Playing cricket for India and representing over a billion people at the highest level where there is always cutthroat competition going on is not an easy task to execute in any way.

To add to that is the added pressure of the presence of players who are ready to take your place if you go wrong even once makes it really difficult for players to perform to the best of their capacities.

But, there are a select few who, match after match, manage to get up and perform to the best of their capacities winning matches for the team and leading it from the front. Team India have been fortunate enough to have a good supply of such players for its One Day International team.

So, here we will have a look at 10 of the best players to have ever played for the Indian ODI team, the ones who have had the ability to win matches single-handedly.

Here’s the elite list of Team India’s players –

<img class="size-full wp-image-410673" src="https://media.crictracker.com/media/attachments/2020/03/Rahul-Dravid-1.jpg" alt="Rahul Dravid" width="640" loading="lazy"><figcaption id="caption-attachment-410673" class="wp-caption-text">Rahul Dravid. (Photo Source: Getty Images)</figcaption>

Rahul Dravid’s name over the years has been synonymous with Test cricket and long patient knocks with the bat, where he stood for hours at one end carefully defending each delivery as it came along. But, what is not talked about is his run in One Day International cricket, a format that many may find it hard to believe a player like him has over 10,000 runs in.

With a technique and style of play that would put any cricketing guide to shame, <a href="https://www.crictracker.com/anil-kumble-and-rahul-dravid-reveal-their-predictions-ahead-of-australia-vs-india-test-series/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Rahul Dravid</a>’s contribution to the Indian One Day International team is often underestimated and overlooked but they aren’t. The very reason we saw the rise of players like Yuvraj Singh, Sourav Ganguly, Sachin Tendulkar and Virender Sehwag was because of the fact that they had Rahul Dravid covering for them, silently walking in, doing his share of work and then going down back into the pavilion, searching for a thing that could be learnt from the inning he came off playing.

It would come as a surprise to many, but as told before, he has a total of 10,889 runs to his name in the 344 One Day games he played in. Dravid was the backbone of the Indian batting attack in One Day cricket for a major part of his career, and even though they may not have caught headlines at the time, on many occasions it was his contributions that brought the team back from disastrous positions and placed it at a spot where there was no other way for the match to end other than a win for the Indian team.

<img class="size-full wp-image-416040" src="https://media.crictracker.com/media/attachments/2020/05/Kapil-Dev.jpg" alt="Kapil Dev" width="640" loading="lazy"><figcaption id="caption-attachment-416040" class="wp-caption-text">Kapil Dev. (Photo Source: Getty Images)</figcaption>

Whenever you take the name of India’s win in the 1983 World Cup, only one visual pops up in mind, which is that of a young Kapil Dev, laying his hands on the coveted trophy and lifting it up in joy. And as iconic this picture is, the name of Kapil Dev in the development of the Indian team in its formative years in One Day International cricket is the same.

The guiding light for the team into becoming a powerhouse in international cricket, <a href="https://www.crictracker.com/australia-vs-india-kapil-dev-predicts-the-outcome-of-the-day-night-adelaide-test/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Kapil Dev</a> was a player that India got when it needed the most. An able leader and a player who could win matches for the Indian team single-handedly, Kapil Dev’s presence in the Indian dressing room for the very crucial years of the sport’s development is the reason that team India stand at the pedestal in the cricketing world in today’s date. One of the first true all-round players to come out of India, Kapil set a benchmark for the coming players that is still used to rank the players.

During the course of his career, Kapil played in a total of 225 One Day International matches for Team India, and scored 3783 runs and took 253 wickets. He made sure that every appearance of his in the Indian jersey was worth the effort and he gave his absolute best in pressure situations making sure to get the team past the finish line with success more often than not.

