Top 10 Indian Test Batsmen

[ma1978]

I was having a debate about Azharuddjn with the recent news in mind and where his legacy stood were it not for the match fixing.

Which got me thinking. Who are the top 10 Indian batsmen.

We know the top four. Tendulkar Gavaskar, Dravid and Kohli

After that there are quite a few good options.

My rankings

Sehwag
Laxman
Hazare
Vishwanath
Pujara
Amarnath

But there are other worthy candidates

Vengsarkar
Merchant
Ganguly
Mankad
And of course Azhar

Thoughts?

 

[Jack1]

I don't agree with the top 4. Sehwag opened the batting. I don't agree with you excluding Kambli either (makes it weirder when you include Mankad over him on mentions)

1. Gavaskar
2. Sehwag
3. Dravid
4. Tendulkar
5. Kohli
6. Kambli
7. Pujara
8. Merchant
9. Hazare
10. Laxman

That's my list. Opening the batting is the hardest place to bat in tests. Number 4 is much cosier than 3 or opening.

 

[SillyCowCorner1]

SG
SG
CP
RD
VVS
MA
ST
VS
VT
VK*

VK's played some gritty knocks in Australia...make it there, make it anywhere.

 

[h_hurricane]

I was having a debate about Azharuddjn with the recent news in mind and where his legacy stood were it not for the match fixing.

Which got me thinking. Who are the top 10 Indian batsmen.

We know the top four. Tendulkar Gavaskar, Dravid and Kohli

After that there are quite a few good options.

My rankings

Sehwag
Laxman
Hazare
Vishwanath
Pujara
Amarnath

But there are other worthy candidates

Vengsarkar
Merchant
Ganguly
Mankad
And of course Azhar

Thoughts?

Your top 10 is about spot on.

Worthy candidates list has some omissions and some debatable inclusions. Mankad does not make it on batting alone. Umrigar should easily walk into the list outside top 10. Merchant is the kind of player who should be either in the top 10 or shouldn't be in any list at all(small sample size).

 

[Jack1]

SG
SG
CP
RD
VVS
MA
ST
VS
VT
VK*

VK's played some gritty knocks in Australia...make it there, make it anywhere.

 

[SillyCowCorner1]

View attachment 24924

Deciphered yet?

 

[harsh.ag]

Tendulkar
Gavaskar
Dravid
Kohli
Hazare
Laxman
Sehwag
Merchant
Viswanath
Pujara

 

[Logan]

In no specific order

1. Vijay Hazare

2. Polly Umrigar

3. Vijay Merchant

4. Gundappa Vishwanath

5. Sunil Gavaskar

6. Sachin Tendulkar

7. Rahul Dravid

8. Virender Sehwag

9. Virat Kohli

10. Cheteshwara Pujara

 

[Jack1]

Deciphered yet?

I get the idea, but it's difficult to directly decipher I have to admit apart from the obvious ones.

 

[Logan]

The top six batsmen are a lock.

1 & 2. Sachin or Gavaskar

3. Dravid

4. Kohli

5. Sehwag

6. Pujara


The top three pre-Gavaskar batsmen were Hazare, Umrigar and Merchant. What they did back with so limited availability was amazing.

Vishwanath, Vengsarkar, Amarnath and Laxman belong to the next tier.

 

[h_hurricane]

I think Umrigar is under-rated, probably not many are aware about him. An early hero along with Merchant, Hazare and Mankad. The first indian to 3000 test runs, first to 10 hundreds. Held the record for the most runs and hundreds by an indian for a very long time till a certain SM Gavaskar broke it. A handy bowler as well.

 

[Jack1]

I think Umrigar is under-rated, probably not many are aware about him. An early hero along with Merchant, Hazare and Mankad. The first indian to 3000 test runs, first to 10 hundreds. Held the record for the most runs and hundreds by an indian for a very long time till a certain SM Gavaskar broke it. A handy bowler as well.

What's the deal with Kambli here? Umrigar's stats are too weak to get in my top 10, decent stats tho.

Edit..I know Kambli didn't play that many games, but I find it hard to hold that against him when his FC (and test) record was so strong.

 

[h_hurricane]

What's the deal with Kambli here? Umrigar's stats are too weak to get in my top 10, decent stats tho.

Edit..I know Kambli didn't play that many games, but I find it hard to hold that against him when his FC (and test) record was so strong.

