11 Greatest Indian Cricketers of all time
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Sachin is an Indian cricketer widely regarded as one of the greatest batsmen in the history of cricket.
He is the leading run-scorer and century maker in Test and One Day International cricket
Sachin Tendulkar has been the most complete batsman of his time, and arguably the biggest cricket icon as well. His batting is based on the purest principles: perfect balance, economy of movement, precision in stroke-making, and that intangible quality given only to geniuses: anticipation. If he doesn't have a signature stroke - the upright, back-foot punch comes close - it is because he is equally proficient at each of the full range of orthodox shots (and plenty of improvised ones as well) and can pull them out at will.- Actor
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Mahendra Singh Dhoni was born on 7 July 1981 in Ranchi, Bihar, India. He is an actor and producer, known for Let's Get Married (2023), Star Sports India vs Australia ODI Series 2013 (2013) and 2011 Cricket World Cup (2011). He has been married to Sakshi Dhoni since 4 July 2010. They have one child.- Believe it or not, this tall, muscular, forever smiling lad from Chandigarh, at a camp for emerging Indian cricketers, was denied extra food during lunch. When asked by the camp authorities why he requested for more than the standard quota, he stated that being a fast bowler he needs to eat more to maintain stamina. The camp burst into laughter, with the response from the coaches being "We don't produce fast-bowlers in India". Rest as the cliche goes is history.
Starting from his debut in 1978, where he delivered a bouncer to arch-rivals Pakistan's opening batsmen, till his retirement in 1994, Kapil Dev sent back several of cricket history's best batsmen against pace bowling back to the pavilion, even on the unhelpful wickets of his home country, displaying his ability to think players out with a combination of consistent line and length as well as swinging the ball both inside and outside of the wicket. This formed the core of his outstanding tally of 434 test and 253 ODI scalps, both stats being world records at the time of him bowing out.
And if the bowling alone wasn't enough, his batting displays became box-office attractions the world over, particularly against the best bowling attacks of his generation. Although always criticized for just enjoying batting in a destructive mode rather than being an accumulator like his cross border rival Imran Khan, he did more than enough to reach over 5000 runs with 8 centuries, 3 of which came outside the subcontinent. And his only ODI ton may very well arguably be the greatest innings in the history of the format, with his 175* against Zimbabwe in the 1983 World Cup won the match, saved India from crashing out of the Group Stages unlike the previous two editions and above all India beat the mighty West Indies to clinch their first ever ICC tournament. An icing on the cake, Kapil happened to be the captain of this side which pulled off the impossible, his contributions being in both batting and bowling as well as fielding, as evidenced during the finals by his backwards running catch to dismiss Sir Viv Richards and the blinder to get rid of West Indian captain Clive Lloyd.
His tenure as a coach of the national team, however, was mediocre to say the least and allegations of match-fixing were raised against him by former teammate Manoj Prabhakar, forcing him to disappear from public life for a while. Cleared of all charges after thorough investigation, Kapil returned to public eye and in 2002 was voted by Wisden as India's "Cricketer Of The 20th Century" ahead of long time teammate Sunil Gavaskar and crowd favorite Sachin Tendulkar, the honor presented to him by his friend and batting legend Sir Vivian Richards.
Today, Kapil Dev continues to remain a revered figure in the international cricket community, with his name always popping up whenever someone thinks of the term "all-rounder" and is unsurprisingly a prominent guest lecturer on leadership and team management at events held on several prominent university and college campuses in India.
God bless the "Haryana Hurricane". - Anil Kumble was born on 17 October 1970 in Bangalore, Mysore State, India. He has been married to Chethana Ramatheertha since 1999. They have three children.
