(Image source from: Instagram.com/ravishastriofficial)
Former captain of India and coach Ravi Shastri has shared his list of the top five greatest Indian cricketers, but he left out names like Rahul Dravid, Sourav Ganguly, Anil Kumble, Rohit Sharma, and Ravichandran Ashwin. The former cricketer who is now a commentator did highlight Jasprit Bumrah, who is seen as one of the greatest fast bowlers India has ever produced. In a recent chat with ex-England captains Michael Vaughan and Alastair Cook on The Overlap Cricket podcast, when asked about his “top five Indian cricketers of all time,” Shastri mentioned, “For sure (Sunil) Gavaskar, Kapil (Dev), Sachin (Tendulkar), and Virat (Kohli)’s influence on their time stands out. Bishan (Singh Bedi) could have been listed but MS (Dhoni) is also in the mix. MS will be included, and then there’s Bumrah, who is still playing and has a bright future. I am focusing on those who are nearly done with their careers, so these will be my five”.
“It will be Sunny, Kapil, Sachin, Dhoni, and Virat”. When Cook asked, “Who is the best among them?” Shastri responded, “Gavaskar—I see him as the best batsman. Kapil is amazing too, but if I had to pick the top spot, it would go to Tendulkar because of the immense expectations and his long career, having played for 24 years”. “That’s quite a long time, and he scored… 100 centuries. He faced every bowling attack of his time. He began against Wasim (Akram), Waqar (Younis), and Imran (Khan). Then he faced the Australians, including Broady (Stuart Broad) and (James) Anderson. He also played against South Africa’s (Jacques) Kallis and Shaun (Pollock). He is technically sound and a role model as well,” he stated.
Tendulkar started his international career for India against Pakistan in a Test match at the National Stadium in Karachi from November 15 to 20 in 1989, and his final match for India was against the West Indies at Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai from November 14 to 16 in 2013. Over his 24-year career, Tendulkar competed in 200 Tests, 463 ODIs, and one T20I for Team India, accumulating scores of 15921, 18426, and 10 runs respectively, while also taking 201 wickets (46 in Tests, 154 ODIs, and 1 in T20I).
