The greatest Indian cricketers are treated like deities. India is a cricket-mad country of over one billion people, a place where cricketers receive A-list treatment unlike anywhere else in the world.
Mobbed by adoring fans in public, the top Indian cricketers cannot live a normal life whether they’re travelling to an IPL match or popping to the shops. It’s a level of superstardom hard to imagine for followers of cricket betting in the UK.
Defining greatness from different generations is tricky in any sport. It is especially hard in cricket, given the different formats which have led to new ways to evaluate players. As anyone interested in betting will know, Test cricket is fighting for relevance, meaning many of the biggest stars barely play with the red ball.
Kapil Dev has the third-most Test wickets of any Indian bowler, along with eight Test centuries. He’s the only player in Test history with over 400 wickets and over 5,000 runs.
A World Cup winner in 1983, Dev’s peak came when India were a long way from the force they have become in the 21st century.
At the time of his retirement, Dev was the all-time leading Test wicket-taker. Like many match-winning all-rounders, his statistics are not exactly spectacular, but Dev’s ability to slot into various different roles was invaluable for India from elegant outswing bowler to white-ball pinch-hitter.
Jasprit Bumrah has the best Test bowling average of any Indian fast bowler. Bumrah won the T20 World Cup in 2024 and boasts white-ball statistics that are almost as impressive as his Test numbers.
With a jerky, unorthodox action and short run-up, Bumrah has bamboozled batters on a regular basis. Capable of moving the new or old ball in the air or off the pitch and with a testing bouncer, he’s the best all-around fast bowler in the world and already one of India’s greats.
Any Indian quick bowler being this dominant is a special feat.
The career leader in Test and ODI runs, Sachin Tendulkar has a strong case as the greatest Indian cricketer ever. He slots in third in these rankings, however, due to the favourable batting conditions he enjoyed for much of his career.
Tendulkar broke onto the scene as a teenager, quickly become one of the best batters on the planet. He had trademark knocks in every country he visited, averaging over 50 in Australia and England.
Yes, it’s a bit controversial including Ravindra Jadeja in the top five. Jadeja averages 35 with the bat in Tests and 32 in ODIs. His bowling average in ODIs is over 36.
His Test bowling average is in the low twenties, however, and he’s likely to finish his career with more than 400 wickets. If there was less batting talent around him, his batting statistics would be significantly better. There have been periods where he could have been selected as a top six batter.
Jadeja’s case isn’t purely statistical, either. When teammates have seemed demoralised, he is unperturbed. In all formats, he has often been the difference between wins and losses for India.
Owner of the fifth-highest strike rate in Test history while averaging 49.34, Virender Sehwag redefined what a Test opener could look like. He combined fearless stroke making with the ability to go big (his seven Test double-hundreds are the most of any Indian batter).
Such talents were naturally carried over to the white-ball game with a strike rate comfortably above 100.
Swashbuckling, and possessing a simple technique, Sehwag was the cause of countless nightmares for bowlers throughout his international career. Sunil Gavaskar, Rahul Dravid, and others had better numbers than Sehwag, but his impact on the sport is unparalleled.
