5 Most Influential Cricketers of All Time

[Pratters]

true, he did have a great wc in 92 didnt he?Sanath & Kalu, did it as an opening pair though,if one didnt smash you the other would..

I would say that Sri Lanka winning the 1996 World Cup was remarkable. Ranatunga gets a lot of flack but not many recognise how he got Sri Lanka, a medicore side, to win the WC when no one expected them to. It was not just having two explosive openers start the inning. Kalluwitharna and Jayasuriya (who was mainly a bowler 2 years or so before 1996) start the inning meant that Sri Lanka batted deep till 8. They had Vaas coming in way deep. In a situation like the 1996 World Cup where they lost quick wickets, they still had the depth to make a total and then win it.

In winning the World Cup, Ranatunga revamped ODI cricket in a lot of ways. Sri Lanka still competes well at the international limited overs formats and are no longer pushovers.

Ranatunga is some one who influenced the game a lot.

 

[smash84]

I remember a game where Kalu was the first man dismissed when the score was on 70 (i guess) and he was out for a duck.

That might have been the game where Jayasuriya scored the fastest century of that time (or perhaps the one where he scored the fastest half century) in the Singer Cup

 

[Pratters]

Jayasuriya and Kalluwitharna in 1996 was the most destructive ODI combination to have played the game bar none.

In 1996, Jayasuriya averaged 34 with the bat and a S/R over 112. Kallu averaged 24 with a S/R of 102. This was an era where strike rates ranged between 50-70 in ODI cricket. So teams made between 180 and 250 with 275 or so being an amazing score. With Jayasuriya and Kalluwitharana going all out, if both lasted 10 overs, the game was over. Even if one lasted 10 overs, more often than not, Sri Lanka won. Kalluwitharana's strke rate reduced in 1997 while Jayasuriya's did the same in 1998. However, in 1996, they showed how it's done.

 

[anil1405]

That might have been the game where Jayasuriya scored the fastest century of that time (or perhaps the one where he scored the fastest half century) in the Singer Cup

Yup. It was the singer cup final
Final: Pakistan v Sri Lanka at Singapore, Apr 7, 1996 | Cricket Scorecard | ESPN Cricinfo

 

[smash84]

yeah, it was an amazing match

 

[Bouncer]

Arguably Greatbatch who inspired them to do it.

Actually not a very well known fact that Imran actually used his wicket keeper (Salim Yusaf) as a regular pinch hitting opener in the Australasia Cup 1990.

Salim way picked to open the inning with Saeed Anwar Solely to take advantage of the fielding restrictions in first 15 overs and it paid off well (for RR standards in those times).

 

[Burgey]

Honestly, how is Tendulkar one of the five most influential cricketers of all time? FMD the bloke could play, but so what? How did he influence the way cricket is played?

Did he invent a new shot which completely changed the game? No.

Was his captaincy incredibly innovative? No, apart from its lolworthiness.

Was he the first bloke to selfishly refuse to move from his preferred spot in a batting line up even when his side was hit with an injury crisis? No.

As for his influence on Indian cricket, fmd the joint was cricket mad for three quarters of a century at least before the Little Muppet came along.

Let's get perspective here. He was a great player, but he doesn't make the top 20 for influence, let alone the top five.

 

[OverratedSanity]

Yeah, I'd agree with that. He's been influential on a lot of young Indian cricketers, but that alone doesn't mean he's been influential on the game as a whole.

 

[cnerd123]

Putting money on Virat to make this list once his cartoon goes mainstream.

 

[vic_orthdox]

Come to think of it, as an event, the 1992 World Cup was probably the most influential if I think about it. For some reason it's the one that people remember fondly, the events like Jonty Rhodes diving full length to run someone out, Inzamam the Aloo smashing all in sundry as a dumpy looking teenager, the brilliance of Wasim and Imran, Australia doing terribly on home soil. The dibbly, dobbly, wibbly, wobbly of NZ getting us to the Semis.

Also pushed a better system to determine rain affected games onto us much quicker.

 

[Burgey]

Oh god yes. That SA-England thing was awful.

 

[watson]

Honestly, how is Tendulkar one of the five most influential cricketers of all time? FMD the bloke could play, but so what? How did he influence the way cricket is played?

Did he invent a new shot which completely changed the game? No.

Was his captaincy incredibly innovative? No, apart from its lolworthiness.

Was he the first bloke to selfishly refuse to move from his preferred spot in a batting line up even when his side was hit with an injury crisis? No.

As for his influence on Indian cricket, fmd the joint was cricket mad for three quarters of a century at least before the Little Muppet came along.

Let's get perspective here. He was a great player, but he doesn't make the top 20 for influence, let alone the top five.

As a global marketing brand I doubt that there has been any bigger than Tendulkar. So I guess it depends on whether you equate economics with 'influence'.

 

[fredfertang]

As a global marketing brand I doubt that there has been any bigger than Tendulkar. So I guess it depends on whether you equate economics with 'influence'.

I don't think that was down to him though - whoever was the best Indian player of that era was going to get feted in the same way

 

[OverratedSanity]

Oh god yes. That SA-England thing was awful.

Yeah but in a way, served South Africa right. Never really understood the sympathy SA get for that loss.

 

[marc71178]

Definitely served SA right seeing as they deliberately slowed down their overs when England were racing along to finish 5 short of the 50 and got off scot free for that.

 

[akilana]

And then Pakistan served England right.

 

[Pratters]

First World Cup which really looked cool with all the coloured clothing.

 

[ankitj]

I don't think that was down to him though - whoever was the best Indian player of that era was going to get feted in the same way

Not arguing if Tendulkar should be among the most influential cricketers ever, but disagree with above. Tendulkar's batting had a mastery and perfection that was unreal. Not anyone else would have got similar hero worship. If you look at his contemporaries, Dravid would have been the best Indian player if there was no Tendulkar. But he was not quite a master. His ODI batting was inadequate, he was often outplayed for long periods by other players (Lara, Ponting etc). Tendulkar's greatness as a batsman was at a different level altogether and he filled that void of a world beater Indian cricketing hero perfectly.

 

[weldone]

I don't think that was down to him though - whoever was the best Indian player of that era was going to get feted in the same way

Yes but in his defence, he was not the David Beckham of cricket. He was probably the equivalent of Messi / senior Ronaldo playing for England, for example.

 

[OverratedSanity]

Not arguing if Tendulkar should be among the most influential cricketers ever, but disagree with above. Tendulkar's batting had a mastery and perfection that was unreal. Not anyone else would have got similar hero worship. If you look at his contemporaries, Dravid would have been the best Indian player if there was no Tendulkar. But he was not quite a master. His ODI batting was inadequate, he was often outplayed for long periods by other players (Lara, Ponting etc). Tendulkar's greatness as a batsman was at a different level altogether and he filled that void of a world beater Indian cricketing hero perfectly.

Yeah, he's the most celebrated Indian cricketer of the last two decades for a reason. He's the best one. But imagine if instead of Tendulkar, it was Lara who'd played for India. Do you imagine him being worshipped any less? The public wouldve been just as insane for BCL.

When I think of influential cricketers, I think of guys who influenced the game as a whole. Imran made reverse swing a big big weapon after Sarfraz first really introduced it, Saqlain brought in the doosra, Worrell broke the race barrier and became captain, Jardine's captaincy led to big changes in the rulebook. Tendulkar was a great batsman and a popular bloke, that's about it imo. Not really influential in the strictest sense of the word.