The Most Famous
CRICKETERS from India
This page contains a list of the greatest Indian Cricketers. The pantheon dataset contains 136 Cricketers, 33 of which were born in India. This makes India the birth place of the most number of Cricketers.
Top 10
The following people are considered by Pantheon to be the top 10 most legendary Indian Cricketers of all time. This list of famous Indian Cricketers is sorted by HPI (Historical Popularity Index), a metric that aggregates information on a biography’s online popularity. Visit the rankings page to view the entire list of Indian Cricketers.
1. Sachin Tendulkar (b. 1973)
With an HPI of 48.00, Sachin Tendulkar is the most famous Indian Cricketer. His biography has been translated into 68 different languages on wikipedia.
Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar ( ; pronounced [sətɕin teːɳɖulkəɾ]; born 24 April 1973) is an Indian former international cricketer who captained the Indian national team. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest batsmen in the history of cricket. Hailed as the world's most prolific batsman of all time, he is the all-time highest run-scorer in both ODI and Test cricket with more than 18,000 runs and 15,000 runs, respectively. He also holds the record for receiving the most player of the match awards in international cricket. Tendulkar was a Member of Parliament, Rajya Sabha by presidential nomination from 2012 to 2018. Tendulkar took up cricket at the age of eleven, made his Test match debut on 15 November 1989 against Pakistan in Karachi at the age of sixteen, and went on to represent Mumbai domestically and India internationally for over 24 years. In 2002, halfway through his career, Wisden ranked him the second-greatest Test batsman of all time, behind Don Bradman, and the second-greatest ODI batsman of all time, behind Viv Richards. The same year, Tendulkar was a part of the team that was one of the joint-winners of the 2002 ICC Champions Trophy. Later in his career, Tendulkar was part of the Indian team that won the 2011 Cricket World Cup, his first win in six World Cup appearances for India. He had previously been named "Player of the Tournament" at the 2003 World Cup. Tendulkar has received several awards from the government of India: the Arjuna Award (1994), the Khel Ratna Award (1997), the Padma Shri (1998), and the Padma Vibhushan (2008). After Tendulkar played his last match in November 2013, the Prime Minister's Office announced the decision to award him the Bharat Ratna, India's highest civilian award. He was the first sportsperson to receive the award and, as of 2023, is the youngest recipient. In 2010, Time included Tendulkar in its annual list of the most influential people in the world. Tendulkar was awarded the Sir Garfield Sobers Trophy for cricketer of the year at the 2010 International Cricket Council (ICC) Awards. Having retired from ODI cricket in 2012, he retired from all forms of cricket in November 2013 after playing his 200th Test match. Tendulkar played 664 international cricket matches in total, scoring 34,357 runs. In 2013, Tendulkar was included in an all-time Test World XI to mark the 150th anniversary of Wisden Cricketers' Almanack, and he was the only specialist batsman of the post–World War II era, along with Viv Richards, to get featured in the team. In 2019, he was inducted into the ICC Cricket Hall of Fame. On 24 April 2023, the Sydney Cricket Ground unveiled a set of gates named after Tendulkar and Brian Lara on the occasion of Tendulkar's 50th birthday and the 30th anniversary of Lara's innings of 277 at the ground.
2. Sunil Gavaskar (b. 1949)
With an HPI of 44.80, Sunil Gavaskar is the 2nd most famous Indian Cricketer. His biography has been translated into 29 different languages.
Sunil Manohar Gavaskar (Marathi pronunciation: [suniːl ɡaːʋəskəɾ]; born 10 July 1949) is a former captain of the Indian national cricket team who represented India and Bombay from 1971 to 1987. Gavaskar is acknowledged as one of the greatest opening batsmen of all time. Gavaskar was widely admired for his technique against fast bowling, with a particularly high average of 65.45 against the West Indies, who possessed a four-pronged fast bowling attack, widely regarded as the most vicious in Test history. However, most of Gavaskar's centuries against West Indies were against the team when their four-pronged attack were not playing together His captaincy of the Indian team, was considered as one of the first attacking ones, with Indian team winning the 1984 Asia Cup, and the World Championship of Cricket in 1985. At the same time, there were multiple exchanges of captaincy between Gavaskar and Kapil Dev, with one coming just six months before Kapil led India to victory at the 1983 Cricket World Cup. He is also a former Sheriff of Mumbai. Gavaskar is a recipient of the Indian sports honour of the Arjuna Award and the civilian honour of the Padma Bhushan. He was inducted into the ICC Cricket Hall of Fame in 2009. In 2012, he was awarded the C. K. Nayudu Lifetime Achievement Award, the highest honour BCCI can bestow on a former player.
3. Kapil Dev (b. 1959)
With an HPI of 43.77, Kapil Dev is the 3rd most famous Indian Cricketer. His biography has been translated into 31 different languages.
