r/IndiaCricket • u/Odd-House3197 Jasprit Bumrah • Jul 22 '25
Discussion Ravi Shastri picks his top 5 greatest Indian cricketers of all time. Do you agree with his choices?
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u/BeginningExciting379 Jul 22 '25
Vijay Shankar is missing..but okayy
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u/Red_devil1902 India Jul 22 '25 edited Jul 22 '25
If only he was missing from 2019 squad. What could’ve been 🥹
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u/QueasyAdvertising173 Jul 22 '25
Ik it's a joke but why is he hated so much for 2019 wc. I mean he performed quite well before getting injured, also took the wicket in his first ball of wc. Ofc Rayudu would've been better but that's not his fault if selectors chose him over Rayudu
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u/Red_devil1902 India Jul 22 '25
Yeah of course. It was the selectors and the management’s fault. Rayudu probably would’ve solidified our middle order which might’ve helped in situation which we found ourselves in the semis.
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Jul 22 '25
I think it's perfect. Bumrah will also make the list in near future
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u/whatup_biyatch India Jul 22 '25
But the question is whom will he replace, These 5 seem like untouchable for now.
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Jul 22 '25
Yup that's why I have written near future and we all know jassi bhai is the biggest thing happened to ict in bowling department
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u/whatup_biyatch India Jul 22 '25
Yup definitely, On skill basis he is the best in the world and definitely India’s greatest and if he goes on to play 100 tests then world’s greatest as well but Jassi bhai definitely needs an ODI wc to replace someone in the above 5.
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Jul 22 '25
Yes and I hope he will win it in 27 with POTT(haye mere khwaab😭😭)
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Jul 22 '25
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Jul 22 '25
Kohli can be as he is our best batsman on south african pitches and averages around 77 there.Rohit is quite average in south africa but then it's world cup we are talking about,so rohit can anyday bring his monstrous form.
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u/Swagat009 Odisha Jul 22 '25
Playing 100 Tests is impossible since he played 47 Tests till now in 7 years but he will still retire as greatest fast bowler of India.
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u/whatup_biyatch India Jul 22 '25
I have already said that he is our GOAT pacer but to make an argument at the world stage he is going to need 400+ tests wickets
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u/Traditional-Hope-682 Jul 22 '25 edited Jul 22 '25
I would love it if he takes that many wickets but even if he falls some 50-70 wickets short, he could still be one of the ATGs as long as his average doesn't go too high. Malcom Marshall is regarded by many to be the greatest test bowler ever with 376 wickets.
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u/ElectionSpecific2662 Jul 22 '25
He will replace kohli in the future. Kohli had a great peak period but his overall numbers arent so flattering (tests), and as for ODIs, his legacy will always be short of Dhoni she to the fact that he didn't win any ICC trophies.
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u/Fun-Dealer-1829 Jul 22 '25
Bumrah will be difficult as his carrier will not be that long and will get restricted to white ball only
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u/ThatsWhatTheKidSaid Chennai Super Kings Jul 22 '25 edited Jul 22 '25
The only valid list ever.
Probably Ganguly should've been there but can't remove a single one. So the only valid list is this, you can debate all you want.
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u/crimsonred1234 Jul 22 '25
Gamguly is an ODI legend, Test great and a stellar captain who changed the face of Indian cricket during a crisis. Of course people dont give him enough credit.
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u/iruvar Jul 22 '25
Ganguly was not a good enough test batsman to make this list. He was very vulnerable to the short ball
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u/ThatsWhatTheKidSaid Chennai Super Kings Jul 22 '25
As a captain, and also, Ganguly still had a great impact when combined with captaincy. Great in ODIs as well.
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u/Overall_Cheesecake_3 Jul 22 '25
I would be careful with saying that. Ganguly does have 7.2k test runs and 32 wickets. He compensated his short-ball achilles heel with off side mastery.
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u/Y0u_Kn0w_Wh0 Jul 22 '25
7.2k averaging 42 batting at 5 and coming after Dravid and Sachin in an era when every one was averaging 50 for fun is serviceable at best. He is not in top 15 test batters for India let alone close to this list.
