Chris Gayle

A thrusting Jamaican left-hander, Gayle earned himself a black mark on his first senior tour - to England in 2000 - where the new boys were felt to be insufficiently respectful of their elders. But a lack of respect, for opposition bowlers at least, has served Gayle well since then. Tall and imposing at the crease, he loves to carve through the covers off either foot, and has the ability to decimate the figures of even the thriftiest of opening bowlers. And in this era of Twenty20 cricket, Gayle is the batsman who has thrived like no other.

Playing role: Allrounder
Batting style: Left-hand bat
Bowling style: Right-arm offbreak

Current ODI Ranking: 57
Highest Ranking:  1 - ( 25/02/2004 )
Highest score: 333 (Tests) 215 (ODIs) 117 (T20Is)
Best bowling: 6/81 (Tests) 5/46 (ODIs) 2/15 (T20Is)
Last three performances: 21 runs, 3 runs – 2/21, 215 runs – 2/35

Brendon McCullum

Brash, brutal and brilliant to watch, Brendon McCullum can bruise bowling attacks like few other men in international cricket. A wicketkeeper-batsman, McCullum has been used throughout the New Zealand batting order, but whenever he arrives at the crease it's impossible to look away. He muscles balls over both sides of the field and was responsible for getting the IPL off to an electrifying start, lighting up the tournament's first match with 158 and showing what the format had to offer.

Playing role: Wicketkeeper batsman
Batting style: Right-hand bat
Bowling style: Right-arm medium
Fielding position: Wicketkeeper

Current ODI Ranking: 30
Highest Ranking:  9 - ( 23/02/2013 )
Highest score: 302 (Tests) 166 (ODIs) 123 (T20Is)
Best bowling: 1/13 (Tests)
Last three performances: 8 runs, 42 runs, 50 runs