Kapil Dev Nikhanj (Pronunciation: [kəpil deːʋ] born 6 January 1959) is an Indian former cricketer. He is regarded as one of the greatest all-rounders in the history of cricket, he was a fast-medium bowler and a hard-hitting middle-order batsman. Dev is the only player in the history of cricket to have taken more than 400 wickets (434 wickets) and scored more than 5,000 runs in Test. Dev captained the Indian cricket team that won the 1983 Cricket World Cup, becoming the first Indian captain to win the Cricket World Cup. He is still the youngest captain (at the age of 24) to win the World Cup for any team. He retired in 1994, as the first player to take 200 ODI wickets, and holding the world record for the highest number of wickets taken in Test cricket, a record subsequently broken by Courtney Walsh in 2000. Kapil Dev held the record for the highest individual score (175*) scored by a batsman batting at number 5 or lower in ODIs until 2023, when it was superseded by Glenn Maxwell. He was also a part of the Indian squad which won the 1985 World Championship of Cricket. After retiring, he coached the Indian national team between September 1999 and September 2000. In 1982, Dev was awarded the Padma Shri, and in 1991 the Padma Bhushan. In 2002, he was named by Wisden as the Indian Cricketer of the Century. On 11 March 2010, Dev was inducted into the ICC Cricket Hall of Fame. In 2013, he received the C. K. Nayudu Lifetime Achievement Award, the highest honour conferred by BCCI on a former player. Kapil Dev Nikhanj was born in Chandigarh on 6 January 1959. His family moved to Fazilka after the partition before eventually moving to Chandigarh. His paternal family is from Montgomery (now known as Sahiwal) and his mother was born in Pakpattan but raised in Okara, both now in Punjab, Pakistan. Dev was a student at D. A. V. College. Dev made an impressive debut for Haryana in November 1975 against Punjab with a 6-wicket haul, restricting Punjab to just 63 runs and helping Haryana to victory. He finished the season with 121 wickets in 30 matches. In the 1976–77 season opener against Jammu & Kashmir, he had a match haul of 8/36 in the win. While his contribution for the rest of that season was ordinary, Haryana qualified for the pre-quarterfinals. Dev achieved his then best innings haul of 8/20 in just 9 overs in the second innings to skittle Bengal for 58 runs in under 19 overs. Haryana lost to Bombay in the quarter-finals. He began his 1977–78 season claiming 8/38 in the first innings against Services. With 3 wickets in the second innings, he took his maiden 10-wicket haul in first-class cricket, a feat he would later achieve twice in Test cricket. With 23 wickets in 4 matches, he was selected for the Irani Trophy, Duleep Trophy and Wills Trophy matches. In the 1978–79 season, Haryana had a repeat encounter with Bengal in the pre-quarterfinal match after a lackluster season from Dev (12 wickets from 4 matches). He scored 2 half-centuries in the group stage matches. In the pre-quarterfinal match, he took a 5-wicket haul in the first innings. Poor batting by Haryana in the second innings let Bengal avenge their loss from 2 seasons back by scoring the required 161 runs for the loss of just 4 wickets. Dev stood out in the Irani Trophy match, scoring 62 runs and coming in at number 8. He took 5 catches in the game where Karnataka was defeated by the Rest of India XI. Dev arrived in the national spotlight with a standout performance in the finals of the Duleep Trophy, taking a first-innings haul of 7/65 in 24 overs. He was included in the North Zone squad for Deodhar Trophy and Wills Trophy for the first time. He played his first Test match in the season against Pakistan. In the 1979–80 season, Dev showed his batting talent with a maiden century against Delhi when he scored his career-best 193. In the pre-quarterfinal match, where he captained Haryana for the first time against Uttar Pradesh, he took a five-wicket haul in the second innings to advance to quarterfinals, where they lost to Karnataka. With Dev cementing his place in the Indian national squad, his appearances in domestic matches dwindled. In the 1990–91 Ranji season, Haryana rode into the semi-finals on the back of the bowling performance of Chetan Sharma and the batting performance of Amarjit Kaypee. Dev took center stage in the semi-final against Bengal, where he led his team to a Mammoth score of 605 runs by scoring 141 as well as taking 5 wickets. The finals of the 1991 season will be remembered for the number of international cricketers who participated, including Dev, Chetan Sharma, Ajay Jadeja and Vijay Yadav turning up for Haryana and Bombay cricket team represented by Sanjay Manjrekar, Vinod Kambli, Sachin Tendulkar, Dilip Vengsarkar, Chandrakant Pandit, Salil Ankola and Abey Kuruvilla. Deepak Sharma (199), Ajay Jadeja (94), and Chetan Sharma (98) helped Haryana to a score of 522 while Yogendra Bhandari (5 wickets) and Dev (3 wickets) restricted Bombay to 410 runs in the first innings. A crucial 41 from Dev and top scorer Banerjee (60) took Haryana to 242 runs, setting Bombay a target of 355 runs. After the initial wickets, Vengsarkar (139) and Tendulkar (96) fought back for the Bombay team. After Tendulkar's dismissal, Haryana took the final 6 wickets for 102 runs and Vengsarkar and Bombay were stranded 3 runs short of the target. Dev won his maiden and only Ranji Trophy championship. Dev played county cricket in England Northamptonshire between 1981 and 1983 and for Worcestershire during the 1984 and 1985 seasons. He played a total of 40 first-class matches in his county stint, and made 2,312 runs across 64 innings with four centuries and 14 half-centuries. Out of his 835 overall first-class wickets, 103 of those wickets came in county cricket. Dev made his Test cricket debut in Faisalabad, Pakistan on 16 October 1978. Although his match figures were unimpressive, the numbers did not convey any measure of his