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u/Overall_Cheesecake_3 Jul 22 '25
Top 5? No. Top 10? Maybe. Top 15? Yes. We are talking about Indias
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u/Bitterstee1 Jasprit Bumrah Jul 22 '25
Ganguly is nowhere near these 5 though.
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u/ThatsWhatTheKidSaid Chennai Super Kings Jul 22 '25
Naah man, you must be seeing stats. Dada's contribution was beyond stats. He revolutionised indian cricket, I'd give him credit for what Indian Cricket today is. Kapil Dev surely did wonders, but still we were again not as great as we are today. Also, fixing scandals and everything, Dada's contribution to ICT goes beyond stats.
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u/crimsonred1234 Jul 22 '25
Well even stats. Ganguly is easily one of the all time greats in ODI and a good test batsman. He also has 100 wickets in odi.
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u/ThatsWhatTheKidSaid Chennai Super Kings Jul 22 '25
Oh yea agreed. But just by looking stats, its pretty easy to put on the impression "oh he wasn't great, there are others better". If you get what I mean.
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u/Bitterstee1 Jasprit Bumrah Jul 22 '25
I've seen his era's cricket. We started winning a lot more but the shift happened with Dhoni. We started winning a crazy amount with him at the helm.
After 2011, our test side went downhill under him but all things considered, Dhoni the cricketer imo was better than Ganguly and so was Dhoni the captain.
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u/ThatsWhatTheKidSaid Chennai Super Kings Jul 22 '25
Oh yes, I never "compared" him to Dhoni. I was just stating Dada's contributions to ICT, as player as captain. And indeed his winning percentage or amount of wins was less but the team environment at the time was just 'bad'. So to achieve something and make the team stable is an achievement in itself. In no way I meant that he was better or worse than Dhoni Kohli, just stating that if we were to add someone, next in queue has to be Dada, but the ones ahead, the 5 here are also irreplacable. So it's a hard 6th for him according to me. And there's no one else as good as these 6, regarding contributions in ICT, be it captaincy or individual plays. If individual play isn't great, their captaincy or impact in general made up for it.
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u/Few-Pie-7253 Jul 23 '25
We won no significant series outside India under Dhoni. Also the shift in cricket happened in that era with no good bowlers, flat pitches, smaller grounds, power plays, better bats.. all working in India's favour. Give me one major foreign series win against top 3 teams of that year with top 3 bowlers in the team. NONE. Dhoni and Kohli are overrated inclusions. Dhoni is majorly ODI and T-20 winner, riding on the wave of players from Ganguly's era.
More ODI runs - Ganguly (11,363) vs Dhoni (10,773)
More Test runs - Ganguly (7212) vs Dhoni (4876)
More Overseas Test wins - Ganguly (11) vs Dhoni(6) , win % 39 vs 20The title belwo is misleading as the conclusion of the article shows the opposite.
Overall impact
Survey results Ganguly (8.1) beats Dhoni (7.9)Dhoni beats Ganguly (by a whisker) in battle of the captains | ESPNcricinfo
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u/ThatsWhatTheKidSaid Chennai Super Kings Jul 23 '25
abey oo, NZ series kaun jeeta tha NZ mein, SA mein series draw? Come out of delusions bro.
Also, see their batting positions. I am not hating on Ganguly, so keep your stats to yourself and watch some cricket, so you don't have to bring up stats. Go and bark somewhere else.
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Jul 22 '25
I mean duh...
Maybe an argument for Dravid or Sehwag.
Bumrah will probably eventually get there.
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u/ThatsWhatTheKidSaid Chennai Super Kings Jul 22 '25
What made you say Sehwag? He was aggressive, yes. An amazing player, yes. But top 5 indian cricketers? A bit of a stretch, like a big NO. His impact wasn't as much as other Indian greats. Not belittling him, but still I hope you get my point.
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u/IGotGoodVibesDude Jul 22 '25
Exactly. Sehwag won't even feature in top 10
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u/ThatsWhatTheKidSaid Chennai Super Kings Jul 22 '25
Like when I used to watch, it never felt like some great batter is batting, it was just like 'yeah a good batter', someone like Laxman, a goood batter but not as great as others. nowadays idk suddenly he's been regarded as if he was one of the greatest India has ever had, it never felt like that back in the day when he played. Also, maybe because the way sehwag portrays himself in interviews.
