Who is the greatest Indian batsman of all time?

[bagapath]

sunil manohar gavasakar was the most inspirational indian cricketer of all time. coming from a third world india with colonial complexes he was the first one to believe and, more importantly, act like he was the best in the world. check out his body language when he chases away spectators who rush to congratulate him after the famous double hundred in oval in 1979. that is a seven footer chasing dwarfs away with a fly swatter in his backyard. not a five foot four inch indian in the heart of london. that kind of self belief doesnt come without path breaking success around the globe. and, strangely for a defensive bat, gavaskar was the most dominant indian batsman of all time. he was the wicket the opposition wanted very badly. you can always say tendulkar has been a mere mortal in the 4th innings. you cant level that criticism against sunny. anywhere anytime against anyone he looked like a giant who would spill blood for his team.

we all know how exciting it is to watch sehwag. and what a genius tendulkar is.

but i would go with either gavaskar or dravid in this poll. still not made up my mind yet.

 

[Debris]

I have trouble splitting Gavaskar and Tendulkar. I voted Gavaskar because I know all the Tendlukar fanbois will flood the poll. I seriously wonder whether all the posters saying that no-one else should be in the vote with Tendulkar ever saw any test cricket before 1990.

 

[ankitj]

I have trouble splitting Gavaskar and Tendulkar. I voted Gavaskar because I know all the Tendlukar fanbois will flood the poll. I seriously wonder whether all the posters saying that no-one else should be in the vote with Tendulkar ever saw any test cricket before 1990.

Please. You don't have to be a Tendulkar fanboy to vote for him in this poll.

 

[hang on]

tendulkar. yeah, he has not played well in this series so far but it's not that he hasn't done very well in england against the swinging and seaming ball in the past.

tendulkar
gavaskar
dravid
sehwag

 

[hang on]

If anyone other than Tendulkar gets votes I'll be forced to hack the forum, trace the culprits and have them chased naked through the streets by dogs. The rest are great players but Tendulkar is one of only a handful of true geniuses in history.

admirable sentiment!

 

[robinjr]

went for Sunny.

Sachin is the better commentator though.

 

[Debris]

Please. You don't have to be a Tendulkar fanboy to vote for him in this poll.

No, but you do to suggest that no-one else should be considered.

 

[abmk]

sunil manohar gavasakar was the most inspirational indian cricketer of all time. coming from a third world india with colonial complexes he was the first one to believe and, more importantly, act like he was the best in the world. check out his body language when he chases away spectators who rush to congratulate him after the famous double hundred in oval in 1979. that is a seven footer chasing dwarfs away with a fly swatter in his backyard. not a five foot four inch indian in the heart of london. that kind of self belief doesnt come without path breaking success around the globe. and, strangely for a defensive bat, gavaskar was the most dominant indian batsman of all time. he was the wicket the opposition wanted very badly. you can always say tendulkar has been a mere mortal in the 4th innings. you cant level that criticism against sunny. anywhere anytime against anyone he looked like a giant who would spill blood for his team.

we all know how exciting it is to watch sehwag. and what a genius tendulkar is.

but i would go with either gavaskar or dravid in this poll. still not made up my mind yet.

I am not sure what you mean by the bolded part

sunny's 4th heroics are well known and he was phenomenal in that regard no doubt, but his first innings average wasn't that great and that was the toughest part for an opener in that era , even more so abroad

Batting records | Test matches | Cricinfo Statsguru | ESPN Cricinfo

total average of ~42 in the first innings of a test, average abroad being MUCH worse at ~34

 

[honestbharani]

I am not sure what you mean by the bolded part

sunny's 4th heroics are well known and he was phenomenal in that regard no doubt, but his first innings average wasn't that great and that was the toughest part for an opener in that era , even more so abroad

Batting records | Test matches | Cricinfo Statsguru | ESPN Cricinfo

total average of ~42 in the first innings of a test, average abroad being MUCH worse at ~34

but how does that hold up comparitively? Remember, he never got to face the Indian fast bowling, which was perhaps the easiest to face for an opener at that time, esp. away from India..

 

[abmk]

but how does that hold up comparitively? Remember, he never got to face the Indian fast bowling, which was perhaps the easiest to face for an opener at that time, esp. away from India..

This is how it looks like for the openers in that time period

Batting records | Test matches | Cricinfo Statsguru | ESPN Cricinfo

I'd say sunny's a bit below par

 

[smash84]

Mudassar Nazar looks gun tbh......an average of 52 in the first innings opening.....

 

[abmk]

As far as the poll is concerned, Sachin by some distance over the others IMO. There are a quite a few reasons which I can't be bothered listing and explaining at present ( esp. when comparing with Sunny ). As far as the other 2 are concerned, I'll just say that have seen them both play almost whole career and Sachin is better by some distance than them both IMO ....

 

[silentstriker]

Sachin is first and Gavaskar is second but Sehwag is getting to be a close third IMO. He's just so so vital to India. An opener who can turn matches around in one session is such a rare thing in cricket.

 

[centurymaker]

Sachin is first and Gavaskar is second but Sehwag is getting to be a close third IMO. He's just so so vital to India. An opener who can turn matches around in one session is such a rare thing in cricket.

and dravid is last.....................................................................

 

[bagapath]

I am not sure what you mean by the bolded part

even though he was a slow and steady batter, he was not the quiet unassuming accumulator that rahul dravid is. he asked for and got the spotlight everytime he walked on to the wicket. the opposition focused on him, like they would on a match winner like viv richards, and he loved it. and his own team leaned on him as much as mid/late 80s australia leaned on allan border. he was the star/ the anchor/ the box office/ and the one between the opposition and india. and he had the attitude of an arrogant brat; (not of a dignified gentleman like sachin/rahul) which stems from the fact that he considered himself as the be all of indian batting - and he was.

 

[smash84]

even though he was a slow and steady batter, he was not the quiet unassuming accumulator that rahul dravid is. he asked for and got the spotlight everytime he walked on to the wicket. the opposition focused on him, like they would on a match winner like viv richards, and he loved it. and his own team leaned on him as much as mid/late 80s australia leaned on allan border. he was the star/ the anchor/ the box office/ and the one between the opposition and india. and he had the attitude of an arrogant brat; (not of a dignified gentleman like sachin/rahul) which stems from the fact that he considered himself as the be all of indian batting - and he was.

Gun post

 

[G.I.Joe]

Rahul Dravid has to be the greatest ATG batsman ever to play out his entire career in the shadow of an illustrious team-mate and fellow batsman.

 

[ankitj]

Rahul Dravid has to be the greatest ATG batsman ever to play out his entire career in the shadow of an illustrious team-mate and fellow batsman.

Interesting observation. Suttcliffe under Hobbs also an interesting case although their careers did not fully overlap. But once Suttcliffe emerged from Hobbs' shadows, he went under Hammonds'.

 

[Himannv]

Tendulkar deserves to win this obviously. Throwing a vote Dravid's way because he's so awesome.

Mangoes mentioned by anyone?

 

[weed wizard]

rahul dravid all the way!
Complete team man, batted as opener, kept wickets nd scored runs when needed the most.
Though sachin has a giant record, but still hvnt seen him perform regulary at tricky situation. No offence.