contribution. He startled the Pakistani batsmen with his pace and bouncers that struck their helmets on more than one occasion. Dev captured his maiden wicket of Sadiq Mohammad with his trademark outswinger. He showcased his all-rounder talent when he scored India's fastest Test half-century off 33 balls and 2 sixes in each of the innings during the 3rd Test match at National Stadium, Karachi, although India lost the match and the series 2–0. In the ensuing series against a visiting West Indies team, he scored his maiden Test century (126) at Feroz Shah Kotla, Delhi in just 124 balls and had a steady bowling performance (17 wickets at 33.00). Ominous signs of Dev's liking for England showed up in the ensuring series, his first outside the sub-continent. He picked up his first 5-wicket haul and all of England's wickets, although it came at a huge cost (48 overs and 146 runs conceded) as England scored a mammoth 633 and won the match comfortably. Dev finished the series with 16 wickets though his batting haul of 45 runs (Average: 7.5) was unimpressive. His debut in ODI Cricket happened in the earlier tour of Pakistan where his individual performance was ordinary and it stayed the same as both Dev and India had a poor campaign at the 1979 Cricket World Cup. Dev established himself as India's premier fast bowler when he took two 5-wicket hauls and ended the home series against Australia with 28 wickets (Average: 22.32) and also 212 runs that included a half-century. He gained fame in the 6-Test home series against Pakistan in the 1979–80 season when he led India to 2 victories against the visitors – once with the bat (69) at Wankhede Stadium, Bombay and the second time with bat and ball (10-wicket haul in match – 4/90 in the first innings and 7/56 in the second innings, 84 in 98 balls with his bat) at Chepauk, Madras (Now Chennai). Dev rates his all-round performance in this match as his career best and his second innings figure of 7/56 was his best to-date. During the series, he also became the youngest Test player to achieve the all-round double of 100 Wickets and 1000 Runs and in 25 matches (although Ian Botham took just 21 matches to achieve the same feat) and finished the series with 32 wickets (Ave: 17.68) and 278 runs that included 2 fifties. India's tour of Australia in 1980–81 had the looks of the familiar Indian series as India were 1–0 down and were defending a meagre 143 runs and Dev virtually ruled out with a groin injury. When Australia finished the fourth day at 18/3, Dev willed himself to play the final day with pain-killing injections and removed the dangerous Australia middle order. Dev won the match for India with the innings bowling performance of 16.4–4–28–5, a bowling performance that figures in his five best bowling performance. During the Australian tour, he scored his first fifty in ODIs against New Zealand at Brisbane. Somehow India's Test cricket sensation was unable to adjust to ODI cricket and had a career start of 278 runs (Average: 17.38) and 17 wickets after 16 ODI matches. A dismal New Zealand tour later, Dev was ready for the 1981–82 home series against England where his five-wicket haul won the first test at Wankhede Stadium, Bombay. He scored 318 runs (Average: 53, 1 century, 1 fifty) and took 22 wickets (2 5-wicket hauls) and walked away with the Man of the Series honours. England saw more of Dev in the ensuing series at home against the Indian cricket team in the 1982 season when he opened with a 5-wicket haul and 130 runs in a losing cause at Lord's. He finished the 3-match series with 292 runs (Ave: 73, 3 fifties) and 10 Wickets and bagged the Man of the Series again. Facing Sri Lanka for the first time, Dev helped himself to a five-wicket haul to kick start the 1982–83 season. In the following tour to Pakistan, Dev and Mohinder Amarnath were the only bright spots in a series dominated by rival all-rounder Imran Khan (40 wickets and 1 century). Dev took a 5/102 haul in the second Test at National Stadium, Karachi, 7/220 in the third Test at Iqbal Stadium, Faisalabad and 8/85 at Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore while he received little support from other team members. After this disastrous tour, Dev was made the captain of the Indian cricket team in place of Sunil Gavaskar. Dev debuted as India's captain in the 1982–83 season against Sri Lanka (before the Pakistan tour) when Gavaskar was rested. His first assignment as regular captain was the tour of West Indies, where the biggest accomplishment was a lone ODI victory. Dev (72) and Gavaskar (90) led India to a huge score – 282/5 in 47 overs and Dev's 2 wickets aided India to restrict West Indies for 255 and a victory that Indian cricketers claim gave them the confidence to face the West Indies team in 1983 Cricket World Cup. Overall, Dev had a good series in West Indies as he scored a century to save the second test match as well as picking up 17 wickets (Average: 24.94). Dev entered the World Cup with an ordinary individual record – 32 Matches, 608 Runs (Average: 21), 34 wickets. India's solitary victory in the previous two World Cups was against East Africa in 1975. Riding on Yashpal Sharma (89 Runs), Roger Binny and Ravi Shastri (3 wickets each), India inflicted the West Indies' first-ever defeat in the World Cup. Following a victory against Zimbabwe, India lost the next two matches – Australia (despite Dev's best career figures of 5/43) and West Indies. India now needed victories against Australia and Zimbabwe to advance to the semifinals. India faced Zimbabwe at Nevill Ground, Royal Tunbridge Wells on 18 June 1983. After falling behind, Dev, batting with the lower order batsmen, stabilised the side with help from Roger Binny (22 runs) and Madan Lal. Kapil's half-century came off in 72 balls. After the lunch break, he raised the tempo, racing to his hundred off an even 100 balls. His final 38 balls raised 75. Together with Kirmani (24 runs), Dev put on an unbeaten 