G.O.A.T : Indian Cricket Edition

Who are the 20 greatest Indian cricket players of all time?

Fab-four-GETTY — Saurav Ganguly, Rahul Dravid, Anil Kumble and Sachin Tendulkar (**Source:** Wisden India)

I shall split my list into two parts. My list includes 10 batsmen and 10 bowlers, by sheer numbers over the years. This way, I ensure equal justice to both specialists.

10 Greatest Indian Batsmen** (of all time across all formats)

RANK	RUNS	MATCHES	PLAYER	FC TEAM
1	50192	957	Sachin Tendulkar	Mumbai
2	41651	856	Rahul Dravid	Karnataka
3	33035	768	Sourav Ganguly	Bengal
4	31632	748	Gautam Gambhir	Delhi
5	30428	499	Sunil Gavaskar	Mumbai
6	29198	685	Virender Sehwag	Delhi
7	28786	661	Mohammad Azharuddin	Hyderabad
8	28646	615	Virat Kohli	Delhi
9	26314	785	Yuvraj Singh	Punjab
10	26107	838	Mahendra Singh Dhoni	Jharkhand

10 Greatest Indian Bowlers** (of all time across all formats)

RANK	WICKETS	MATCHES	PLAYER	FC TEAM
1	1707	678	Anil Kumble	Karnataka
2	1631	442	Bishen Singh Bedi	Punjab
3	1454	412	Srinivas Venkataraghavan	Tamil Nadu
4	1392	783	Harbhajan Singh	Punjab
5	1170	585	Kapil Dev	Haryana
6	1168	560	Zaheer Khan	Baroda
7	1071	253	Bhagwath Chandrasekhar	Karnataka
8	1005	495	Amit Mishra	Haryana
9	1003	544	Murali Kartik	Railways
10	974	244	Erapalli Prasanna	Karnataka

*Current players in turquoise.
**Numbers as on 1 February 2019.

You have the right to disagree with my list. Impact on the game is debatable, which is why Bradman vs. Tendulkar or Sobers vs. Sehwag was/will be debated for years, without a conclusion. Comparisons are easier when backed by numbers. Don’t we all love a spreadsheet analysis or graphs on a powerpoint slide? 🙂

Besides, give me a better list of cricketing greats than the one above, and we’ll talk. All opinions are welcome in the comments section.

Continue to G.O.A.T series : Episode 2.

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India : The Powerhouse of Spin Bowling
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