Former Indian head coach and legendary cricketer Ravi Shastri continues to be one of the most prominent names in the sport. The veteran recently shared his thoughts on several topics relating to the Indian cricket team and the ongoing five-Test series in England. While Shastri shared his opinions on the upcoming 4th Test at Old Trafford, he also named his top five best Indian players of all time. In a lively discussion with former cricketers and legends of the sport, including the likes of Phil Tufnell, Sir Alastair Cook, David Lloyd and Michael Vaughan, Shastri was asked to name his top five Indian cricketers. Put on the spot by this difficult question, the 63-year-old, albeit with difficulty, named his top five. Shastri immediately listed his picks: Sunil Gavaskar, Sachin Tendulkar, Kapil Dev, Virat Kohli, and MS Dhoni as the five best Indian cricketers of all time. The veteran justified his selections, saying that he looked to each era—the ’70s, ’80s, ’90s, and so on—to finalize his choices. “(Sunil) Gavaskar, Sachin (Tendulkar), Virat definitely. I’m looking at the most influential players of that era. MS (Dhoni) again. So these will be the five,” said Shastri. He later added Kapil Dev to complete his list.
Another interesting observation Shastri made was when he considered adding pace stalwart Jasprit Bumrah to the list. However, he quickly dismissed the idea, saying Bumrah still has more cricket left in him, and that his selections were based on players who had either retired or were nearing the end of their careers. The former head coach then went on to name the best-ever from his list of top five stars. While Alastair Cook prodded Shastri to name Sunil Gavaskar as the “Godfather” from the list, he insisted that Gavaskar was the best in terms of batting, but not overall. “I would put the entire package—number one would be Tendulkar because of the expectations, longevity, for having played 24 years in the game, for 100 hundreds. He played every pace attack of that decade,” said Shastri, justifying Tendulkar as his number one pick.
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He also praised Sachin’s technique and class. As India buckles up for the penultimate Test of the five-match series, Shastri will be rooting for his fellow countrymen to pull off the win and level the series. An England win will put the series victory out of reach for the Shubman Gill-led side. The 4th Test at Old Trafford Cricket Ground commences on Wednesday, July 23.