126 runs for the 9th wicket – a world record that stood unbroken for 27 years (10,000 days), and finished not out with 175 runs off 138 balls, an innings that included 16 boundaries and 6 sixes. The innings figures in the Top 10 ODI Batting Performances at No. 4. India won the match by 31 runs. India faced the English cricket team in the semifinals. Dev helped curtail the lower order after England lost regular wickets to Binny and Amarnath. He took 3 wickets as India limited England to 213 and the middle order of Amarnath (46 runs), Yashpal Sharma (61) and Sandeep Patil (51*) ensured victory and entry into the finals to take on the West Indies cricket team who were looking for a hat-trick of World Cup titles. West Indies restricted India for 183 runs, with only Krishnamachari Srikkanth (38 runs) providing some scoring relief. Despite losing Gordon Greenidge, West Indies steadied their innings to 57/2 on the back of quick scoring by Viv Richards. Richards played one too many aggressive shots when he skied a pull shot from Madan Lal that Dev caught at deep square leg after running backward for over 20 yards. The catch is attributed as the turning point in the 1983 WC Final and is regarded as one of the finest in ODI Cricket. West Indies collapsed from 50/1 to 76/6 and finally were bowled out for 140 with Dev picking up the wicket of Andy Roberts and Mohinder Amarnath picking up the final wicket of Michael Holding. The win was India's maiden World Cup and he led with 303 runs (Average: 60.6), 12 wickets (Average: 20.41) and 7 catches in 8 matches. This moment inspired several cricketers all over India, including Sachin Tendulkar After the World Cup, India hosted the West Indies cricket team and lost the Test series 3–0 and the ODI Series 5–0. Dev achieved his best test bowling performance in a loss at Motera Stadium, Ahmedabad with a return of 9/83. His bowling performance in the test and ODI series was let down by his poor batting performance. The selectors ended Dev's reign by reappointing Gavaskar as captain in early 1984. Dev was reappointed captain in March 1985 and guided India on a Test series win over England in 1986. This period saw one of his most famous matches, the second Tied Test, in which he was named joint-man of the match with Australian batsman Dean Jones. He was retained as captain for the 1987 Cricket World Cup. In their first match, Australia scored 268 against India. However, after the close of innings, Dev agreed with the umpires that the score should be increased to 270 as one boundary during the innings had been mistakenly signalled as a four and not a six. In their reply, India scored 269 falling short of Australia's score by one run. In the Wisden Cricketer's Almanack, it was reported that "Kapil Dev's sportsmanship proved the deciding factor in a close-run match". India went on to reach the semi-final of the 1987 World Cup, where they lost to England. Dev faced the blame for India's defeat as he holed out to deep mid-wicket triggering a collapse that led to the unexpected loss. He did not captain India again, although he was the Vice-captain for India's tour to Pakistan in 1989. The captaincy period was on the whole a difficult one for him as it was mired with reports of differences with Gavaskar, as well as his own inconsistent form as a bowler. However, both men later insisted that these reports were exaggerated. Dev's performance as Captain was better than as a player. Dev was a right-arm pace bowler noted for his graceful action and potent outswinger, and was India's main strike bowler for most of his career. He developed a fine inswinging yorker during the 1980s, which he used very effectively against tail-enders. As a batsman, he was a natural striker of the ball who could hook and drive effectively. A naturally aggressive player, he often helped India in difficult situations by taking the attack to the opposition. Nicknamed The Haryana Hurricane, he represented the Haryana cricket team in domestic cricket. Dev was a fast bowler. However, a fluent run-up and a gather that was perfectly side-on at the time of delivery meant that the outswinger came naturally to him. Usually bowled at a length and direction that always troubled right-handers, his delivery was the bane of most of his victims as he sought to beat the bat on the outside edge, either caught on the off-side cordon or indeed LBW and bowled in case the ball missed the edge. The side-on action meant that, for the first few years, this was the only delivery he could bowl. The deliveries that held their lines or came into the right-hander came through natural variations off the pitch. However, as he gained maturity, the action became less side-on and he developed an inswinger too. He noted in the mid-1980s that the only delivery he could not bowl at will was the leg-cutter. By the end of 1983, Dev already had about 250 Test wickets in just five years and looked well on his way to becoming one of the most prolific wicket-takers ever. However, his bowling declined following knee surgery in 1984, as he lost some of his jump at the crease. Despite this setback, he never missed playing a single test or one-day game on fitness grounds. Though he lost some of his bite, he remained an effective bowler for another ten years and became the second bowler ever to take 400 wickets in Test cricket in 1991–92 when he took Mark Taylor's wicket in a series versus Australia in Australia. In that Australian tour he took 25 wickets. Dev continued as India's lead pace bowler under a succession of captains in the early 1990s. He was involved in a notable incident during the Lord's Test Match of 1990, when he hit off-spinner Eddie Hemmings for four sixes in succession to take India past the follow-on target. This match featured the highest test score by an Englishman against India, 333 by Graham Gooch. Dev was cited by umpire Dickie Bird as being one of the greatest all-rounders of all time. He became a