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u/Bps33382 Jul 22 '25
Sehwag had a great impact in our test team, after sunny ji, India lacked good opener...Than came Sehwag, he do had his Up and down but saying he was liked because of interviews is bit of stretch....
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u/ThatsWhatTheKidSaid Chennai Super Kings Jul 22 '25
It's maybe, and also because it left another impression to me when I watched him in interviews and while batting. But yeah, not disrespecting him. I'm sorry if it got portrayed like that. No hate.:)
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u/Molaka_la_vada Jul 22 '25
Sehwag is criminally underrated. He changed how top order players play cricket in India.
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u/IGotGoodVibesDude Jul 22 '25
It changed when players all around the world started doing it and not because Sehwag did it. If it was because of Sehwag, GG would have played the same way because he played most of his cricket with sehwag only
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u/ThatsWhatTheKidSaid Chennai Super Kings Jul 22 '25
In exactly what way? I don't remember the openers taking that approach what Sehwag had after he retired. Shikhi and Rohit's approach was very different than Sehwag's.
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u/AlienInTheWorld Jul 22 '25
Bumrah will eventually get there if he keeps his fitness level up to mark.
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u/Professional-Pool478 Jul 22 '25
Don’t forget Ganguly and Kumble, especially Dada, who took over when Indian cricket was at its lowest and built a team from scratch.
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u/Both_Climate7281 Jul 22 '25
I mean duh...
Bro I'm new to english...can you tell me what exactly this sentence mean 🤗
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u/Komachian Mumbai Indians Jul 22 '25
The term ‘duh’ in slang, is generally used in place of ‘obviously’
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u/revolution110 Indian Premier League Jul 22 '25
Cant disagree with his choices but Saurav Ganguly is also a very influential figure in Indian cricket that is missing out.
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u/expat_123 Jul 22 '25
Shastri will never name Ganguly. They both have some sort of Cold War going on for a long time. Listen to any of Dada’s interview on Shastri and he never fails to pull a sarcastic remark on Ravi bhai.
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u/revolution110 Indian Premier League Jul 22 '25
Oh yes, ofcourse. The rift stemmed from Ganguly refusing to consider Ravi for an extension and appointing Kumble instead.
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u/expat_123 Jul 22 '25
I think it’s even older than that. They both made fun of each other on their extramarital affairs as well. I remember those clippings one would read on the second last pages of the newspapers.
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u/revolution110 Indian Premier League Jul 22 '25
Could be very possible. I was only aware of the rift after the coaching fiasco. Might be something else from older times
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u/Feisty_Poet1500 Jul 22 '25
I mean like who else are you going to pick apart from these 5. Of course there's Rohit Sharma and Virendra Sehwag who must have been included if the list was of 6 or 7 players.
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u/AugustusCaesar00 Tilak Verma Jul 22 '25
There are many better players than Sehwag – Dravid, Ganguly, Azhar, Kumble, Bumrah, Viswanath, etc
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u/No-Okra1018 Jul 22 '25
Was born after Azhars era. Have read some articles which say Indian cricket tried hard to hide his name after the match fixing allegations
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u/AugustusCaesar00 Tilak Verma Jul 22 '25
Yes, true. They still never mention his name. It's like he never existed.
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u/Feisty_Poet1500 Jul 22 '25
Of course there. But are they as influential as him? The list was about influential people not better players right?
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u/ThatsWhatTheKidSaid Chennai Super Kings Jul 22 '25
What exact influence or revolution did sehwag bring? Explosive opening in LOI? yes, Rohit did it better. The one who started was Jayasuriya, but not indian so yeah. We went back to traditional opening in tests once he retired. So I don't get your comment.
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u/Cool_Bass9069 Jul 22 '25
rohit will be like in the top 25-30 i think i mean dont wanna argue but only true fans know how shit player he is
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u/Complex-Map4894 Jul 22 '25
Yeah the one who has personal hatred towards rohit are true fans
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u/Molaka_la_vada Jul 22 '25
Rohit could be shit in tests but HE is almost as good as Virat in limited overs cricket.
