Who has proved to be the best batsman for India in Test cricket?

When India played their first Test in 1932 as a country under British rule, no one would have envisaged the nation reaching the milestone of featuring in 500 Tests and becoming one of the greatest superpowers in the cricket world as it is now. Now, India has become only the 4th country to play 500 games of the most traditional form of this sport, just behind Australia, England (the pioneers of this game) and West Indies.

India has had a roller-coaster journey in Test cricket filled with various highs and lows. However, one thing which has managed to stay constant has been the class of Indian batsmen. Even before India made their debut in international cricket, Kumar Ranjitsinhji, and Kumar Duleepsinhji had already announced to the World that Indian batsmen can bat, courtesy of their exploits of playing for England. From CK Nayudu, who captained India in their first ever Test in 1932 to Virat Kohli, the lynchpin of India’s current batting line up,

From CK Nayudu, who captained India in their first ever Test in 1932 to Virat Kohli, the lynchpin of India’s current batting line up, the Indian team has always had a batsmen or two who can match the best in world cricket. Vijay Hazare, Polly Umrigar in the post-Independence era, Dilip Sardesai, Mohammad Azharuddin, Mohinder Amarnath, Gundappa Vishwanath, Dilip Vengsarkar in 70s, 80s and 90s and VVS Laxman, Sourav Ganguly in the 21st century kept building India’s reputation of yielding some of the most elegant batsmen.

However, if we have to pick the best from India’s bottomless quiver of exquisite batsmen, the first few names that should be drawn out must be of Sunil Gavaskar, Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid and Virender Sehwag. In terms of their impact, class, consistency, stats and reliability, all 4 of them rise above everyone. Here is a small brief about each of their career and the impact they had on Indian cricket:

In terms of their impact, class, consistency, stats and reliability, all 4 of them rise above everyone. Here is a small brief about each of their career and the impact they had on Indian cricket:

Sunil Gavaskar

Facing fast bowlers and opening the innings is regarded as one of the toughest jobs for a batsman in Test cricket. Sunil Gavaskar however, aced both of them with his impeccable batting technique. With his game built on patience and an unbreachable defence, India’s search for a world class opener finally ended with the rise of Sunil Gavaskar. He was the first opener Indian cricket was proud to have. In his debut Test series against the West Indies, he hammered 774 runs at an average of 154.8 on the fiery and pacey Caribbean tracks docked with little or no protective gear at the time. The world noticed him and there were Calypso beats being composed on his genius in the series.

The tour was followed by a lean patch, yet Gavaskar stood strong. He made 106 test appearances on the trot during which he surged ahead as one of the most successful test openers. The best aspect about Gavaskar was his fortitude for playing big knocks in the time of adversity. His 102 against West Indies in 1976 helped India chase down 406, a world record for the highest winning fourth innings total at that time. Another of his masterpieces includes the 221 against England in 1979, something that almost helped India better that record during a chase of 438 as India finished 429 when a heavy defeat looked eminent.

It was under Gavaskar’s reign as a world class batsman that India found steadiness as a Test team in terms of results. Gavaskar imbibed in the team the art of drawing Test matches if not winning them, no matter in which part of the world they were played in. Of the 125 Tests he played, 34 of these matches were the only matches the Indians ended up on the losing team. His average was in excess of 40 against every Test nation he batted against except England (38.20). Watching him bat with solidity against the new ball instilled the confidence of facing the fast bowlers in other Indian batsmen.

Another big contribution towards Indian cricket was the source of inspiration he became for the next crop of Indian batsmen. He made his debut 2 years before the birth of Sachin Tendulkar. That speaks a lot innit?

At the end of a career spanning 16 years, not many were surprised when he concluded with the most number of centuries to his name. That record is well broken now, but one thing that will never change is that he was the first cricketer to score 10,000 Test runs. There have been 11 more cricketers who have gone past this milestone since then but Sunil Gavaskar will always be the first one.

Sachin Tendulkar

After the end of Sunil Gavaskar’s career, the Indian team needed a batsman who could hold the fort down. Sachin Tendulkar ensured that he filled Gavaskar’s boots in every respect. He was of similar height as that of Gavaskar. He too hailed from Mumbai and like Gavaskar, he too dominated the most dominant team of his era, Australia. The only difference was that Gavaskar kept the bowlers at their bay with his solidity and Sachin defied them with his flamboyance. Sachin counter-attacked world’s best bowlers to overcome them – a phenomenon not many batsmen have been brave enough to adopt.