valuable batsman in the ODI version of the game, as a pinch-hitter used to accelerate the run-scoring rate, usually in the final ten overs, and was relied upon to stabilize the innings in the event of a collapse. He played in the 1992 Cricket World Cup, his last, under the captaincy of Mohammad Azharuddin and topped the batting strike rate with 125.80 runs per 100 balls. He led the bowling attack with younger talents like Javagal Srinath and Manoj Prabhakar, who would eventually succeed him as India's leading pace bowlers. He retired in 1994, after breaking Richard Hadlee's then standing record for the most Test wickets taken. Dev was appointed the Indian national cricket coach in September 1999 following the appointment of Sachin Tendulkar as captain of the Indian team in August 1999. The team saw success in his first series at home against New Zealand but saw whitewash in the subsequent test series against host tour of Australia and visitors South Africa, India's first home series loss in 12 years. India's 3–2 win in the subsequent ODI series under new captain Sourav Ganguly is remembered for the claims of match-fixing against South Africa's captain Hansie Cronje. As the match-fixing scandal took centrestage, former player Manoj Prabhakar accused Kapil Dev of trying to bribe him in 1994 during a tournament in Sri Lanka. Under severe pressure from politicians and fans, Kapil Dev resigned as coach in September 2000, after having spent less than one year as the team coach. The reports of CBI (India's premier investigating agency) and K. Madhavan (appointed by BCCI to investigate match-fixing allegations) in November 2000 exonerated Kapil Dev of any involvement in match-fixing. India's performance in the coaching stint of Kapil Dev was below-par, winning just one Test match (out of 8 played) and 9 ODIs (out of 25 played). Kapil Dev was appointed coach of the Indian national cricket team in 1999 succeeding Anshuman Gaekwad. His appointment coincided with the second term of captaincy for Tendulkar. Kapil's first international competition as India's coach started badly with the team bowled out for 83 all out against the visiting New Zealand team in Mohali. Due to an inspired bowling display by Javagal Srinath, the lead was restricted to 132 runs after New Zealand were dismissed for 215. India's batsmen bounced back in the second innings with a total of 505 with all the top five batsmen passing fifty and Rahul Dravid and Tendulkar scoring centuries. Anil Kumble's ten-wicket match haul at Kanpur enabled India to win the second Test match. The Third Test ended in a draw, with Tendulkar recording his first double-century in Test Cricket. In the ensuing ODI Series, India won 3–2 and the highlight for Indian team was a world record ODI partnership of 331 runs between Dravid and Tendulkar in the 2nd match at Hyderabad. The series against New Zealand would be Kapil's most successful series as national coach. India followed the NZ tour with a trip to Australia. India lost the Test series 3–0 and the margin of defeat was heavy in each of these matches – 285 runs, 180 runs, innings and 141 runs. The highlight of the Test series came in the final Test when V. V. S. Laxman scored 167 at a run a ball in fading light at the Sydney Cricket Ground and came for much praise from the media. India's ODI series performance matched the Test series in failure as India managed to win just one match against Pakistan and Kapil had to come out in defense of his team. India had not lost a home test series since 1987 (against Pakistan) and when South Africa toured India in February – March 2000, that streak was ended as India lost the home series 2–0. However events outside the field overshadowed the cricket: Before start of the series, Tendulkar announced his decision to relinquish the captaincy after the Test matches, Azharuddin and Mongia were recalled to the team, controversy arose over Azharuddin's injury leading to his exclusion from the First Test. Ganguly was made the captain of the Indian team for the one-day series. Talks in the media about no way but 'UP' were not unfounded when India took a 2–0 lead in the ODI Series and finishing the series at 3–2, after South Africa won the last two matches. It was learnt later that South Africa's captain Cronje was involved in betting and there were attempts to buy-off South African players by Cronje and bookmakers. At the end of the series, the media felt that Ganguly's attitude and captaincy was heartening. In March 2000, India participated in a triangular series with South Africa and Pakistan. India won only one of their four matches and missed the finals. Kapil's term as Indian cricket team's national coach was not considered a success due to poor on-field performances. During Kapil's reign as National Coach, India performed badly in away matches and managed just 3 victories in 15 games (20%) in ODI Tournaments. In Test cricket, India lost its first home series in 13 years and managed just 1 victory in 3 Test series. As the 1999/00 cricket season was winding down, the Delhi Police shocked the cricket world when they announced that Cronje was involved in a "Cricket Match-fixing and Betting Racket". The UCBSA released terse statements denying the allegations triggering a diplomatic row. When Delhi Police began mounting evidence, Cronje admitted to accepting money for throwing away games in a phone call with UCBSA's chief Ali Bacher. Cronje was sacked and replaced by Shaun Pollock. Former Indian player Prabhakar also publicly claimed that Kapil wanted to throw away a match against Pakistan. Prabhakar's allegations against an unknown team member was not new as he made these allegations to a magazine The Outlook in 1997 based on which BCCI instituted the Chandrachud Inquiry, a one-man commission headed by retired Chief Justice of India Yeshwant Vishnu Chandrachud. Prabhakar did not reveal names or provide evidence of his charges (match fixing and phone tapping