<img class="size-full wp-image-427308" src="https://media.crictracker.com/media/attachments/2020/07/Sourav-Ganguly-1.jpg" alt="Sourav Ganguly" width="640" loading="lazy"><figcaption id="caption-attachment-427308" class="wp-caption-text">Sourav Ganguly. (Photo by Soumitra Ghosh/Hindustan Times via Getty Images)</figcaption>

The architect of the modern-day structure and the style of play in the One Day International format of the Indian team, a leader of the highest order and an equally potent batter who could come in handy with the ball too, Sourav Ganguly finds his place at the 8th spot in this list. He is the man who cannot be kept away from a cricket field for long and always finds a way to come back and stay connected to the game, every time the fans feel that they have seen the last of him.

Prior to the time that he was given the leadership role with the Indian team, the squad was known to be of the kind which preferred a safe and steady approach to the game. But, soon as Dada came to lead the Indian team, everything changed. The once tame and peace-loving persona of the Indian team was changed and it was modelled to show the world that whenever needed, the lot of players playing in the blues could take down any force in the cricketing world with aggression, a quality which Sourav himself had mastered very well.

He played for the Indian team in 311 One Day Internationals and made sure that he contributed with both the bat and the ball in hand as much as he could before he hung his boots in 2007. By the end of his career, Sourav had taken 100 wickets and scored 11,363 runs showing what a true all-rounder he was. He was a player who could do it all, stay sharp on the field, captain the side with utmost precision, bowl the batsmen over as a bowler and hit balls over the fence with the bat in hand.

<img class="size-full wp-image-378864" src="https://media.crictracker.com/media/attachments/2019/12/Zaheer-Khan.jpg" alt="Zaheer Khan" width="640" loading="lazy"><figcaption id="caption-attachment-378864" class="wp-caption-text">Zaheer Khan. (Photo Source: Twitter)</figcaption>

If there was ever a player who could win matches single-handedly with the ball in hand while playing for the Indian ODI team, it was Zaheer Khan. One of the heroes of India’s World Cup win in 2011, Zaheer Khan was one of the most talented players to have ever held the white ball donning the Indian blues. Zaheer shot into the limelight since the very first time he played for the Indian team that is in the ICC Knockout Cup in 2000, as he beat Steve Waugh for pace and bowled him in the tournament.

It was then that the world saw the beginning of a phenomenon in the Indian pace bowling department. Zaheer’s ability to reverse swing an old white ball and craft out unplayable deliveries with the new one were the two things that caught everyone’s eye during the entire time Zak played for the Indian team, 12 years to be precise. And, during that time period, he played 200 matches where he took 282 wickets.

For a pace bowler maintaining his fitness and not getting injured is one of the most important things that he/she should take care of. And, in case of Zaheer, it seemed as if he had caught the control of his body and could control the way it functions.

He rarely missed any ODI matches due to injuries or related problems and fulfilled his national duty in the best way he could even when he would come after breaks that he had to take due to unavoidable circumstances. Having retired from ODI cricket for almost a decade now, he still remains to be a legend of the game and an inspiration to many.

<img class="size-full wp-image-413125" src="https://media.crictracker.com/media/attachments/2020/04/Virender-Sehwag-1.jpg" alt="Virender Sehwag" width="640" loading="lazy"><figcaption id="caption-attachment-413125" class="wp-caption-text">Virender Sehwag. (Photo by Daniel Berehulak/Getty Images)</figcaption>

Part of a generation of players who defined how Indian cricket would be played in modern times, and one of the most fitting openers for the Indian team in its history, it is the ‘Nawab of Najafgarh’, Virender Sehwag who holds the 6th spot in this list. The second-ever player in One Day cricket to have scored a double ton, Sehwag’s career was characterised by his free-flowing and aggressive style of play, and the way he dominated the bowlers right from the start.

Just for context, the way this man toyed with the bowlers, apart from a couple of occasions, Virender Sehwag started every match of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 with a boundary and played a 150+ run inning in the tournament’s very first game. These two very facts are a testament to Sehwag’s style of play and the way no one could stop him once he was on song and hitting the ball for fun.