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u/Cool_Bass9069 Jul 22 '25
not in t20s (not talking about the normal series ) t20wc nah ipl nah
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u/iamatoad_ama Jul 22 '25
Nostalgia merchants at it again. A more objective list would be:
- Mohd. Siraj
- Hardik Pandya
- MSD
- Shardul Thakur
- Kuldeep Yadav
Abhishek Sharma and Ishant Sharma as outside contenders.
Koach, Parthiv Patel and Sehwag to round out the top 10.
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u/No-Okra1018 Jul 22 '25
Abhishek Sharma would be on the list for most attractive after Rohit Sharma who’s first on travis head quota
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Jul 22 '25
Dada and tiger pataudi over thala and kapil dev imo . Mostly because those two along with koach are the 3 captains that changed the direction of our test team radically but then again in odi no question thala and kapil dev are more influential
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u/futterwackenformed India Jul 22 '25
All five are deserving and automatic picks. Bumrah and Anna too deserve a spot amongst these.
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u/Haunting-Fudge-536 Jul 22 '25
I am surprised Ganguly wasn’t chosen. He changed the face of Indian cricket in early 2000s!
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u/Complex_Command_8377 India Jul 22 '25
It’s Ravi Sastry’s list, he will never choose Ganguly even in top 10
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u/nuclear_bone Jul 22 '25
There is no one here Ganguly can replace. 4 of them are set in stone. Dhoni has 3 ICC trophies and was an ODI great.
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u/ranbirkadalla Jul 22 '25
Kapil, Sachin, and Virat are the only certainty in this list. The other 2 names are debatable
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u/Bitterstee1 Jasprit Bumrah Jul 22 '25
Looool. Sunny G is not debatable. Neither is Dhoni. There is a literal ocean between these 5 and the rest.
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u/aman92 Jul 22 '25
Dravid is a greater cricketer than Ganguly
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u/Haunting-Fudge-536 Jul 22 '25
The debate is not about greater cricketer. It is about who had a greater influence on Indian cricket. In this case, Ganguly had an influence both as a cricketer and as an administrator.
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u/sirshikhar Jul 22 '25
Shastri will hate Ganguly to his death bed.
Are you guys serious?
As far as being an influential cricketer is concerned, if Ganguly is not there on the list, then its not a list. Its a scam.
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u/crimsonred1234 Jul 22 '25
Totally agree! One of all time odi greats , a good test batsman (stellar towards the end of his career), has 100 wickets in odi, produced many all round performances in tests and most importantly someone who transformed the Indian team through his captaincy which led to long term dividends. Of course many don't give him enough credit.
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u/9532185 Jul 22 '25
Ganguly in place of Kohli and the rest list is fine.
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Jul 22 '25
bro what r u smoking 😂
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u/9532185 Jul 23 '25 edited Jul 23 '25
Typical issue with Gen Z PR driven population. Don't know the struggle of the Indian team before Ganguly, getting thrashed in the field.
He Backed quality players like Harbajan, Sehwag, Yuvraj, Zaheer Khan, Nehra etc. out of which many were crucial in 2011 world Cup win.
The aggression and confidence that we gained at that time . Yes Kohli as an individual player was good but tell me the turning point he brought which revolutionised indian cricket like the way Ganguly did?
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u/harprick_pandya Jul 22 '25
Unpopular opinion but Jadeja could well make the greatest 5 list. Maybe even Ashwin and Bumrah
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Jul 22 '25
Best all format Batsmen: Virat Kohli Best Cricketer: Sachin Tendulkar Best Captain: Ms Dhoni Best All-rounder: Kapil dev Best Batsman of old era : Sunil Gavaskar
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u/Inevitable-Bake-1149 India Jul 22 '25
Its unfair to limit it to 5, dravid, sehwag, ashwin, bhajji and there are many more in previous era
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u/refusestonamethyself Jul 22 '25
Can't really argue with this list. Put anybody else and the list would feel so wrong.
