Ravi Shastri, the former Indian head coach and all-rounder, named his top 5 cricketers of all time from Sunil Gavaskar to Virat Kohli.
On the ‘Stick to Cricket’ podcast with ex-England cricketers Phil Tuffnell, Alastair Cook, David Llyod and Michael Vaughan, Shastri listed Gavaskar, Kapil Dev, Sachin Tendulkar, MS Dhoni and Virat Kohli as his top 5. He said Bishan Singh Bedi and Jasprit Bumrah just missed the cut.
Shastri ranked Gavaskar as the top batsman and Tendulkar as the whole package due to his long career, records and facing some of the best bowlers.
Gavaskar, the ‘Little Master’ is respected for his technique. He scored 13,214 runs in 233 games, averaging 46.20, with 35 centuries. He was the first to score 10,000 Test runs, with 10,122 runs in 125 Tests at an average of 51.12, including 34 centuries and 45 fifties and was part of India’s 1983 World Cup and 1985 World Championship of Cricket winning teams.
Kapil Dev influenced not just with numbers but beyond it. As a flamboyant all-rounder he instilled confidence in the Indian team and led them to win the 1983 World Cup at Lord’s. He scored 9,031 runs in 356 games at an average of 27.53, with 9 centuries and 41 fifties and took 687 wickets at an average of 28.83.
Sachin Tendulkar is known for being a technically sound batsman. He holds the record for 34,357 runs in 664 games, averaging 48.52, with 100 centuries and was the first to score a double century in ODIs. Tendulkar retired from international cricket in 2013 after 24 years. A winner of 2011 World Cup and 2002 Champions Trophy, Sachin has the most runs in World Cup history, with 2,278 runs at an average of 56.95.Dhoni’s journey from Railways to becoming a trophy collector for India is inspiring. He is the only captain to have won the ICC T20 World Cup (2007), ICC Cricket World Cup (2011) and ICC Champions Trophy (2013). Dhoni scored 17,266 runs in 538 games at an average of 44.96, with 16 centuries and 108 fifties and was India’s first wicketkeeper-batter to bat like a top-order specialist.
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Virat Kohli is the third-highest international run-scorer, with 27,599 runs in 550 games, averaging 52.27, with 82 centuries and is India’s all-format great, most of the past greats had little or no T20I cricket. Kohli has 14,181 runs in ODIs at an average of 57.88, with 51 centuries. He has 9,230 runs in Tests at an average of 46.85 and led India to 40 wins in 68 matches as captain. In T20Is he has 4,188 runs at an average of 48.69, with a century and 37 fifties.
Kohli is a one-time 50-over World Cup (2011), two-time ICC Champions Trophy (2013 and 2025) and one-time T20 World Cup (2024) winner.
