There have been more than double of 20 cricketers from India who are eligible to make the list of the Top 20 Greatest Indian Cricketers of all time. Indian cricket has been going from strength to strength in the last 80+ years and there have been some exceptional Batters, all rounders and bowlers. India has won 2 ODI World Cup titles, 1 T20I World Cup title. 

Let’s look at the Top 20 Greatest Indian Cricketers of all time

1) Sachin Tendulkar

There is no doubt as to who is at number 1 and who is the greatest Indian cricketer of all time. It has to be none other than Sachin Tendulkar. He has played the most Test Matches at 200 and the most ODI Matches at 463. He has made over 34000 international runs and he has made 100 international Hundreds in international cricket. He has served Indian cricket for 24 years and he is the first cricketer to be awarded the Bharat Ratna. Sachin Tendulkar is the benchmark for Indian cricket. He has won the ODI World Cup in 2011.

2) Mahendra Singh Dhoni

At number 2 it has to be MS Dhoni, the only captain in the history of Indian cricket to win all 3 ICC White ball tournaments. The 2007 T20I World Cup, 2011 ODI World Cup and the 2013 Champions Trophy. He has also been an exceptional performer with the bat as he has made over 15000 international runs out of Which more than 10,000 runs have come at ODIs while batting at number 6 at an average of over 50. He also has the highest test score by an Indian wicket keeper at 224 . MS Dhoni still plays the IPL for CSK and next year will be his last IPL season.

3) Virat Kohli

The number 3 in this list is the greatest of this generation and someone who has made a record in ODI Cricket of being the first one to Score 50 ODI hundreds. Virat Kohli has made 80 International Hundreds and he has made over 26000 international runs across the 3 formats. He has made over 4000 runs in T20IS , close to 14000 runs in ODI Cricket and more than 8600 in Test Cricket. He still has 4 good years left in him so he can reach new batting records in international cricket.

4) Kapil Dev

The first captain from India to win an ICC tournament and the greatest all rounder that India has ever seen. Kapil Dev was someone who changed the face of cricket in India. He played 131 Test Matches and he made 5248 runs with 8 Test hundreds and he took 434 Wickets which was a record at the time. He also played 225 ODIs and he made more than 3700 runs and took 253 wickets. In total he made over 9000 runs and took over 680 wickets. Nobody else has stats like the great man.

5) Sunil Gavaskar

At number 5 is the original little master who was the first player in international cricket to cross the landmark of 10,000 runs which was considered unattainable at the time. He also made 34 Test hundreds which was also a record at the time . Sachin Tendulkar looked at him and got inspired to pick up a cricket bat. Sunil Gavaskar played without a helmet and still he made 774 runs in his debut series and in 125 Test Matches that he played in he made 10,122 runs. 

6) Anil Kumble

The highest wicket taker for India in international cricket and across both formats. Anil Kumble has to be one of the biggest match winners that India has ever seen. He played 132 Test Matches and in those Matches he took 619 Test Wickets which is an Indian record by over 100 wickets and among the Top 5 of all time. He took 35 Five Wicket Hauls in Test Cricket. He also picked 337 ODI wickets which is still the record for an Indian bowler in this format. He has taken 956 International wickets for India.

7) Rahul Dravid

At number 7 is the current head coach of Team India and the best number 3 that has ever played for India in Test Cricket. Rahul Dravid was the glue that held the batting together during the golden generation. He played 168 Test Matches and he made 13288 runs in Test Cricket. He also played 311 ODIs for India and he scored 10889 runs in ODI Cricket. He is among the very few to have made over 10,000 runs in both Test and ODI Cricket. 

8) Bishan Singh Bedi

The greatest left arm spinner to ever play for India has to be at number 8. He was one of those players who changed the character of Indian cricket for the better. Bishan Singh Bedi sadly passed away a month ago but his contributions to Indian cricket will never be forgotten. He played 67 Test Matches for India and in those Matches be took 266 Wickets for India. He was also the captain of India for a while. Countless young Bowlers wanted to be a left arm spinner looking at him.

9) Zaheer Khan

The best left arm fast bowler to ever play for India and a fast bowler that has won India World Championships. Zaheer Khan was truly one of a kind in many ways. He was the one who introduced the knuckle ball in cricket which is the slower ball. He took 311 Test Wickets and 282 ODI Wickets meaning 593 international wickets. Zaheer Khan was the best left arm fast bowler in the world at his time and since his retirement there has not been a credible replacement. 

10) Sourav Ganguly

At  number 10 is none other than Sourav Ganguly who was the Prince of Kolkata. He was someone who brought fearlessness to the Indian team when he was captain from 2000. He was also one of the best batters when he was in his prime. He has made 7212 Runs in Test Cricket and 11363 runs in ODI Cricket. This means he has made over 18000 international runs and he is in the Top 10 Greatest Indian Cricketers of all time.

