one of the most lethal seamers in world cricket. He's also an able batsman capable of big hitting and a safe fielder. Sreesanth: The combustible Indian seam bowler has emerged as one of the promising young fast bowler of his times. Can be wayward, but has a good strike rate. Group E Dinesh Karthik: A positive young cricketer, the kind who would accept any challenge thrown at him. He doubles up as a wicketkeeper and can float up and down the batting order. A B deVilliers: An aggressive young middle-order batsman, he's emerged as one of South Africa's promising young players. Mark Boucher: If Adam Gilchrist hadn't existed, Boucher could have been the best wicketkeeper of all times. He's as good, if not better, with the gloves, and a combative, never-say-die batsman down the order. Parthiv Patel: He hasn't found favour with India's selectors but in the domestic circuit, he remains a heavyweight, both with the bat and the gloves. Observers note his keeping has improves vastly over the years. Kamran Akmal: His wicketkeeping has not been world class in recent times but as a lower-order batsman, he remains as dangerous as ever, having played some vital innings for Pakistan. Tatenda Taibu: In times of strife in his country, he has been one reason for cheer for Zimbabwe. A fine wicketkeeper and Zimbabwe's leading batsman in recent times. Group F Albie Morkel: They say he's the new Lance Klusener, and that's no small compliment. A left-handed bat and a right-arm seamer, he made a name for himself in the T20 World Cup with his big sixes. Ajit Agarkar: He's been missing from India duty but he remains a very quick bowler - wayward, but dangerous - and a handy lower order hitter. Saun Pollock: One of the best all-rounders of all time, Pollock also is South Africa's best pace bowler since Allan Donald. Also a fine batsman and capable of performing any here in the world. Irfan Pathan: An exciting young talent, he's shown why people think he could be a fine all rounder. A versatile batsman and a deceptively good seamer, he also fields aggressively and tries very hard. Scott Styris: One of New Zealand's leading all-rounder in recent times, he has retired from international cricket recently. He's an aggressive batsman and a useful seamer. Farveez Maharoof: A star in the making in Sri Lankan cricket. He's shown how capable he is with the bat. As a seamer, he could be dangerous in the right conditions. Tillakeratne Dilshan: An aggressive young batsman, his fielding standards are world class. He also doubles up as a useful off-spinner. Cameron White: An unknown commodity in international cricket, he has made a name for himself with his exploits in domestic T20 cricket in Australia. Yusuf Pathan: We haven't seen much of him yet, but whatever we've seen of him looked good. A hard-hitting lower order bat, he's also Baroda's off-spinner. Joginder Sharma: Won India the T20 World Cup. He's been a capable all-rounder for Haryana and a useful seamer. Group G Ramnaresh Sarwan: The best right-handed batsman to come out of the Carribbean in a long time. A capable hitter, he's also a keen fielder and a sharp cricket brain. Simon Katich: A heavy scorer in Australia's domestic circuit, he's been left out of Australia's team for long. He's also a leg spinner, a very good skill to have on your CV. Justin Langer: One of Australia's leading Test batsmen since the late 90s, till the time he retired in 2007. He's been consistent as an opener but could never make a mark in the short version of the game. Gautam Gambhir: He has been consistent in his run scoring and aggressive in his approach. That's an unmistakable combination. With a few more big scores, this Delhi batsman should be able to cement his India side. Robin Uthappa: A heavyweight in the domestic circuit, but disappointing on the big stage, Uthappa still has a long way to go before he established himself as a solid middle order player. S Chanderpaul: One of West Indies' pivots, he's been a big scorer for them for many years now, but still going strong. He's also a terrific fielder near the wicket. Ashwell Prince: One of the young cricketers who will lead South Africa into the future. He's been a consistent batsman for them for the last few years. VVS Laxman: One of India's finest at the biggest stage of the game, he's fallen out of favour with the selectors as far as the shorter version of the game is concerned. Still, a majestic stroke maker. Wasim Jaffer: With his lazy elegance, he makes batting look easy. He's been in and out of India's ODI squad and T20 would be a whole new ballgame for him. Rohit Sharma: A promising young talent from the west coast, Rohit has shown glimpses greatness in the making. He was one of India's stars in the T20 World Cup. Loots Bosman: He shot to limelight having hit the fastest hundred in South African domestic cricket. Hasn't fired yet in international cricket, but his time should come. Mohammad Kaif: Out of the Indian team, he's been busy making runs in the domestic circuit. He's proven himself to be a resourceful leader of men and is a terrific fielder. Suresh Raina: Another promising player, he's been consistent in the domestic circuit. His fielding is a plus, and when he gets going, his strokeplay is a treat.