Former all-rounder and head coach of the Indian national cricket team Ravi Shastri has named the five best Indian ODI cricketers of all time, and he made some interesting choices.
Ravi Shastri denied giving the top spot on his list to cricket god Sachin Tendulkar; instead, he placed running machine Virat Kohli in the opening position.
I will go with Kohli, Tendulkar, Kapil Dev, MS Dhoni, Rohit Sharma – Ravi Shastri
Ravi Shastri is currently involved in India’s tour of Australia 2025 as a broadcaster. He dedicated his life to cricket and took on several different types of roles during this illustrious run.
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Ravi Shastri was part of the Indian team that won the 1983 World Cup under the captaincy of Kapil Dev, and from there he made massive contributions to the Indian team as an all-rounder.
After retirement, he took up broadcasting duties and then also became head coach of the Indian national cricket team, playing a key role in the transformation of 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 Indian national cricket team.
He chose Virat Kohli as India’s No. 1 player of all time and placed Sachin Tendulkar at No. 2. The next two batters on his list were Kapil Dev and MS Dhoni, while Rohit Sharma was ranked fifth.
“Yes, I’m going to pick Kohli, Tendulkar, Kapil Dev, MS Dhoni, Rohit Sharma. You know, these players, you know, are more or less coming to the end of their career. They’ve played for over a decade, some for over a decade and a half. You know, I would say so, and it’s difficult to choose. There are so many other good players out there, you know, when you look back. But these stand out for me,” Shastri said on Fox Cricket.
You know, they have been exceptional contributors – Ravi Shastri
The former India head coach further said that the cricketers he chose 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 have also won the World Cup. And, you know, with the exception of Rohit Sharma, everyone on that list is a World Cup winner.
“But, you know, you can’t take Rohit out of the mix with three double hundreds, over 11,000 runs. He is number three in the running list. And all of these, on their given day, are true match-winners,” he said.
The only reason I didn’t put Bumrah there is because Bumrah is still three or four years old – Ravi Shastri
One major name missing from Shastri’s list was Jasprit Bumrah, considered the greatest Indian pacer of all time. Talking about his non-inclusion, Ravi Shastri said that the opening pacer still has a lot of time left in cricket, and that is the only reason why he is not part of the list.
“The only reason I didn’t put Bumrah there is that he still has three or four years of cricket left. These players are more or less coming to the end of their careers. They have played more than a decade, some more than a decade and a half. Except for Rohit Sharma, everyone on this list is a World Cup winner. And all of them, on any given day, are genuine match winners,” said Shastri.
Also read: ‘Missed a big shot’: Shubman Gill’s brutal assessment of Rohit Sharma’s Adelaide ODI heroics