Sehwag for the most part of his career in the Indian team opened the batting in One Day Internationals and it was very rare that the Indian team did not get to a good start when he was there to face the ball in the very first over of the inning. He played in 215 ODIs in his career and ended it with 8,273 runs to his name, embedding his name in the minds of every cricket fan from across the globe in the process. Sehwag occasionally contributed with the ball too and had 96 ODI wickets to his name too. He was once in a generation kind of a player and it would be a miracle if someone like him is seen playing on the cricket field anytime soon.

<img class="size-full wp-image-407735" src="https://media.crictracker.com/media/attachments/2020/03/Rohit-SHarma-3.jpg" alt="Rohit Sharma" width="640" loading="lazy"><figcaption id="caption-attachment-407735" class="wp-caption-text">Rohit Sharma. (Photo by Clive Mason/Getty Images)</figcaption>

Only the fact that Rohit Sharma has smashed as many as 3 double centuries in One Day International cricket, is a well enough argument for him to be placed at this position in the list of the most impactful One Day cricket players India has ever had. But, there are various other reasons that make Rohit Sharma the name he is in today’s time, a player whose presence can be the difference between a win and a loss for the Indian team at the moment.

The start for Rohit in the Indian team was a modest one where he was doing well on and off and played a few innings that kept him in the reckoning for the national team. But, since the time, he started opening the batting for the Men in Blue in the year 2013, a new Rohit Sharma has come to light. He has been the torchbearer of India’s success in the 50-overs format of the game and his innings have been impactful beyond imagination for the team.

Having played in 243 One Day games, Rohit has scored 9,825 runs for the team at an average of 48.63. And, if these numbers don’t show you enough, the above-stated fact that he has three double tons in ODI cricket, while only a handful of others have only one, should make you feel the impact that this man can and has had while playing for the Indian team. And, it does not look like it would stop soon as he continues to bat on.

<img class="size-full wp-image-468736" src="https://media.crictracker.com/media/attachments/2020/11/Virat-Kohli-6.jpg" alt="Virat Kohli" width="640" loading="lazy"><figcaption id="caption-attachment-468736" class="wp-caption-text">Virat Kohli. (Photo by Ryan Pierse/Getty Images)</figcaption>

<a href="https://www.facebook.com/crictracker/photos/4175809385783084" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Virat Kohli</a>, the leader of the Indian cricket team across all three formats at the moment, a phenomenal batsman, whose fluid innings look like a well-choreographed performance, makes his way into this list at the number 4 spot. Since his debut, the graph of Virat Kohli’s growth has gone nowhere but up and if the same list is drafted after 5 years from now, it would not be a surprise if his name finds a place at an even higher position.

Virat Kohli the batsman has been the one who has been in the limelight for the most part of his career, and the way he has been developing his captaincy skills, learning from every experience he has on the field, it is not long before he is rated to be the best captain in the world too. You can have an idea about the will of a batsman to perform well and score runs for his team when he smashes a swashbuckling ton in his very first game in the World Cup.

In the 14 years that he has played One Day International cricket for the Indian team, his numbers and talent have seemed to have grown. At the moment he has played in 274 One Day games and has 12898 runs and various records to his name. His presence in the Indian dressing room has been instrumental in the team’s success in recent years and as he continues to evolve with every passing game, thanks to his hunger to win every game, he will surely be one of the most celebrated names in Indian cricket history by the time he hangs his boots.

<img class="size-full wp-image-467829" src="https://media.crictracker.com/media/attachments/2020/11/Sachin-Tendulkar-2.jpg" alt="Sachin Tendulkar" width="640" loading="lazy"><figcaption id="caption-attachment-467829" class="wp-caption-text">Sachin Tendulkar. (Photo by Mark Nolan/Getty Images)</figcaption>

The number 3 spot in this list is taken up by the ‘God of Cricket’ as regarded by many, Sachin Tendulkar. If there was ever a list of the greatest players of all time in cricketing history, Sachin’s name would, without a hint of doubt, feature in it. Such was the level of cricket he played, and the Indian team was fortunate enough to enjoy his services for over 2 decades.

