India has a long history of generating some of the most talented batsmen in the game’s history. From the legendary Col. CK Nayudu to the current great Virat Kohli, the country has seen a plethora of players write fairy stories. Not only did these batsmen stand out as all-time greats, but they also helped the country establish its dominance over the game.
While their career statistics will go down in history as some of the best, a select few players will be able to add a special distinction to their already illustrious resumes. The ICC rankings have named these chosen Indian batsmen among the world’s top players over the years, owing to their outstanding talents with the bat.
In the current MRF Tyres ICC Player Rankings for Test Batsmen, announced in 2018, Virat Kohli became only the second Indian batsman to achieve the 900-point milestone, following Sunil Gavaskar.
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937 – Virat Kohli
Kohli is the 31st batsmen in Test cricket history to earn 900 points. With 961 points, Don Bradman leads the standings, followed by Steve Smith (947), Len Hutton (945), Ricky Ponting, and Jack Hobbs (both 942 points). The Indian captain is regarded as the best batsman of the contemporary age, and his flawless achievements bear witness to this.
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916 – Sunil Gavaskar
Sunil Gavaskar’s tale is one of Indian cricket’s most well-known. Before hanging up his boots in 1987, he set several batting records, including becoming the first player to attain the milestones of 10,000 runs and 30 hundred in Test cricket. Sunny, as he is affectionately known, scored 916 points against England in 1979.
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898 – Sachin Tendulkar
Since his debut in 1989, Tendulkar has grown into a batting icon as the pinnacle of great batsmanship. Aside from being the greatest run-scorer in both formats of the game, the Mumbaikar has a long list of cricketing records to his credit. In addition, Tendulkar holds the record for being the only guy on the globe to achieve 100 international hundreds. Sachin Tendulkar was the No. 1 Test batter for a total of 1157 days during his career, with a high rating of 898 points.
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892 – Rahul Dravid
Rahul Dravid’s outstanding batsmanship will be remembered for years to come. Despite being overshadowed by other superstars of his age, Dravid retains a special position in cricket’s history and was a class away from many batters. With a career-high rating of 892 points, the middle-order batsman spent a long time as the world’s best batsman.
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888 – Cheteshwar Pujara
Following his excellent performance in the second Test against Sri Lanka at the Vidarbha Cricket Association Stadium in Nagpur in 2017, Cheteshwar Pujara earned substantial improvements in the ICC Test Batsmen Rankings. Pujara received 22 points for a fantastic 143, bringing his total to 888 points.
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886 – Gautam Gambhir
In the lengthier version of the game, Gautam Gambhir was one of India’s best left-handed batters. Gambhir formed a good opening combination with Virender Sehwag for most of his career, with a technique capable of dealing with both pace and spin efficiently. Gambhir ascended to the top of the ICC Test rankings, and for a brief while, he was the best batsman in the world, with a career-high rating of 886 points.
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871 – Gundappa Viswanath
In his own right, he was a world-class batsman. For all of his centuries and legendary non-century knocks, Gundappa Vishwanath was never one for statistics. Cricket, which is known for being a numbers game, is unable to contain this genius’s skill. On the 17th of October 1979, he hit his best rating against the visiting Australians in the 1979-80 series, when he top-scored with 131 in the first innings. After India forced a follow-on, the game ended in a tie.
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869 – Vijay Hazare
In the 1951-52 series, Vijay Hazare was the first Indian captain when India won its first-ever Test by beating England in Madras. On the 17th of November 1952, in the 3rd Test against arch-rivals Pakistan, he struck 146 not out in the first innings, leading India to a comfortable 10-wicket victory.
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866 – Virender Sehwag
Virender Sehwag was one of India’s most loved cricketers all over the world, aggressive and purposeful. The opening batter was known for his aggressive style of play, which revolutionized the art of starting the batting in Test matches. After two consecutive centuries against Sri Lanka in 2010, Sehwag earned the title of world’s top Test batsmen with a career-high rating of 866 points.
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837 – Dilip Vengsarkar
Dilip Vengsarkar is still regarded as one of India’s finest cricketers. The Maharashtrian’s batting technique had a certain flair to it that let him score runs across countries. On November 16, 1988, he reached his greatest rating when he scored 75 runs in the first innings of the first test against New Zealand at Banglore. That test match was won by India by 172 runs.
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825 – Ajinkya Rahane
In 2018, Ajinkya Rahane was the top-ranked Indian batter, with 825 points. In Test cricket, he is now the Indian cricket team’s vice-captain. In Test cricket, he is generally a middle-order batsman, but in white-ball cricket, he is a top-order batsman. In domestic cricket, he plays for Mumbai Indians, while in the IPL, he plays for Delhi Capitals.
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813 – Rohit Sharma
In limited-overs cricket, Rohit Sharma is the Vice-Captain of India’s men’s national squad. In domestic cricket, he represents Mumbai and captains the Mumbai Indians in the Indian Premier League. Rohit Sharma, India’s Oval Test hero, has set a new career-high of 813 rating points. In India’s victory at the Oval, Rohit scored his first international century. With 368 runs from four Tests, he is in second place in the batting statistics this series.
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781 – VVS Laxman
Former Indian international cricketer VVS Laxman is now a cricket analyst and pundit. Laxman, a right-handed batsman noted for his exquisite stroke play, batted in the middle order in Test cricket. Laxman is one of the few cricketers who have played 100 Test matches without ever competing in a One-Day World Cup. Despite being a poor between-the-wickets runner, Laxman made up for it with his stroke play and quick scoring. He was one of Wisden’s five Cricketers of the Year in 2002.