Ravi Shastri made a bold call by naming the five greatest Indian cricketers of all time. The former India head coach selected two members of the 1983 World Cup-winning team and three from the triumphant 2011 squad.
Ravi Shastri made some bold choices when asked to name the five greatest Indian cricketers of all time. He had to pick from India’s 93-year history in international cricket a journey that has seen some of the world’s finest batters and bowlers represent the nation across all formats.
Shastri named two of his teammates from the 1983 World Cup-winning squad, which included captain Kapil Dev and batting legend Sunil Gavaskar, in an interview with David Lloyd, Alastair Cook, and Michael Vaughan on the “Stick To Cricket” podcast on the Overlap Cricket YouTube channel.
Shastri reveals his top five all-time Indian cricketers
Three decades after his retirement, Indian cricket has yet to replace Kapil, who is still regarded as one of the best all-round players the world has ever seen. Gavakar’s batting prowess is unmatched in his opinion. In Test cricket, he became the first player in history to score 10,000 runs.
To complete list, Shastri selected MS Dhoni, Virat Kohli, and Sachin Tendulkar, all key members of India’s 2011 World Cup-winning squad. Sachin and Kohli are the players with the most hundreds, whereas, Dhoni is the only captain to have won all three ICC white-ball trophies.
Ravi Shastri names Sahin Tendulkar as the greatest player
The panellist then asked Shastri to name the greatest among them, to which Shastri responded with Sachin Tendulkar.
“Definetly Gavaskar. Kapil. Sachin. Virat definitely. I am looking at the most influential players of that era. Bishan would have been there but….. MS again. Bumrah is young. He has got cricket. I am saying the guys, who have almost finished their cricket. 70’s Sunil, 80’s Kapil, 90’s Sachin, Dhoni and Virat.
“I would say (Gavaskar) Batting. Kapil fabulous player. Entire package, number one will be Tendulkar. Because of the expectations. Because of longevity. 24 years. Hundred 100’s. He played every pace attack of that decade. He started with Wasim, Waqar, Imran. Then went to the Aussies, then the English attack. Pure technique-wise,” said Shastri.
Ravi Shastri cricket career stats
Shastri was among India’s finest all-rounders, featuring in 80 Tests and 150 ODIs. He scored 3,830 runs in Test cricket, including 11 centuries, and claimed 151 wickets with his off-spin. He was also named Player of the Series during India’s iconic triumph at the 1985 World Championship of Cricket.