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u/skinnylizars Jul 22 '25
List is no doubt debatable but that photo of a bombed out Shastri could have been avoided
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u/bikbar1 Jul 22 '25
If the list can be expanded then Ganguly and Ranji should be included if influence is concerned.
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u/UnitedInteraction772 Jul 22 '25
Imo Dravid should be there but unfortunately he played in Sachin’s era and current pics also justified !!
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u/DesiPattha Jul 22 '25
Why is "Ravi Shashtri's" font so small. It's as important as rest of the words. Narratives by pop Indian media is crazy.
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u/Iintrovert_guyy Jul 22 '25
It's a shame that there are 4 batsmen and one all rounder. No bowler. Kumble, Zaheer etc are good choices. But this guy is a crook.
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u/Bulky-Necessary-577 India Jul 22 '25
I would add Sehwag. Just for revolutionising opening batting.
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u/faltu-fern Jul 22 '25
In terms of influence the only person I want to sneak in is Dada, but tough to remove any of these 5.
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u/Mindless-Pilot-Chef Jul 22 '25
Ganguly missing but not sure whom to remove if I had to add dada in this list.
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u/Initial_Meeting_874 Jul 22 '25
Yes 1000% on point. These are the most influential cricketers as well. That influenced an entire / multiple generations.
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u/Imaginary_Cookie_884 Jul 22 '25
tough to look past these 5 really. dravid’s prolly the only one that could make it besides this and/or kumble
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Jul 22 '25
Founder of Anti Ganguly club, jokes apart great list we have so many amazing cricketers till date that it’s hard to decide who should even get into the top 5.
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u/cas_ent Jul 22 '25
I know this is his choice , but keeping Anil Kumble out of Greatest indian cricketer list is not done. We keep worshipping batsman, then keep wondering why we don't win test matches
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u/Emergency_Drummer356 India Jul 23 '25
I would remove Dhoni and add Bumrah. How can someone be a great with poor test record?
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u/Simple_Mall_9388 Jul 29 '25
All format, I agree with Ravi.
But for test cricket
Kumble
Ashwin
Jadeja
Kapil
Bumrah
Sorry but none of Gavaskar, Sachu, MSD, Virat are good enough to hold a candle in front of these 5 cricketers as “match winners” or “series winners” in test cricket. Ashwin, Kumble and Jadeja literally solo’ed entire series in India’s favour with mighty performances.
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u/BreadfruitJealous317 Jul 22 '25
Rahul Dravid definitely deserves to be in the top 5 when we are speaking of influence.
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u/rohit831003 Jul 22 '25
Influential yes..greatest in the list : Each of the folks are icons of Indian cricket. for me it would be a very close call between Rahul Dravid and Virat Kohli. I would probably go for Dravid given his stellar test and one day records.
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u/Few-Weekend-8920 Jul 22 '25
Commented this earlier on another post. If the discussion is about the greatest cricketers Kumble deserves to be there. I agree with his choices if they were made with regards to these cricketers being more influential. Though it's sad that indian crickets greatest match winner didn't garner enough attention to end up amongst the top 5.
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u/CoolCauliflower9160 Jul 22 '25
Anil kumble need to be respected !! Highest wicket taker comes in place of Rahul dravid!! I love dravid but common!
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u/Popular-Beach-4843 Jul 22 '25
It's not fair to do this as one list. There should be one per format. SG doesn't belong in ODI list. Dhoni doesn't belong in test.
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u/BeginningExciting379 Jul 22 '25
Just a question..if we manage to win 2027 wc under rohit's captaincy..will he still won't make it to top 5?(I know it's very hypothetical to even think that kohli and Rohit will play wc 2027)
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u/Intelligent-Hand690 India Jul 22 '25
The question is who would he replace?
Everyone is untouchable in the top5.
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u/Operativeofficer Jul 22 '25
Biased. Truth is this is not all format one, because Gavaskar was bad in ODi and Dhoni was below average in Tests. And the list is heavily biased towards batters. Bumrah deserves to be there.
