Ashish Bagai
Encyclopedia
Ashish Bagai is the captain of the Canadian cricket team
Canadian cricket team
The Canada cricket team is the national cricket team representing Canada in men's international competition. It is run by Cricket Canada.While Canada is not sanctioned to play Test matches, the team does take part in One Day International matches and also in first-class games against other...

. He is a right-handed batsman who specializes as a wicketkeeper. He studied at St. Columba's School during his brief stay in Delhi, India. He moved to Canada at the age of 11.

His first taste of cricket came in the inaugural Under-15s Cricket World Cup in 1996, in which he was voted the tournament's best wicketkeeper. He had the highest batting average in the Under-19s World Cup in January - February 2000. Going to the 2002 Under-19s World Cup, his batting was invaluable, securing a tie with Bangladesh
Bangladeshi cricket team
The Bangladesh national cricket team is a national cricket team representing Bangladesh. The team is administered by the Bangladesh Cricket Board . Bangladesh is a full member of the International Cricket Council with Test and One Day International status...

.

He has since become a mainstay of the Canadian cricket team
Canadian cricket team
The Canada cricket team is the national cricket team representing Canada in men's international competition. It is run by Cricket Canada.While Canada is not sanctioned to play Test matches, the team does take part in One Day International matches and also in first-class games against other...

. He has played 52 One Day Internationals, more than any other Canadian player. Indeed, he has played every Canadian ODI since he made his debut in the 2003 World Cup
2003 Cricket World Cup
-Group stage tables and results:The top three teams from each pool qualify for the next stage, carrying forward the points already scored against fellow qualifiers, plus a quarter of the points scored against the teams that failed to qualify.-Pool A:...

 against Bangladesh
Bangladeshi cricket team
The Bangladesh national cricket team is a national cricket team representing Bangladesh. The team is administered by the Bangladesh Cricket Board . Bangladesh is a full member of the International Cricket Council with Test and One Day International status...

. The only Canadian ODIs he has not played in were the three that took place before he was born.

Despite his ever-present position in the Canadian ODI team, he missed the 2005 ICC Trophy
2005 ICC Trophy
Ireland beat Bermuda easily as Ed Joyce made 103 for the hosts in Stormont.----Denmark beat Uganda by 28 runs as Thomas Munkholt Hansen took 6 for 30 to carry Denmark to a 28-run win over Uganda in Muckamore. Denmark made 197 with Henrik Saxe Hansen making 71...

, though he did play the 2001 tournament
2001 ICC Trophy
The 2001 ICC Trophy was a cricket tournament played in Ontario, Canada in 2001. It was the qualifying tournament for the 2003 Cricket World Cup...

, the highlight of which was an innings that took the Canadians to victory over the UAE
United Arab Emirates cricket team
The United Arab Emirates national cricket team is the team that represents the country of the United Arab Emirates in international cricket matches...

 after spending a night in hospital due to being hit in the face when keeping.

He holds the Canadian record for highest ODI score after his unbeaten 137 in a losing cause against Scotland. He added 100 runs for 4th wicket with Asif Mulla
Asif Mulla
Asif Abdulhai Mulla is an Indian-born Canadian cricketer. He is a right-handed batsman and a wicketkeeper.He made his One Day International debut for Canada in Potchefstroom against the Netherlands in 2006–07, although he had previously played for the USA's under 16 side.-External links:* from...

 which was the first ever century stand for Canada in an ODI.

Bagai captained the Canadian team during the 2011 Cricket World Cup and made 64* against Kenya of 97 balls as Canada won their first match of the tournament. This was the second World Cup win Canada had registered. Against New Zealand in the following ODI he scored 84 of 87 balls and he shared a 100+ partnership with Jimmy Hansra
Jimmy Hansra
Amarbir Singh Hansra is a Canadian cricketer born in Ludhiana, India.He is a middle-order batsman and occasional offspinner. He began playing cricket at a very young age at school, and had an interest for the sport throughout his childhood...

, Hansra eventually made 70*. However Canada lost by 70 runs as New Zealand managed to score 358 in the first innings.

Step down as Captain

On May 30, 2011 Bagai announced that he officially stepped down as Canada's Captain stating:
"It has been an honour to captain my country in the sport I love and I thank everyone in this organisation who helped and supported me throughout my term including administrators, coaches, managers and most of all, the players,"

Sources

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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