Former India National Cricket Team all-rounder and head coach Ravi Shastri has named the top five Indian ODI cricketers of all-time, and he has made some interesting picks.
Ravi Shastri has denied giving the No.1 spot in his list to the God of Cricket, Sachin Tendulkar; instead, he has placed the run-machine Virat Kohli at the top position.
I’ll go with Kohli, Tendulkar, Kapil Dev, MS Dhoni, Rohit Sharma – Ravi Shastri
Ravi Shastri is currently involved in the India tour of Australia 2025 as a broadcaster. He has dedicated his life to cricket and taken up several different kinds of roles during this illustrious run.
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Ravi Shastri was part of India’s squad that won the 1983 World Cup under the leadership of Kapil Dev, and from thereon, he made massive contributions to Team India as an all-rounder.
After his retirement, he took up broadcasting duties, and later he also became the head coach of the India National Cricket Team, playing a key role in transforming the Test team.
Shastri has seen it all in cricket over the past few decades, and now, based on his experience, he has named the top 5 ODI cricketers of all time, who have represented the India National Cricket Team.
He picked Virat Kohli as India’s No.1 player of all-time and placed Sachin Tendulkar at No.2. The next two batters in his list were Kapil Dev and MS Dhoni, while Rohit Sharma was placed at fifth spot.
“Yeah, I’ll go with Kohli, Tendulkar, Kapil Dev, MS Dhoni, Rohit Sharma. You know, these players, you know, more or less coming to the fag end of their careers. They played for over a decade, some for over a decade and a half. You know, so I would put, and it’s tough to pick. There are so many other good players there, you know, when you look back. But these stand out for me,” Shastri said on Fox Cricket.
You know, they’ve been outstanding contributors – Ravi Shastri
The former India head coach further stated that the cricketers he picked in his list have been outstanding contributors over the years.
“You know, they’ve been outstanding contributors, two World Cup captains there, you know, who won the World Cup as well. And, you know, barring Rohit Sharma, everyone in that list is are World Cup winner.
“But, you know, you can’t take Rohit out of the mix with three double hundreds, over 11,000 runs. He’s number three in the list of run-getters. And all these, on their given day, are genuine match winners,” he said.
The only reason I’ve not put Bumrah there is that Bumrah has got another three or four years – Ravi Shastri
One major name missing from Shastri’s list was Jasprit Bumrah, who is regarded as the greatest Indian pacer of all time. Talking about his non-inclusion, Ravi Shastri said that the premier pacer still has a lot of time left in cricket, and that is the only reason he’s not part of the list.
“The only reason I’ve not put Bumrah there is that Bumrah has got another three or four years of cricket left. These players are more or less coming to the fag end of their careers. They’ve played over a decade, some over a decade and a half. Barring Rohit Sharma, everyone on that list are World Cup winners. And all these, on a given day, genuine match-winners, ” said Shastri.
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