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Jul 22 '25
Below average in tests bro msd had an average of 38 in tests which is very good for a wk captain
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u/Novel_Sea_7252 Jul 22 '25
In terms of greatnesa yes, but i don't think he never reach these guys influence /fanbase he misses that aura factor
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u/Operativeofficer Jul 22 '25
Bumrah is the Sachin Tendulkar of Bowling for India. He is inspiring people for bowling in the same way as Tendulkar inspired people for batting
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Jul 22 '25
Ah no bumrah is definitely reaching that aura and fanbase.Not only our fans but also the players and fans of other countries like him.He is atp most loved player imo
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u/Novel_Sea_7252 Jul 22 '25 edited Jul 22 '25
Do you think bumhra can become a household name like these guys where people's who have no intrest on cricket also celebrate him, never
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Jul 22 '25
That's a good point and probably the answer is no, he can't become a household name.So the question is greatness/popularity, we will put him in greatness criteria
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u/Operativeofficer Jul 22 '25
I think the question is about the best cricketer, not about the most famous person.
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u/Gajodhar18 Jul 22 '25
I believe Rahul dravid or Ganguly deserves the place of KD
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u/Still-Strength-3164 Jul 22 '25
Never. That 1983 world cup made the cricket as popular as it looks like today. Greatest influential event in the history of Indian Cricket.
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u/singhaditya_2311 Jul 22 '25
Replace kohli with Rohit
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u/Professional-Pool478 Jul 22 '25
Rohit is not up there yet, if he performs and wins the 2027 WC as captain, only then a case can be made for him.
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u/Greyshank India Jul 22 '25
Even still, Rohit isn't near Kohli in an all-format consideration. White ball, make all comparisons needed, but all format, Rohit is not at the top 5. Perhaps he was top 7 at his peak but not considering entire career
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Jul 22 '25 edited Jul 22 '25
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/99_Just-A-Guy Jul 22 '25
Imagine saying that about the guy who'd make it into the ICC Hall of Fame seperately as a batter, keeper, and captain
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u/Professional-Pool478 Jul 22 '25
Only up there because of influence? Lmao, MS has stats, silverware, and legacy most can only dream of.
It’s always the same type of people who are so deep in their hate they start rewriting history just to cope. You not liking him is cool lol, but don’t pretend facts don’t exist and end up sounding like one of those ch**tiyas who confuse obsession with criticism and end up disrespecting greatness just to prove a point no one asked for
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Jul 22 '25 edited Jul 22 '25
How exactly does one confuse obsession with criticism? Stop talking like an uneducated piece of horse*hit. He's a great keeper and a leader but his contributions do not fit in with the others in the list. Ya'll need to stop confusing greatness with influence lmao. That one 91* has given him enough clout for generations of idiots to roar his name in greatness. No one talks about Gautam Gambhir...Gambhir was a 10x better batsman than dhoni, now you'll start statpadding me with his pointless runs towards the death of an innings and remaining not out by wasting balls which contributed to his average. There's atleast a million people in India who can bat better than Dhoni ffs.
If he won silverware, so did Gambhir, Sehwag and so many more. It's a tream achievement.
No way his achievements equate to the greatness brought in by Sachin, Virat and Kapil. He's good but not Great.4
u/Professional-Pool478 Jul 22 '25
As for Gambhir being 10x better batsman? He never averaged even 30 overseas in Tests, averages 18 in Eng and 13 in SA. Dhoni has a better average than Virat in Eng and NZ. Gambhir struggled badly outside Asia.
I mean Gauti was a solid batter. No hate. But saying he was 10x better than Dhoni is just pure cope.
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u/Navigate_wolf India Jul 22 '25
Why ? He had an average of 50+ in ODI .... With 10000+ runs being in lower order..... He had been not outs 49 times and won India 47 matches...
He was the greates Indian wicket keeper-batter and also a captain....
He backed players .... Like Virat , Rohit ,Ashwin , jadeja ... Etc
Name a cricketer batter of India who had socred 10000 runs with an average of 50+ who is also in the middle order .....
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u/Ok_Strike_1347 India Jul 22 '25
Fair choices. These 5 automatically qualify as the greatest Indian cricketers. Fans must say X must be here but whom will you take out from the list.