- A near to flawless batting technique, unmatched patience when on the crease and an insane appetite for runs combined together made Sunil Manohar Gavaskar. Born in Mumbai in 1949, Gavaskar proved to be a batting prodigy in the first class circuit, leading to his international debut on the tour of the Caribbean in 1971. What most expected from the little man was a steady stream of runs. But what they got, was a non-stop cascade as he ended the series with 774 runs at a whooping average of 155. All of a sudden, Gavaskar was a subject of immense curiosity in the international cricket community. But following his unreal debut, the following couple of seasons were mediocre to say the least. Questions started to be raised if Gavaskar's feats in his debut series were a fluke. But larger-than-life as Gavaskar was, he proved his cynics wrong hitting a miraculous 101 on a broken Old Trafford pitch against the devastating quartet of Bob Willis, Chris Old, Mike Hendrik and John Snow. Restored to confidence with another storybook accomplishment, Gavaskar was once again the man cricket world admired and bowlers dreaded, displaying a wide array of strokes in all corners of the globe. As the saga continued, Gavaskar kept bringing landmark after landmark to his name, the most immortal ones among them being his 221 in the fourth innings chasing 438 against England at The Oval, overtaking Geoffrey Boycott as the highest run scorer in test history, beating Sir Don Bradman's 35 year old record of 29 test centuries and finally becoming the first cricketer to scale 10000 runs. And his farewell innings in 1987 became another heralded story as batting on a crumbling Bangalore wicket against arch rivals Pakistan, Gavaskar scored 96 in a heartbreaking loss, with the display of India's complete reliance on Gavaskar proven by the fact that the next highest contribution to Indian total was extras conceded by Pakistani bowlers, with 27.
Gavaskar bowed out of the scene with 10122 runs averaging 51, over 9500 of the tally coming as an opener. He had famously said "Others will definitely get there, but the one who gets it first is the one always remembered". True to his words, despite the likes of Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid having surpassed him by quite a distance, Sunil Gavaskar continues to be regarded, both domestically and internationally, as India's greatest batsman of all-time. After all, the one who sets the benchmark has his own aura, Right !!!!! - Virat Kohli was born on 5 November 1988 in New Delhi, India. He is an actor, known for 2011 Cricket World Cup (2011), Indian Premier League (2008) and Virat Kohli Mattel Max Steel (2013). He has been married to Anushka Sharma since 11 December 2017. They have two children.
- In the game of cricket, some judge batsmen by the number of runs they make while some are judged based on the manner and in the circumstances they are made. By either criteria, with both formats in mind, Rahul Sharad Dravid is unarguably one of the greatest of all-time.
The son of a food scientist and a professor of architecture, Dravid represented the state of Karnataka in the Indian Domestic Circuit. With years of consistent performances, he finally made it to the 1996 Indian touring party for England. When told by coach Sandeep Patil that he would finally get to bat at Lord's, his face just lit up. Joining fellow debutante and future skipper Saurav Ganguly, Dravid made highly polished, textbook strokes before unfortunately falling for 95. During the following years, Dravid maintained high levels of his trademark consistency but wasn't able to convert fifties into centuries. This dilemma came to an end at Johannesburg, when against pace legend Allan Donald at his peak, he registered scores of 148 and 81. From there on, there was no looking back. And entering into the 21st century, Dravid became the centrefold of India's batting line-up, with India finally starting to win tests overseas, Dravid trailing only Sachin Tendulkar for the title of India's greatest batsman ever.
But like all greats, Dravid too lost form in the middle years starting from India's disastrous exit from the 2007 World Cup. Working hard to remodel his technique, Dravid finally found his touch on India's otherwise disastrous tour of England in 2011 where despite his 3 centuries, India was whitewashed 4-0. And after an individual poor showing in another 4-0 series whitewash, this time in Australia, Dravid, knowing fully both cricket viewers and critics will come for his blood, announced his retirement from international cricket.
"The Wall", as he is fondly called by the global cricket community, continues to contribute to India as one of the guiding lights to youngsters, nurturing their skills before they become the mainstray of the National team.
One of the nicest men to ever grace the sport, Dravid has unquestionably carved his name as one of the greatest of all-time. - Sourav Ganguly was born on 8 July 1972 in Calcutta, West Bengal, India. He is an actor, known for Joy Joy Durga Maa (2018), Border-Gavaskar Trophy (1996) and The Warrior Prince: Sourav Ganguly (2012). He has been married to Dona Roy since 1997. They have one child.
- Ravichandran Ashwin was born on 17 September 1986 in Madras, Tamil Nadu, India. He is an actor, known for Border-Gavaskar Trophy (1996), Star Sports India vs Australia ODI Series 2013 (2013) and 2013 ICC Champions Trophy (2013). He has been married to Prithi Narayanan since 13 November 2011. They have two children.
- Yuvraj Singh was born on 12 December 1981 in Chandigarh, India. He is an actor, known for Putt Saradaran De (1992), Mehndi Shagna Di (1992) and Captain India (2012). He has been married to Hazel Keech since 30 November 2016.
- Zaheer Khan was born on 7 October 1978 in Shrirampur, Maharashtra, India. He has been married to Sagarika Ghatge since 23 November 2017.