Who is India's best ever Test cricketer?

[Precambrian]

That's certainly not to say he couldn't have been their best though.

Why you'd venture to put Ranji ahead of Tendulkar?

 

[Arjun]

There are a few who can lay claim to being India's greatest cricketer, but the outcome of their achievements has been very different, as also what they have done when they have played for their team. Tendulkar is in for the skill, the numbers and the longevity. Gavaskar has scored runs in very tight situations and often won matches for his team, and has been a decent captain when called on. Dravid has played a little less than Tendulkar, but he's been a multi-purpose, all-terrain, all-weather player who's been unglamorous, yet effective. Kumble's tally of over 600 wickets can't be surpassed too easily, and that's a very meaningful record in an age of flat pitches, declining bowling and crumbling batting records.

The one who should genuinely be ahead in the race, however, is Kapil Dev. He single-handedly changed the way cricket was played in India. When there was a stereotype that India has no fast bowlers, which became a norm for selection, he proved everyone wrong. When India's spin quartet faded in Pakistan and with it the team's fortunes, he brought them back in the hunt. Let's not forget India's greatest cricketing triumph- the World Cup victory- he had a hand in it, as all-rounder and captain. While he was one of the leading bowlers in world cricket, even being on top of the table for some time, he also scored vital runs for his team. He gave more than a hundred per cent when he played for India, and could carry a whole team on his own. While statistics may not be so impressive now, no Indian player has made the kind of impact on the game, especially in his own country, like Kapil.

 

[G.I.Joe]

There are a few who can lay claim to being India's greatest cricketer, but the outcome of their achievements has been very different, as also what they have done when they have played for their team. Tendulkar is in for the skill, the numbers and the longevity. Gavaskar has scored runs in very tight situations and often won matches for his team, and has been a decent captain when called on. Dravid has played a little less than Tendulkar, but he's been a multi-purpose, all-terrain, all-weather player who's been unglamorous, yet effective. Kumble's tally of over 600 wickets can't be surpassed too easily, and that's a very meaningful record in an age of flat pitches, declining bowling and crumbling batting records.

The one who should genuinely be ahead in the race, however, is Kapil Dev. He single-handedly changed the way cricket was played in India. When there was a stereotype that India has no fast bowlers, which became a norm for selection, he proved everyone wrong. When India's spin quartet faded in Pakistan and with it the team's fortunes, he brought them back in the hunt. Let's not forget India's greatest cricketing triumph- the World Cup victory- he had a hand in it, as all-rounder and captain. While he was one of the leading bowlers in world cricket, even being on top of the table for some time, he also scored vital runs for his team. He gave more than a hundred per cent when he played for India, and could carry a whole team on his own. While statistics may not be so impressive now, no Indian player has made the kind of impact on the game, especially in his own country, like Kapil.

Test cricket only, Arjun

I do agree about Kapil being better than his overall record suggests. The batting average would definitely had been much better if he had not been the stock bowler throughout his career, and he was on par with Gavaskar and Tendulkar as far as the best performances coming against the best team of their respective eras goes. In fact he has both the best batting average and best bowling average of all the 4 great allrounders when playing against the West Indies in the Caribbean.

 

[The Sean]

Hmmm, well, if he really was better at playing cricket, why would it matter how many tests he played?

Because the question is about who is India’s best Test cricketer. I’d therefore consider achievements in Test cricket to be reasonably relevant.

 

[The Sean]

Tricky. Tests were different in those days, and much less frequent of course.

I just think that bagapath's description of Gavaskar should in fact be applied to Ranji.


Bagapath goes on to refer to the colonial / patronising comments made about Ranji's play - most famously "not one Christian stroke". However even if such views were expressed about him they don't in any way diminish him as a player. In particular they didn't stop him "first believing and then demonstrating that an indian cricketer could be the best in the world in his discipline". He did both of these things.

As to believing that he could be the best, he said so: there's the old story about when he and C.B. Fry were asked who was the greatest batsman of all time. He turned to Fry and said "I think, Charles, that I was better than you on a soft wicket."

As to being the best, he was.

And as to not playing for India, well I think that this shouldn't stop Indians claiming him as their own for the purposes of this kind of discussion.

Finally, and here we're going off on a real tangent, a word about the views expressed about him. Yes he was called "wristy", but this seems to have been an accurate description of his method of batting. I don't see anything wrong with that. And even though some other comments were couched in language which, a century on, seems rather jarring to the modern ear, those who wrote about him at the time did so with universal admiration. It is to England's credit that his colour and nationality did not prevent him from making a career here and being selected to play for England.

Wonderful answer mate - I wouldn't disagree with any of what you've said there about Ranji, he was quite obviously a magical player. You're right that much of the contemporary writings about him seem at best antiquated and at worst racist, and yet as you say there is not an account to be found of his batsmanship that isn't gushing in praise.

Much has been said and written on his partnerships with Fry, though the one player from that era who I think it would have been the ultimate dream to see him bat with was Trumper. That would, to me, have been the Golden Age at its most Golden.

 

[Precambrian]

Ranji is as Indian as Federer is South African.

 

[Uppercut]

Why you'd venture to put Ranji ahead of Tendulkar?

Personally I wouldn't know, having never seen Ranji.