India is known to produce quality batsmen who find success across the globe. Hence, it is of no surprise that many of the batting records in the game are held by Indians. The ICC rating system has also been on the dearer side for most Indian cricketers. This is mainly due to their consistency across a long period. In this article, we take a look at the all-time best five Indian batsmen in Tests based on ICC ranking. The leader of this list is Don Bradman, who once secured a total of 961 points.
1) Virat Kohli – 937 Points
Career Best Rating Game: vs England (August 2018)
Virat Kohli leads this list of all-time best five Indian batsmen in Tests based on ICC ranking. Only 10 batsmen have got more ICC points than Virat in the history of the game.
2016, 2017 and 2018 was the golden period of Virat’s batting. While he had previously established his hallmark as a limited-overs cricketer, in these years, he became a top-class Test cricketer. He made more than 1000 runs in all these years despite being the skipper of the squad. The right-hander scored double-centuries consistently during that period. Hence, he obtained 937 points in 2018.
2) Sunil Gavaskar – 916 Points
Career Best Rating Game: vs England (September 1979)
Before Sachin Tendulkar, it was actually Sunil Gavaskar who was the focal point of the Indian batting line-up. Test cricket was Sunil Gavaskar’s forte, and he was mighty impactful in the format.
In 1979, the opener made 1407 runs at an average of 54.12. He has also made more than 1000 runs the previous year which added to his rating. At that time, he was the best batsman on the planet and hence, was ranked No.1 by ICC.
3) Sachin Tendulkar – 898 Points
Career Best Rating Game: vs Zimbabwe (February 2002)
The highest run-scorer in the history of the format, Sachin Tendulkar ranks No.3 in this list. While many players hit their peak in one phase of their careers, the Master Blaster was consistent throughout his playing journey. He never crossed 900 points on the ICC chart’s and, hence, ranks 33 in the overall list.
In 2002, Sachin scored 1392 runs, including four centuries. He also hit the 1000-mark in the previous year. All of it accumulated to help Sachin get 898 points on the board. In 2010, too, he scored 1562 runs but did not get a higher rating than 898.
4) Rahul Dravid – 892 Points
Career Best Rating Game: vs Pakistan (March 2005)
Rahul Dravid secured 892 points in 2005, but still, he was not No.1 on ICC’s charts. It was actually in 1999 that he held that position. That year, he had scored 865 runs which helped him climb up the rankings.
The former India skipper hit the peak of his career at the break of this century. While he scored 1357 runs in 2002, he consistently scored more than 800 runs around those years. He also did it in tough conditions, facing the best of bowlers. Here is where Dravid truly showed the skill set that he had.
5) Cheteshwar Pujara – 888 Points
Career Best Rating Game: vs Sri Lanka (August 2017)
Cheteshwar Pujara is actually one of the all-time best five Indian batsmen in Tests based on ICC ranking. Interestingly, unlike the other batsmen on this list, Pujara has never been No.1 on the ICC Test ranking charts. Yet, with 888 points that he has secured in 2017, Pujara finds himself on this list.
The year 2017 has been the best for India’s No.3 so far. He scored 1140 runs in 11 games at a stunning average of 67.40 in that year. In 2016 and 2018 also, Pujara scored more than 800 runs and hence, that period was the peak of his career.