allegation on then cricket manager Ajit Wadekar). When the match fixing controversy resurfaced in 2000, BCCI released the Chandrachud Report to the media. The reaction of the Indian public resulted in PILs and International Cricket Council and the BCCI were called to respond in the Delhi and Calcutta High Courts. In response to the crisis, the Indian government initiated a CBI inquiry on 28 April 2000. Former BCCI President Inderjit Singh Bindra revealed on 4 May 2000 that Prabhakar told him that Kapil asked him to throw away the match. During the ensuing exchanges between various parties, Kapil Dev broke down in an interview on BBC's Hard Talk with Karan Thapar. Kapil initially did not resign or take a leave of absence, from his coaching responsibilities. As the weeks progressed and as public discontent mounting on inaction in the match-fixing scandal and in no small measure the pressure from the then Union Sport Minister Shukdev Singh Dhindsa, Kapil Dev resigned from his position of Indian Cricket Coach on 12 September 2000 vowing farewell to the game of cricket. After extensive investigation and interviews, the CBI submitted its report to Union Sports Minister on 1 November 2000. The report found that there was "no credible evidence" against Kapil. The BCCI's anti-corruption officer K Madhavan (former Joint Director of CBI) submitted his report on 28 November 2000 in which he elaborated on players who were found to have links with the match-fixing syndicate. Madhavan concluded that Kapil did not attempt to bribe Prabhakar and none of the players corroborated with Prabhakar's version of the events. After a period of silence away from the public eye, Dev returned to cricket when Wisden announced him as one of the sixteen finalists for the Wisden Indian Cricketer of the Century award in July 2002. Dev pipped longtime teammate Gavaskar and crowd favourite Tendulkar to win the award and claimed the moment as "my finest hour". Dev slowly returned to cricket as a bowling consultant and was the bowling coach in the preparatory camp prior to India's tour of Pakistan in March 2004. In October 2006, he was nominated as the chairman of National Cricket Academy for a two-year period. In 2005, he acted in a brief role in the cult film Iqbal written by Vipul K. Rawal where he played himself. Initially the director was not keen on approaching him; however, writer Rawal insisted as the role was written with him in mind. In May 2007, Dev joined the upstart Indian Cricket League (ICL) floated by Zee TV as the chairman of executive board, defending his decision as complimenting BCCI's structure rather than opposing it – "We are not looking to create a rival team but helping the Indian board to find more talent". In June 2007, BCCI responded by revoking the pension for all players who had joined ICL, including Dev. On 21 August 2007, Dev was removed from the chairmanship of the National Cricket Academy, a day after he addressed a formal press conference of the new Indian Cricket League. On 25 July 2012 Dev resigned from ICL and continued to support BCCI, thereby paving way to get back into the BCCI fold. He was appointed as first chancellor of the Sports University of Haryana in 2019. The university is situated in India's Haryana state which he represented in domestic cricket. Dev married Romi Bhatia in 1980 with whom he has a daughter, Amiya Dev, born on 16 January 1996. In 1993, Dev took up golf. Dev was the only Asian founding member of Laureus Foundation in 2000. Ian Botham and Viv Richards were the other two cricketers on the founding member council of 40. Steve Waugh was added to the academy members in 2006 when it was expanded from 40 to 42. Dev pledged his organs during an event organised by Delhi Urological Society on 31 January 2014 at the Airport Authority of India, Officers Club, New Delhi. On 23 October 2020, Dev suffered a heart attack and was hospitalised. He underwent an emergency coronary angioplasty at a hospital in Delhi. He has written four books – three autobiographical and one book on Sikhism. Autobiographical works include — By God's Decree which came out in 1985, Cricket My Style in 1987, and Straight from the Heart in 2004. His latest book titled We, The Sikhs was released in 2019. Source: Source: In early 1994, he became the highest Test wicket-taker in the world, breaking the record held by Sir Richard Hadlee. Dev's record was broken by Courtney Walsh in 1999. Only player to have achieved the all-rounder's double of 5,000 Test runs and 400 Test wickets C.I.D. (Season 1) Episode- Howzzat? (Episode 289,290) as Himself Dillagi... Yeh Dillagi (1994) Mujhse Shaadi Karogi (2004) as Himself Iqbal (2005) as Himself Chain Kulii Ki Main Kulii (2007) as Himself 83 (2021) as Himself, portrayed by Ranveer Singh Double XL (2022) as Himself Lal Salaam (2024) as himself 1979–80 – Arjuna Award 1982 – Padma Shri 1983 – Wisden Cricketer of the Year 1991 – Padma Bhushan 2002 – Wisden Indian Cricketer of the Century 2010 – ICC Cricket Hall of Fame 2013 – The 25 Greatest Global Living Legends in India by NDTV 2013 – CK Nayudu Lifetime Achievement award 2019 – Bharat Gaurav Award Dev made cameo appearances in the films Dillagi... Yeh Dillagi, Iqbal, Chain Khuli ki Main Khuli and Mujhse Shaadi Karogi among others. He has also released a song "One India My India" with Shailendra Singh. The 2016 Indian film Azhar, directed by Tony D'Souza, revolves around Match fixing scandals in late 90s and 2000. In the film Dev's character was played by Varun Badola. Indian filmmaker Kabir Khan directed a biopic film, titled 83, about India's first world cup win in 1983. The film features Ranveer Singh as Dev and is produced by Anurag Kashyap and Kapil Dev has a cameo as a spectator. Kapil Dev at ESPNcricinfo Kapil Dev on X Kapil Dev at IMDb
4. Virat Kohli (b. 1988)
With an HPI of 42.88, Virat Kohli is the 4th most famous Indian Cricketer. His biography has been translated into 51 different languages.
