Indian team that toured England in 1996- Where are they now?

While Indian fans are busy enjoying what the Indian Premier League has to offer, BCCI has already started the process of selecting the teams for the upcoming International matches. One series which could define India's 2018 season will be the England Tour.

India will be touring England in July for a 3-Matches T20 series followed by the 3-Matches ODI series. The most important phase of the tour will come at the last with India taking on England in a 5- matches Test series.

One of the most iconic Test series for the Indian team against England was the 1996 tour which announced the arrival of two players who went on to become the legends of the game. India lost that series but what they gained in that series cannot be described in words.

In the article, we take a look at the 12-man squad that toured England in that iconic tour of '96:

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Vikram Rathour

Rathour was the North Zone selector in BCCI's panel of selectors

Vikram Rathour is an Indian batsman from the state of Punjab. He has played in 6 Tests and 7 ODIs for the country in between 1996 and 1997. He was the team's main opener in the series against England.

Rathour didn't have a great Test series against England as he scored just 46 runs in 4 innings in the entire series. In the third Test, he batted in just the first Innings and scored four runs in that knock.

Rathour retired from domestic cricket in 2003 and then became the selector of the North Zone in BCCI's panel of selectors. He picked the team which went on to win the World T20 World Cup in 2008. He is presently the director of Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association and the coach of the Himachal Pradesh Ranji team.

Nayan Mongia

Mongia was India's most important wicketkeeper in the 90s

Nayan Mongia was first selected in the Indian squad in 1990 for the tour of England. However, he was always the second wicketkeeper in the side as he had to grow in the shadow of the Kiran More.

In the 1996 tour of England, Mongia was the premier Wicketkeeper in the side and he was also asked to open the batting for the side in the last two tests. He scored just 105 runs in his 5 innings in that series as he was pushed up and down the batting order.

Nayan Mongia's last Test was the epic clash between India and Australia in the Eden Gardens in 2001. After ending his playing career he coached Thailand and Malaysia's cricket teams and can be seen as an expert commentator in a number of news channels now.

Sourav Ganguly

Ganguly scored a Hundred in his debut match

Sourav Ganguly was first selected in the Indian team in 1992 itself but he broke into the playing XI only after a gap of 4 years. The second Test was of this series was Dada's debut match and he performed brilliantly in his debut series.

Sourav Ganguly had a stunning series as he scored two back-to-back hundreds in his first two innings in Test cricket. This Test series unearthed two gems of Indian cricket and this man was one of them.

Ganguly retired from International cricket in 2008 and he has then gone on to become an administrator. He is the President of Cricket Association of Bengal. He is also a part of the Supreme Court of India appointed Justice Mudgal Committee probe panel for the IPL Spot fixing and betting scandal's investigations. He also owns the Atletico De Kolkata football team in the Indian Super League.

Sachin Tendulkar

Sachin had a good series against England in 1996

Sachin Tendulkar is inarguably the biggest name that Indian cricket has ever produced. He is being called as the 'God' for his brilliant performance on the field for a period of 20 years.

Sachin Tendulkar was already the most important player of the Indian team in 1996 itself. He was expected to hold the batting of the Indian team together and was their most trusted batsman.

Sachin had a pretty decent series as he scored two hundreds and a half-century in that tour. His performance was overshadowed by the performance of the debutants in that series. This tour laid the foundation of the Indian Middle order which went on to serve Indian cricket for a long time.

Sachin Tendulkar ended his illustrious career in 2013 at his home ground of Wankhede, Mumbai. He was nominated as a member of the upper house of the Indian Parliament in 2012. He is presently a mentor of the Mumbai Indians team in IPL.

Sanjay Manjrekar

3 members of Manjrekar family has represented India

Sanjay Manjrekar made his debut for the Indian Test team in 1987 against West Indies. He is the son of the former Indian cricketer Vijay Manjrekar and is one of the three members of the family to represent India at the International level.

Manjrekar played in just two of the three matches in the series as he wasn't performing well. He was dropped for the 2nd Test after performing poorly in the first one and he was brought back into the side for the 3rd Test where he managed to score a fifty.

Manjrekar played his last Test for India in 1996 against South Africa. He then went on to win the Ranji Trophy as the captain of the Mumbai team in 1997 and then retired from all forms of cricket in 1998. He is presently a renowned commentator and can be seen in the commentary box in the IPL as well.

