Who is the greatest Indian batsman of all time?

[centurymaker]

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.

he's played more crucial knocks when india have been up against the wall. no doubt.

 

[Burgey]

Tendulkar
Dravid
Gavaskar
















Sehwag


for me.

 

[subshakerz]

Sehwag is a notch below Sachin, Dravid, Gavaskar. Just check his record in swinging conditions (England, SA, NZ). He simply is not capable of playing innings like Dravid played in the last two tests, or Sachin played against Steyn earlier this year in or Gavaskar at the Oval in 1979. In other words, in bowling friendly conditions against pace and swing, Sehwag comes short.

 

[weldone]

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.

 

[Arjun]

Gavaskar, by a whisker. The quality of bowling he faced was serious, and he scored big. That gets an edge over the versatility as well as longevity of Tendulkar, although titles achieved with Tendulkar lately would take him even closer.

 

[silentstriker]

Tendulkar
Dravid
Gavaskar
















Sehwag


for me.

So completely disagree. You just have to look through the past match threads and how important his speed of runs is for India and how many Tests it has turned around to see his vital importance.

This may be sacrilegious but I'd think about having him above Gavaskar if he keeps going for another couple of years.

 

[Flem274*]

I feel it is important that your greatest cricketers should not be prats.

In other words, I'm finding ways to make Gavaskar lose.

 

[Debris]

Have you met Gavaskar, Flem?

 

[Flem274*]

I've read his articles and listened to his commentary.

He might be a lovely man, but his journalism doesn't help his image.

 

[Outswinger@Pace]

I feel it is important that your greatest cricketers should not be prats.

In other words, I'm finding ways to make Gavaskar lose.

I disagree. Dr. Grace, Chappelli, Chappellg, Lillee, Gavaskar, and Boycott are all undeniably greats.

You wouldn't want your son to emulate one man in the list though. Great cricketers need not be saints. When Gautam Buddha plays cricket and does well, I'll change my mind!

Till then, I'd stick to dissociating 'the player' from 'the man'. As a man, I have much more respect for Frank Worrell than any of those I named above.

 

[Outswinger@Pace]

It's very close among the top three. Gavaskar just wins it, IMHO.

Followed very closely by Dravid, Tendulkar and Merchant in that order. The gulf between Tendulkar and Merchant would be greater than between Dravid and Tendulkar.

 

[cricman]

Dhoni

 

[Outswinger@Pace]

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.

Superb post! Thanks for saving me the effort for you summed up everything I wanted to say.

Gavaskar's emergence was certainly the watershed moment for Indian cricket. The trailblazer must get extra points for being the first to go against the grain. And for forging a path that others could follow. That's the reason I rate men like Geroge Headley, Frank Worrell, Andy Roberts, Lillee, Gavaskar, Imran Khan and Adam Gilchrist much higher than others.

 

[Outswinger@Pace]

Give me Dravid over Tendulkar please.

If every CW member is allowed to place one order, I'd like to have Claudia Lynx please! Tonight 10 pm would be ideal.

 

[asty80]

Sehwag , for me. I have fluctuated between Dravid, Gavaskar and Sehwag for long.
Gavaskar - for his non-helmet, radical mindset changing ways to give India a standing in the world order
Dravid - greatest modern Indian test batsman who can play in any pitch/weather conditon and stabilise the whole inning.
Tendulkar - everyone knows what he brings to the table, but I feel his greatness is more in ODI's and not tests.

Sehwag with his aggressive ways and imposing opening, though, I feel is the greatest reason for India becoming no.1 in tests. If none of the match results were to be taken into account, my list would be:
Gavaskar, Dravid, Sehwag and Tendulkar
But if match results are taken into account (which I think is the right way to go about it), my order is:
Sehwag, Gavaskar, Dravid and Tendulkar.

 

[Flem274*]

I disagree. Dr. Grace, Chappelli, Chappellg, Lillee, Gavaskar, and Boycott are all undeniably greats.

You wouldn't want your son to emulate one man in the list though. Great cricketers need not be saints. When Gautam Buddha plays cricket and does well, I'll change my mind!

Till then, I'd stick to dissociating 'the player' from 'the man'. As a man, I have much more respect for Frank Worrell than any of those I named above.

I'm being a smart alec and letting my bias get in the way. I voted Sehwag for fun.

 

[JBH001]

Where is the Ranjitsinghi option?

 

[Burgey]

So completely disagree. You just have to look through the past match threads and how important his speed of runs is for India and how many Tests it has turned around to see his vital importance.

This may be sacrilegious but I'd think about having him above Gavaskar if he keeps going for another couple of years.

I don't really care. He's not a better batsman than either of the other three, despite his scoring faster.

I agree if it's at Adelaide day two he's your man, but he sure as hell isn't when it's Headingly day one. The other three are, imo, far more capable of dealing with good/ great bowling in difficult conditions than Sehwag is.

But I do take your point that his strike rate has certainly helped India win a lot of matches.

A blistering 30(23) would not really have helped them at Lord's and Trent Bridge though

 

[hang on]

Sehwag is a notch below Sachin, Dravid, Gavaskar. Just check his record in swinging conditions (England, SA, NZ). He simply is not capable of playing innings like Dravid played in the last two tests, or Sachin played against Steyn earlier this year in or Gavaskar at the Oval in 1979. In other words, in bowling friendly conditions against pace and swing, Sehwag comes short.

sehwag's record in england is very similar to gavaskar's, as a matter of fact. in bouncy conditions - for instance, australia - sehwag is arguably better than gavaskar.

 

[Outswinger@Pace]

Where is the Ranjitsinghi option?

Should certainly be a contender for the greatest English batsman ever. Along with Cowdrey and Jardine who were very fine players indeed.