Virat Kohli (Hindi pronunciation: [ʋɪˈɾɑːʈ ˈkoːɦli] ; born 5 November 1988) is an Indian international cricketer who plays Test and One Day International (ODI) cricket for the Indian national team. A former captain in all formats, Kohli retired from Twenty20 International (T20I) following India's win at the 2024 T20 World Cup. He is a right-handed batsman and an occasional unorthodox right arm quick bowler. He represents Royal Challengers Bengaluru in the Indian Premier League (IPL) and Delhi in domestic cricket. He holds the record as the highest run-scorer in IPL, ranks third in T20I, third in ODI, and stands as the fourth-highest in international cricket. He also holds the record for scoring the most centuries in ODI cricket and stands second in the list of most international centuries scored. Kohli is widely regarded as one of the greatest batsmen of all time and the greatest batsman in the modern era. Kohli was a key member of the Indian team that won the 2011 Cricket World Cup, 2013 Champions Trophy and 2024 T20 World Cup and captained India to win the ICC Test mace three consecutive times in 2017, 2018, and 2019. In 2013, Kohli was ranked number one in the ICC rankings for ODI batsmen. In 2015, he achieved the summit of T20I rankings. In 2018, he was ranked top Test batsman, making him the only Indian cricketer to hold the number one spot in all three formats of the game. He is the first player to score 20,000 runs in a decade. In 2020, the International Cricket Council named him the male cricketer of the decade. Kohli has garnered 10 ICC Awards which is more than any player in International Cricket, making him the most decorated player in International Cricket history. He won the ICC ODI Player of the Year award four times in 2012, 2017, 2018, and 2023. He also won the Sir Garfield Sobers Trophy, given to the ICC Cricketer of the Year, on two occasions, in 2017 and 2018 respectively. In 2018, he became the first player to win both ICC ODI and Test Player of the Year awards in the same year. Also, he was named the Wisden Leading Cricketer in the World for three consecutive years, from 2016 to 2018. Kohli has the second most and most 'Player of the Match' and 'Player of the Series' awards to his name, respectively, in all three formats combined. At the national level, Kohli was honoured with the Arjuna Award in 2013, the Padma Shri in 2017, and India's highest sporting honour, the Khel Ratna Award, in 2018. In 2018, Time magazine included him on its list of the 100 most influential people in the world. After winning the 2024 T20 World Cup, Kohli announced his retirement from T20I.
5. MS Dhoni (b. 1981)
With an HPI of 41.25, MS Dhoni is the 5th most famous Indian Cricketer. His biography has been translated into 39 different languages.
Mahendra Singh Dhoni ( ; born 7 July 1981) is an Indian professional cricketer who plays as a right handed batter and a wicket-keeper. Widely regarded as one of the most prolific wicket-keeper-batsmen and captains, he represented the Indian cricket team and was the captain of the side in limited-overs formats from 2007 to 2017 and in test cricket from 2008 to 2014. Dhoni has captained the most international matches and is the most successful Indian captain. He has led India to victory in the 2007 ICC World Twenty20, the 2011 Cricket World Cup, and the 2013 ICC Champions Trophy, being the only captain to win three different limited overs ICC tournaments. He also led the teams that won the Asia Cup in 2010, 2016 and was a member of the title winning squad in 2018. Born in Ranchi, Dhoni made his first class debut for Bihar in 1999. He made his debut for the Indian cricket team on 23 December 2004 in an ODI against Bangladesh and played his first test a year later against Sri Lanka. In 2007, he became the captain of the ODI side before taking over in all formats by 2008. Dhoni retired from test cricket in 2014, but continued playing in limited overs cricket till 2019. He has scored 17,266 runs in international cricket including 10,000 plus runs at an average of more than 50 in ODIs. In the Indian Premier League (IPL), Dhoni plays for Chennai Super Kings (CSK), leading them to the final on ten occasions and winning it five times (2010, 2011, 2018, 2021 and 2023). He has also led CSK to two Champions League T20 titles in 2010 and 2014. Dhoni is amongst the few batsmen to have scored more than five thousand runs in the IPL, as well as being the first wicket-keeper to do so. In 2008, Dhoni was awarded India's highest sport honor Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award by Government of India. He received the fourth highest civilian award Padma Shri in 2009 and third highest civilian award Padma Bhushan in 2018. Dhoni holds an honorary rank of Lieutenant Colonel in the Parachute Regiment of the Indian Territorial Army which was presented to him by the Indian Army in 2011. He is one of the most popular cricketers in the world. Dhoni was born on 7 July 1981 in Ranchi, Bihar (now in Jharkhand) in a Hindu Rajput family to Pan Singh and Devaki Devi. His parents hailed from Lwali village in Uttar Pradesh (now Uttarakhand) and he was the youngest of three children. His family spells the surname as "Dhauni". The spelling "Dhoni" emerged due to a spelling mistake in his school certificates and, despite repeated attempts by his family, has never been rectified. Dhoni did his schooling at DAV Jawahar Vidya Mandir where he started playing football as a goal keeper but later moved to play cricket on the suggestion of his coach Keshav Banerjee. From 2001 to 2003, Dhoni worked as a Travelling Ticket Examiner (TTE) at Kharagpur under South Eastern Railway zone of Indian Railways. He played as a wicket-keeper for Commando cricket club from 1995 to 1998 and Central Coal Fields Limited (CCL) team in 1998. At CCL, he batted higher up the order and helped the team qualify to the higher division. Based on his performance at club cricket, he was picked for the 1997/98 season of Vinoo