Making his debut at the age of 16, Sachin scored a terrific match-saving hundred in England before notching up yet another brave ton against Australia in Perth. Since then, there was hardly a country where Sachin didn’t stamped his authority as a batsman. Unfortunately, Tendulkar’s heroics proved to be a bridge too far for the Indians in several matches overseas. A prime example of this statement is the Chennai Test against Pakistan in 1999 where Sachin scored a magnificent 136 in a run chase of 271 and India still ended up on losing side.

He seemingly broke records for fun. If his one-day record is monstrous then his Test record is second to none. Most Test runs, most Test hundreds, 200 Tests, 100 international tons and what not. If there is a record for having most number of records in Test cricket, that too would belong to Sachin. He is probably the only batsman with a batting average exceeding 40 in and against every Test playing nation which signifies that there was no apparent weakness in his game.

Sachin’s impact was more than the numbers though. In a phase when the televised cricket was finding its feet during 90s, Sachin attracted fans towards TV sets like no other cricketer. He made youngsters fall in love with the game. They quite literally started picturing the sport as the epitome of Sachin’s purity with the bat in his hand.

Rahul Dravid

Number three is the most important batting position in any line up. At that spot, you need a batsman who has the ability to build on a good start by the openers as well as the ability of absorbing the pressure when one of the openers walk back to the pavilion without a run on the board. Rahul Dravid owned that position for India to such an extent that his name is taken along with the greats like Sir Don Bradman and Ricky Ponting whenever there is a discussion about the best number 3 batsman in Test cricket.

His 95 on Test debut was eclipsed by Ganguly’s ton but it was evident that India has found the Test batsman they desperately needed. With the love of playing long innings, an archetypal  defence, power of concentration and patience was the hallmark of a great batsman. No matter how hard the situation was, he brought a sense of calmness among the fans and in the Indian dressing room when he was batting in the middle.

Post 2000, Dravid has had a massive impact on the team as a batsman and a leadership figure. Match saving hundred in West Indies, 3 back to back hundreds in England, match-winning double hundreds in Australia and Pakistan are some of the highlights of his career. Between 2002-2006, he became the toughest batsman to dismiss in Test cricket, even ahead of Tendulkar which is reflected by the fact that no other batsman has faced more deliveries than Rahul Dravid in Test cricket.

If one compares his home and overseas records, the only figure that will exceed the number in the ‘home’ row over the ‘overseas’ row will be the number of sixes. No Indian batsman has won more Man-of-the-Series awards outside Indian sub-continent than him. On the 18 occasions when Dravid came out to bat with India’s score 0/1, he averaged over 51 which speaks volumes for his potential of absorbing pressure.

He doesn’t have the prestigious individual landmarks to his name but records like most hundred partnerships in Test cricket, highest percentage of runs in the matches won under a Test captain, longest Test innings by an Indian, most runs at no. 3, most catches by a fielder signifies his importance to the team. In the end, it won’t be wrong to say that Sachin was the batsman Indian team wanted but Dravid was the batsman the team needed.

Virender Sehwag

Sunil Gavaskar, Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid become batting greats on the back of their unmatchable technique but Virender Sehwag did that without caring about moving his feet. And without moving his feet, he did a lot more for Indian cricket than many other people did by moving their entire body. India’s dressing room was a happy place when Sehwag was on song.  The only thing the other batsmen need to made sure when Sehwag was at his best was to stand at the other end and enjoy the show from the best seat in the house.

He did not have the gift of patience and never bothered about concentrating too much but still has more daddy hundreds than any other Indian cricketer. He is the only Indian with a triple hundred to his name and he has two of them. To back it up, he also has the scores of 293 and 254 against his name.

Sehwag changed the way the role of an opener was seen in Test cricket by scoring runs at a faster pace than any other opener. He did not only score runs, he broke the confidence of his opposition. The longer he stayed, the worse it was for them. He gave India countless swashbuckling starts in Test cricket which paved the way for some great victories. In a Test match  in Chennai, India were looking for a draw after England set them a daunting target of 387 on a turning pitch but Sehwag’s carefree 83 from 68 balls allowed India to win the match. While batting first, he churned up runs at breathtaking speed which allowed the bowlers ample time to dismiss the opposition the twice.

One thing is certain that whenever an ‘All Time Test XI’ will be picked for India, these four will be the first four names that will be written on the  team sheet.

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Who among them was the best according to you? Here is a chance for you to express your views in the comment section below.

Written by Shubham Aggarwal