New Delhi [India], July 22 : Former Indian head coach and all-rounder Ravi Shastri named his top five most influential cricketers of all time, walking down right from the era of Sunil Gavaskar to Virat Kohli.
Shastri was speaking on 'Stick to Cricket' podcast, hosted by former England cricketers Phil Tuffnell, Alastair Cook, David Llyod and Michael Vaughan.
Speaking on the podcast, Shastri named Gavaskar, Kapil Dev, Sachin Tendulkar, MS Dhoni and Virat Kohli in his top five. Indian spin wizard Bishan Singh Bedi and current Indian pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah missed his list.
"Definitely (Sunil) Gavaskar, Kapil (Dev), Sachin (Tendulkar), and Virat (Kohli) definitely for being... I am looking at the most influential players of that era. Bishan (Singh Bedi) would have been there, but MS (Dhoni) again. MS will come in, and then Bumrah is still here. Bumrah is young; Bumrah has still got cricket. I am saying the guys who have almost finished their cricket, so these will be the five," said Shastri.
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Shastri went on to rank Gavaskar as the number one as a batter amongst all these and called Sachin an "entire package", citing his longevity, records and having played some of the toughest bowlers ever.
"GavaskarI would say batting. Kapil, wow, a fabulous cricketer, and I would put the entire package number one, would be Tendulkar because of the expectations and because of longevity, for having played 24 years in the game."
"24 years is a lot of time, and he has played... 100 hundreds. He played every pace attack of that decade. He started playing against Wasim (Akram), Waqar (Younis), and Imran (Khan). Then went on to the Aussies, then the English attack Broady (Stuart Broad) and (James) Anderson. South African attack (Jacques) Kallis, Shaun (Pollock). He is pure as technique-wise and following-wise," he added.
Gavaskar, named as the 'Little Master', is considered one of the most technically strong batters of all time. In 233 international games, he made 13,214 runs at an average of 46.20, with 35 centuries to his name. He was the first player to cross the 10,000 runs mark in Tests, scoring 10,122 runs in 125 Tests at an average of 51.12, with 34 centuries and 45 fifties. He is India's third-highest Test run-scorer of all time. He is also a part of India's 1983 World Cup and 1985 World Championship of Cricket winning teams.
Kapil's influence is way beyond numbers. A flamboyant all-rounder, he instilled a sense of self-belief in an underdog Indian team, which went on to capture the 1983 Cricket World Cup and shifted the power centre of world cricket by lifting the trophy at Lord's. In 356 international matches, he scored 9,031 runs at an average of 27.53, with nine centuries and 41 fifties to his name. He is India's fourth-highest international wicket-taker, with 687 wickets at an average of 28.83, best figures of 9/83, 24 five-wicket hauls and two ten-fers to his name. 434 of these wickets came in Tests at an average of 29.64 in 131 Tests.
Sachin is by far, the most technically proficient batter of all time. He reigns supreme in the international charts with 34.357 runs in 664 matches, at an average of 48.52, with 100 centuries. He is the only international cricketer to have scored a century of centuries and was also the first-ever cricketer to score a double ton in ODIs. The superstar bid adieu to international game in 2013 after a glittering 24-year-career, which started as a teenager at the age of 16.
A 2011 Cricket World Cup and 2002 ICC Champions Trophy winner, Sachin holds the record for most runs in the history of the Cricket World Cup, with 2,278 runs at an average of 56.95, six centuries and 15 fifties. With 15,921 runs in a record 200 Tests, consisting of 51 centuries and 18,426 runs in 463 ODIs, consisting of 49 centuries, Sachin stays at the top in both longer formats of the game. He has played just one T20I, scoring 10 runs. With 201 international wickets, he was no slouch with the ball either.
Dhoni went from a 'ticket collector' at Railways to a 'trophy collector' for India within a matter of a few years, marking one of the most inspirational journeys in world cricket. He is the only captain to have won the ICC T20 World Cup (2007), ICC Cricket World Cup (2011) and ICC Champions Trophy (2013) in the history of the game. With 17,266 runs in 538 matches at an average of 44.96, consisting of 16 centuries and 108 fifties, Dhoni is India's sixth-highest international run-getter.
He was India's first wicketkeeper-batter who could truly bat with the prowess of a top-order specialist. His best format is ODIs, with 10,773 runs at an average of 50.57 in 350 matches and 297 innings, with 10 centuries and 73 fifties, with individual best score of 183*. With 829 dismissals as a wicketkeeper and lightning-fast stumpings, Dhoni was just as entertaining behind the stumps as he was ahead of it.
Now coming to Virat, he is the third-highest international run-getter of all time, with 27,599 runs in 550 matches and 617 innings at an average of 52.27, with 82 centuries. He is India's truest all-format great, with most of their past greats having very little to no T20I cricket experience.
Virat's most successful format is ODIs, with 14,181 runs in 302 matches and 290 innings at an average of 57.88, with 51 centuries, most by a batter and 74 fifties. He is the third-highest ODI run-getter.
With 9,230 runs in 123 Tests at an average of 46.85, 30 centuries and 31 fifties and 40 wins in 68 matches as a captain, Virat is also perhaps India's biggest ambassador for Test cricket. As their most successful captain ever, and standing as their fourth-highest run-getter, the 36-year-old has a Test resume very few can have. Developing a strict fitness culture and a brilliant pool of fast bowlers alongside coach Ravi Shastri remain two of his biggest positives in Test cricket.
In the T20Is, he is the third-highest run-getter ever, with 4,188 runs at an average of 48.69, with a century and 37 fifties.
Virat is a one-time 50-over World Cup winner (2011), two-time ICC Champions Trophy winner (2013 and 2025) and one-time T20 World Cup winner (2024) in white-ball cricket. He also led India to three ICC World Test Championship maces as a captain. With 3,834 runs in 90 ICC white-ball tournament matches, including six centuries and 33 fifties and a consistent knockout stage record, he is the man for big stages.
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