11) Rohit Sharma

At number 11 is the current Indian captain in Rohit Sharma. He has to be at number 11 simply for the effect he has had in White ball cricket and the fact he has gotten so much better in Test Cricket. He has made over 18,000 runs in international cricket. Out of these 10709 runs have been made in ODI Cricket and 3 Double Hundreds to go along with it. He has scored 3677 runs in Test Cricket at an average of 46.7 with 10 Test hundreds. In T20IS he has made 3853 runs with 4 hundreds. He has done exceedingly well in all 3 formats. 

12) Javagal Srinath

One of the best fast bowlers that India has ever seen and be has become one of the top match referees in the world as well. Javagal Srinath was a fast bowler who told the world that Indians could bowl faster than anyone else in the world. He took 236 Wickets in Test Cricket and 315 Wickets in ODI Cricket. He has taken more than 550 international wickets. Javagal Srinath was in a time when then was Venkatesh Prasad as well. 

13) VVS Laxman

Just for his sheer brilliant performances in Test Cricket, VVS Laxman deserves a place in this list at number 13. VVS Laxman was a man who loved performing against Australia and he has played one of the greatest test innings of all time. He has played 134 Test Matches and has made 8781 Runs. His innings of 281 against Australia to win that test match was something that no Indian cricket fan will ever forget. 

14) Virender Sehwag

At number 14 is the latest ICC Hall of Famer, Virender Sehwag. He has made 2 Triple Hundreds for India and he has made over 16700 runs in international cricket. Virender Sehwag was a batter who changed the way test cricket was played as he was the one who started attacking from ball 1 in test cricket and he took full advantage of the field inside the circle. He played more than 350 international matches for India. His scores of 319, 309 and 293 are the Three highest scores by an Indian in test cricket. 

15) Ravichandran Ashwin

At number 15 is the greatest off spinner to ever play for India and that is Ravichandran Ashwin. Some fans might say that Harbhajan Singh deserves this place but the performance of Ravichandran Ashwin in Test Cricket has surpassed Harbhajan. He has taken 489 Wickets In just 94 Test Matches which is more than 5 wickets per test match. He has taken 34 Five Wicket Hauls In Test Cricket. He has also taken 156 Wickets in ODIs and 72 in T20IS. In total he has taken 720 international wickets for India. 

16) Mohinder Amarnath

At number 16 is a player that has not been talked about much in Indian cricket history and this player deserved to be on this list. Mohinder Amarnath was a top quality all rounder who could do it with both bat and ball. He was the man of the match in the 1983 World Cup semi final and final. He scored 4378 Test runs and 1924 runs in ODIs. That means he made more than 6200 runs in international cricket. And he also took 78 wickets as well and they were important wickets. 

17) Yuvraj Singh

The man of the tournament in the winning 2007 and 2011 World Cup winning teams has to be in this list. He is the player that played cricket when he had cancer. Yuvraj Singh has made over 8700 runs in ODI Cricket in 304 Matches and he has 14 hundreds to his name. In Test Cricket he has made 1900 Runs and in T20IS he made 1177 runs. He also took 111 wickets in ODIs and 28 in T20IS. 

18) Jasprit Bumrah

It has only been 7 years for Jasprit Bumrah but he has done enough to warrant a place in this list. He has taken World Cricket by storm and he has absolutely destroyed every batter. He had taken 128 Test Wickets in 30 Matches and he has taken 149 Wickets in T20IS and 74 in T20IS. Therefore he has taken 351 international wickets for India across the 3 formats and he still has a few more years left in him.

19) Mohammad Shami

The best fast bowler in the 2023 World Cup also deserves a place in the Top 20 Greatest Indian Cricketers of all time. He has been playing cricket for a decade but he has found his prime in the last 4 years. He has taken 229 Wickets in Test Cricket and 195 Wickets in ODIs. He has taken 424 Wickets across the 2 formats and going by the way he is playing he can finish with 600+ International wickets for India. 

20) Mohammad Azharuddin

The 20th spot in this list goes to a batter who was one of the best of his generation but the controversies off the field had tampered with his legacy. Mohammad Azharuddin was a player that has captained the Indian team in most ODI World Cups. He has made 6215 runs in Test Cricket and he has made 22 centuries in Test Cricket. In ODI Cricket he has scored 9378 runs in 334 Matches. In total he has made 15000+ runs in international cricket. Mohammad Azharuddin rounds up this list of the best 20 Indian Cricketers of all time and all types of skills are represented.