And, during that time, there was seldom a game where when Sachin came out to bat the stadium was not filled with the chants of his name. The holder of a plethora of records, the most iconic Indian ODI opener, and the first person on earth to score a double hundred in ODI cricket, <a href="https://www.crictracker.com/he-takes-nothing-for-granted-sachin-tendulkar-backs-ajinkya-rahane-to-do-well-as-captain/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Sachin Tendulkar</a>, for the time that he was on the crease, he made the match a delight to watch.

And, the fans were fortunate enough to have watched him take the field on as many as 463 occasions in ODI matches, where he scored a total of 18,426 runs and took 154 wickets too. These numbers of his are yet to be matched, leave alone surpassing them and there are very few chances that anyone in the near future will ever be able to do it.

A master of the art of batting, Sachin Tendulkar was another player whose mere presence on the field brought a sense of reassurance about India’s chances to win the game. His legacy is beyond a doubt here to stay and his name that is etched at the top of every record book will be hard to remove for years to come.

<img class="size-full wp-image-417206" src="https://media.crictracker.com/media/attachments/2020/05/Yuvraj-Singh-World-T20-2014.jpg" alt="Yuvraj Singh World T20 2014" width="640" loading="lazy"><figcaption id="caption-attachment-417206" class="wp-caption-text">Yuvraj Singh World T20 2014. (Photo by Scott Barbour/Getty Images)</figcaption>

Unarguably one of the most talented and determined white-ball cricketers that India has seen in recent times, Yuvraj Singh is truly deserving of the second spot in this list full of legendary players. The ‘Prince of Indian Cricket’, Yuvraj in his playing days defined how the game had to be played in One Day International matches and made sure that if he was on the pitch, with the bat in hand, the Indian team got to a winning position.

The way he controlled the game and made sure that at no point matches went out of hand was one of the most defining characteristics of his. Even when tasked with bowling he would often work wonders. And, it should come as no surprise that he holds multiple records in ODI cricket while playing for India. In terms of numbers, Yuvraj played 304 One Day Internationals and scored 8,701 runs while also taking 111 wickets.

The hero of Indian team’s many triumphs, Yuvraj, before going through one of the toughest phases of his life, was crowned the Man of the Tournament for his performances in the 2011 ICC Cricket World Cup, the one that India won. Yuvraj was an all-rounder of the highest order and would go down in history books as the Indian who won the people’s hearts and conquered every challenge he faced.

<img src="https://media.crictracker.com/media/featureimage/MS-Dhoni-world-cup-winning-six.jpg" alt="" width="640" loading="lazy"> <figcaption id="caption-attachment-438600" class="wp-caption-text">MS Dhoni and Yuvraj Singh of India. (Photo Source: Twitter)</figcaption>

Often called ‘Captain Cool’ by the enthusiasts and experts of the game, MS Dhoni undoubtedly was the carrier of the Indian team in One Day International cricket. Be it managing the players and their positions of play, or guarding the wickets as a keeper or for that matter finishing games with the bat in hand, MS was always there for the Indian team, ready to perform his national duty in the best way possible.

In fact, the success of Rohit Sharma, who also makes an appearance in this list is attributed to MS Dhoni’s move to make him open the innings with the bat. So, it is clear that MS not only grew himself but also took others along with him.

He played in a staggering 350 One Day International matches and scored a total of 10,773 runs at an average of 50.58. These numbers speak for themselves but are not an accurate depiction of the contribution of <a href="https://www.crictracker.com/ms-dhonis-response-to-pm-narendra-modis-letter-is-most-retweeted-tweet-in-indian-sports-in-2020/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">MS Dhoni</a> in the truest sense. He was the captain who led the Indian team to two triumphs in major ICC One Day tournaments, the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 and the Champions Trophy 2013.

In both of those tournaments MS’s contributions may not have been that great on the sheets but on the field, they were truly match-winning. The way Dhoni forged the Indian team during his time is mainly the reason why it has been as successful as it was and is in the past decade or so. And, for every second MS was on the field for India with the bat in hand, there was always hope, a hope that India could win the game. It’s for all these reasons that MS Dhoni grabs the top spot in this list.

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5. Rohit Sharma