Mohammed Azharuddin

Azharuddin's career ended with the match-fixing scandal

Mohammed Azharuddin was the captain of the team which toured England in 1996. He was also one of the main batsmen of the side and was entrusted with the responsibility of holding the middle order together.

Azharuddin had an extremely poor series in England as he didn't manage to score a single half-century in the entire series. He was part of the Indian cricket team till 2000 before the match-fixing saga cut short his impressive career.

Azharuddin was implicated in the match-fixing scandal of 2000 and was banned by BCCI for life. He then pleaded in the Andhra Pradesh High court against the ban and finally the ban was lifted in 2009. He is presently a member of the Indian National Congress Party and was a Member of Parliament of Moradabad constituency from 2009 to 2014.

Rahul Dravid

Dravid debuted in this series

Rahul Dravid was one of the three debutants in the England Series and he played his debut match in the second Test in Lords along with Sourav Ganguly. He then went on to achieve great heights both for himself and for the Indian team as well.

Dravid had a brilliant debut series as he scored 95 runs in his very first Test match and backed it up with 84 runs in the first innings of the third Test. Though he didn't score a single century in the series, he was involved in important partnerships in both the matches which altered the course of the series.

Dravid retired from all forms of cricket in 2013 and he then worked as the mentor of Rajasthan Royals and Delhi Daredevils in IPL. At present he is the coach of the Under-19 Indian team and his team went on to win the Under-19 World Cup in February this year.

Anil Kumble

Kumble didn't have a great series in 1996

Anil Kumble made his debut for the Indian team in 1990 and was already the most important bowler of the team in 1996's tour of England. He then went on to become the Indian bowler who has the maximum number of wickets in Tests matches.

Kumble didn't have a great Test series as he picked up just 5 wickets in the entire series. England is one country where it is often difficult for the spinners to perform and Kumble was finding it difficult to pick wickets in this series.

Anil Kumble was awarded Padma Shri in 2005 and was appointed as the chairman of ICC's International committee in 2012. Kumble then acted as the Mentor of Royal Challengers Bangalore and Mumbai Indians in IPL before being appointed as the coach of the Indian team in 2016. At present, he is seen in Star Sports studios analyzing different aspects of the game as an expert commentator.

Javagal Srinath

Srinath is an ICC recognized match referee

Javagal Srinath is one of the best pacers to have ever donned India's jersey. He was an extremely quick bowler who could trouble the best batsman with his pace. He was the main pacer of the Indian team throughout the 1990s and early 2000s.

Srinath made his debut for the Indian team in 1991 against Australia. Srinath played in 67 Tests for India and managed to pick 236 wickets. He was also prolific in ODIs as he scalped 315 wickets in 229 matches.

Srinath bid adieu to International cricket after the 2003 World Cup. He then fought elections for the post of Secretary in Karnataka State Cricket Association and won it. At present, he is an ICC recognized Match Referee and he has officiated in 35 Tests, 194 ODIs, and 60 T20s.

Venkatesh Prasad

Prasad was a brilliant swing bowler for India

Venkatesh Prasad was the second most important bowler for India in the late 90s and early 2000s after Srinath. He had the ability to swing the ball both ways and he used to swing the ball some distance.

Prasad was again one of the debutants in this series. He went on to play for the Indian team till 2001 and was a vital cog of the Indian team in those years. He played in 33 Tests and picked up 96 wickets and in 161 ODIs he scalped 196 wickets.

Post-retirement, Prasad was made the bowling coach of the Indian team in 2007 after a disastrous World Cup. Later, he worked as a bowling coach and as a mentor for a number of IPl franchises. He was also the chairman of India's Junior Selection Committee. Presently he is functioning as the bowling coach of Kings XI Punjab.

Venkatapathy Raju

Raju is a golfer now

Venkatapathy Raju is another man who belongs to the list of illustrious spinners whom India have produced. He played for India at the highest level for more than a decade which is an indication of his ability.

Raju played in 28 Tests for India and picked up 93 wickets at an average of 31. He also played in 53 ODIs and picked up 63 wickets at a decent average of 32. He may not be the best spinner that India has produced as there have been the likes of Prasanna, Bedi, Venkatraghavan, and Chandrasekhar before him and the likes of Harbhajan and Ashwin after him but he was the second most important spinner of his time after Kumble.

Raju ended his domestic career in 2004 and was the selector of the Indian cricket team from South Zone in 2007-08. Presently, Raju is a golfer and he even competed in the Hyderabad qualifiers for the Mercedes Trophy in January this year.