Cricket is one of the most popular sports in India and the top players are worshipped by the fans. Such has been the success of the Indian international cricket team, many players have risen to become superstars of the sport. Continue below as we bring you the legendary batsmen of Indian cricket.
Sachin Tendulkar
If we talk statistics alone, there can be no denying that Sachin Tendulkar is the best Indian batsman of all time. In fact, many regard Tendulkar to be the best batsman in the history of the sport and he tops the all-time Test runs with 15,921 to his name. Known as the ‘Little Master, Tendulkar also tops the charts for the most runs scored in One Day International cricket, scoring over 4,000 runs more than the player in second place.
Tendulkar excelled in all forms of the game before retiring in 2013. He is still involved in the Indian Premier League today with the Mumbai Indians, recently handing a special commemorative jersey to Rohit Sharma. Tendulkar’s batting was a joy to behold for fans around the world thanks to his superb balance and poise at the crease.
Sunil Gavaskar
Sunil Gavaskar’s Test debut series came against the West Indies in 1971 and it did not take long for the batsman to make his mark on international cricket, scoring a century in his second Test. Tendulkar is leading the way in terms of the number of Test runs scored but Gavaskar was the first player to reach 10,000 runs. Only 14 players in the history of the sport have amassed over 10,000 Test runs in their career and that highlights the talent of Gavaskar.
One of the greatest opening batsmen of all time, Gavaskar was noted for his excellent handling of fast bowlers and was one of the few players to excel against the West Indies fast bowling attack of the time. Following his retirement, Gavaskar moved into cricket commentary and he regularly speaks out about the game, especially regarding Indian players.
Virat Kohli
The only player on this page to still be playing at the top level, Virat Kohli is a special talent. Kohli is one of the greatest ODI players of all time and is in the top 5 players for runs scored in the 50-over game. Kohli has 13,848 ODI runs to his name at the time of writing and of the top 5 players in terms of runs scored, he has the highest average at 58.67. Kohli tops the run charts for Twenty20 international cricket with over 4,000 runs and has produced many special moments for his country in the shortest format of the sport. Kohli represents Royal Challengers in the IPL and could be worth backing using a 1XBETpromocode to finish as the top run scorer in the competition. Using the promo code, you can enjoy an exclusive bonus for the sportsbook, which will give you more money to bet on the IPL and other international cricket competitions.
Kohil holds the record for the most runs in the history of the IPL and is the favourite with the sportsbooks to finish as top scorer again in 2024. You must only look at this example, where Kohli dominated Australia in the 2015/16 Twenty20 series with a stunning display of strokes, to see what he is capable of in T20 cricket.
Rahul Dravid
Two Indian batsmen make up the top four Test run scorers of all time and the second of those players is Rahul Dravid. Known as ‘The Wall’, Dravid could stay at the crease for hours such was his concentration and he even batted for 12 hours straight in a Test against Pakistan.
Known early in his career as being a Test batsman for his defensive style of play, Dravid amassed over 13,000 runs for India and interestingly, his average was better when playing outside of India. Dravid was a big student of the game and has since moved into coaching. He is now the head coach of the Indian cricket team and delivered a tremendous motivational speech following the Test victory over England in 2024.
Virender Sehwag
In terms of taking the match away from the opposition as an opening batsman, they do not come much better than Virender Sehwag. To sum up the ability of Sehwag, he became the first Indian player to be awarded the Wisden Leading Cricketer in the World in 2009. Sehwag retained the award the following year and is one of only three players to win it in succession.
For batsmen with minimum 3000 Test runs, Sehwag holds the record for the highest strike rate set at 82.23 and he is one of only two players to score a double hundred in ODI and a triple hundred in Test Cricket.
There are many other top Indian batsmen who came close to making the list, including MS Dhoni, Sourav Ganguly, Rohit Sharma, and VVS Laxman. However, there is no doubt that the five players highlighted on this page are legendary batsmen of Indian cricket.