The problem with Kambli was, he got worked up quickly by the WI bowlers after a rousing start. Quickly became a non entity after this. Had he had the drive to work hard and improve, he would have been an ATG. A pity that didn't happen.

Umrigar is an arguable top 10, not certain. Should be definitely in the top 12-15 I reckon.

 

[Logan]

An Indian batsman having an average of 42 and scoring 12 centuries after playing 59 Tests between 1948-1962 is a great achievement.

 

[Jack1]

The problem with Kambli was, he got worked up quickly by the WI bowlers after a rousing start. Quickly became a non entity after this. Had he had the drive to work hard and improve, he would have been an ATG. A pity that didn't happen.

Umrigar is an arguable top 10, not certain. Should be definitely in the top 12-15 I reckon.

Was he getting bounced out? Guess it goes without saying by the reply. It was still only 3 games, not like he got given time to adjust. The dude still averaged 54.2 in tests! Insane..

An Indian batsman having an average of 42 and scoring 12 centuries after playing 59 Tests between 1948-1962 is a great achievement.

If you average over 40 in test cricket with 50+ tests you're a player no doubt.

 

[h_hurricane]

Was he getting bounced out? Guess it goes without saying by the reply. It was still only 3 games, not like he got given time to adjust. The dude still averaged 54.2 in tests! Insane..

Yes, it was only 3 games, but the degradation in his game was catastrophic. Between 1994 and 1996, Kambli plummeted at an alarming rate, far more than any promising player should have. WC 1996 was the trough. After getting dropped (possibly unfair as he had a decent WC) following that eventful night in Kolkata, he was contemplating moving to NZ. Didn't work on improving his game. Him and Manjrekar were replaced by Dravid and Ganguly shortly and he never played tests again.

Kambli is a case of what could have been. Around 2002 when Ganguly was losing it as a test match batsman, I used to think, if Kambli had done justice to his talent, what a gun middle order we would have had. Dravid,Tendulkar, Kambli and Laxman would have made one of the strongest middle orders in cricket's history. Kambli's ceiling was clearly far above Saurav, but his floor was abysmal. Kambli's batting avg would in all possibility would have plummeted to 40s with that kind of attitude and work ethic, you could see how his ODI record degraded in the select few matches he played between 1996-2000. Selectors were probably right in not giving him another chance, and he did not help his own case. Should have knocked the door harder.

 

[Jack1]

Yes, it was only 3 games, but the degradation in his game was catastrophic. Between 1994 and 1996, Kambli plummeted at an alarming rate, far more than any promising player should have. WC 1996 was the trough. After getting dropped (possibly unfair as he had a decent WC) following that eventful night in Kolkata, he was contemplating moving to NZ. Didn't work on improving his game. Him and Manjrekar were replaced by Dravid and Ganguly shortly and he never played tests again.

Kambli is a case of what could have been. Around 2002 when Ganguly was losing it as a test match batsman, I used to think, if Kambli had done justice to his talent, what a gun middle order we would have had. Dravid,Tendulkar, Kambli and Laxman would have made one of the strongest middle orders in cricket's history. Kambli's ceiling was clearly far above Saurav, but his floor was abysmal. Kambli's batting avg would in all possibility would have plummeted to 40s with that kind of attitude and work ethic, you could see how his ODI record degraded in the select few matches he played between 1996-2000. Selectors were probably right in not giving him another chance, and he did not help his own case. Should have knocked the door harder.

Good points. I'm not happy he wasn't at least given a chance to get his average under 45 (or even under 40). It makes it hard to calculate his ability as a test batsman in full for me.

 

[Dan]

I think if you're such a colossal dickhead that the selectors refuse to pick you despite you clearly having a ****load of natural talent and absolutely justifying Test selection on output, that should absolutely factor in to how you're ultimately rated as a batsman.

 

[CodeOfWisden]

Excluding dinosaurs and fixers.
My top ten

Tendulkar
Gavaskar
Dravid
Kohli
Sehwag
VVS laxman
Pujara
Gundappa vishwanath
Mohinder Amarnath
Vengsarkar/rahane

 

[Pap Finn Keighl]

Top 10 last 50 years

Gavaskar
Sachin
Dravid
Kohli / Sehwag
Sehwag / Kohli

Here onwards ..it's not easy

Azhar / VVS / RGV / Pujara / Vengsarkar / Amarnath