Mankad Trophy under-16 championship. In the 1998–99, Dhoni played for Bihar U-19 team in the Cooch Behar Trophy and scored 176 runs in 5 matches. In the 1999–2000 Cooch Behar Trophy, the Bihar U-19 cricket team made it to the finals, where Dhoni made 84 in a losing cause. Dhoni's contribution in the tournament included 488 runs in nine matches with five fifties, 17 catches and seven stumpings. Dhoni made it to the East Zone U-19 squad for the C. K. Nayudu Trophy in the 1999–2000 season and scored only 97 runs in four matches, as East Zone lost all the matches and finished last in the tournament. Dhoni made his Ranji Trophy debut for Bihar against Assam in the 1999–2000 season, as an eighteen-year-old scoring 68 runs in the second innings. Dhoni finished the season with 283 runs in 5 matches. Dhoni scored his maiden first-class century while playing for Bihar against Bengal in the 2000–01 Ranji Trophy season. Apart from this century, his performance in the 2000/01 season did not include another score over fifty and in the 2001–02 Ranji Trophy season, he scored just five fifties in four Ranji matches. Dhoni's played for Jharkhand in the 2002–03 Ranji Trophy and represented East Zone in the Deodhar Trophy where he started gaining recognition for his lower-order contribution as well as hard-hitting batting style. In the 2003/04 season, Dhoni scored a century (128*) against Assam in the first match of the Ranji ODI tournament and was part of the East Zone squad that won the Deodhar Trophy 2003–2004 season scoring 244 runs in four matches. In the Duleep Trophy finals, Dhoni represented East zone and scored a fighting half-century in the second innings in a losing cause. Dhoni was identified as one of the emerging talents via the BCCI's small-town talent-spotting initiative TRDW. In 2004, Dhoni was picked for the India A squad for a tour of Zimbabwe and Kenya. Against the Zimbabwe XI in Harare Sports Club, Dhoni effected seven catches and four stumpings. In the tri-nation tournament involving Kenya, India A and Pakistan A, Dhoni helped India A chase down their target of 223 against Pakistan A with a half-century and scored scored 362 runs in six innings at an average of 72.40 with back to back centuries. The Indian ODI team in the early 2000s saw Rahul Dravid as the wicket-keeper to ensure that the wicket-keeper spot didn't lack in batting talent and also tried other wicket-keeper/batsmen like Parthiv Patel and Dinesh Karthik. With Dhoni performing well for the India A squad, he was picked in the ODI squad for the Bangladesh tour in December 2004. Dhoni made his debut in the first match of the series and was run out for a duck. Dhoni was picked for the subsequent ODI series against Pakistan. In the second match of the series in Visakhapatnam, Dhoni playing in his fifth one-day international, scored 148 runs off 123 deliveries which surpassed the earlier record for the highest score by an Indian wicket-keeper. Dhoni played in the Sri Lankan bilateral ODI series in October–November 2005 and was promoted to No. 3 in the batting order in the third ODI at Jaipur where he scored an unbeaten 183 runs off 145 balls, winning the game for India. The innings would surpass his earlier record for the highest score by an Indian wicket-keeper and was described in Wisden Almanack as 'Uninhibited, yet anything but crude'. It was also the highest individual score in ODI cricket in a run chase, a record which was broken seven years later by Shane Watson. Dhoni ended the series with the highest aggregate of 346 runs and was awarded the Man of the series. Dhoni became a regular in the Indian side after the home series against South Africa in November 2005. In December 2005, Dhoni was awarded a "B" grade contract by the BCCI. Dhoni made his test debut in the same month against Sri Lanka during their tour of India at Chennai. Dhoni scored 30 runs in his debut match, that was marred by rain and ended in a draw. Dhoni made his maiden half-century in the second test leading to an Indian win. Dhoni played all the matches in the subsequent tour of Pakistan scoring 219 runs in five ODI matches and 179 runs in five tests including his maiden test century in the second test in Faisalabad. He scored 106 runs across three tests in the home series against England in March 2006 and 177 runs in five ODI series that followed. Dhoni dropped multiple catches and missed dismissal chances including a key stumping opportunity of Andrew Flintoff which led to criticism of his wicket-keeping. In the DLF Cup 2006-07, Dhoni scored 43 runs as the team lost twice in three games and did not qualify for the finals. In the 2006 ICC Champions Trophy, India lost to West Indies and Australia, though Dhoni scored a half-century against West Indies and failed to make it to the knock out stage. In the ODI series in South Africa in November 2006, Dhoni scored 139 runs in four matches in the series loss. In the test series that followed, Dhoni scored 114 runs in two tests including a first test victory in South Africa in the first test, but was ruled out of the third test with injury. Dhoni made his T20 international debut in December 2006 against South Africa at Johannesburg. Dhoni was subsequently named in the ODI team of the year by the ICC for 2006. India recorded identical 3–1 victories over West Indies and Sri Lanka in early 2007 with Dhoni averaging in excess of 100 in both the series. Subsequently, Dhoni was part of the squad for 2007 Cricket World Cup in which India unexpectedly crashed out in the group stage after losses to Bangladesh and Sri Lanka with Dhoni scoring ducks in both these matches and just 29 runs in the tournament. As a result, Dhoni's house in Ranchi was vandalized and damaged by activists of JMM and security was tightened for his family. Dhoni scored 91* against Bangladesh in the first match of the ODI series in May 2007 which fetched the Man of the Match award while also later winning the Man of the Series after the third game of the series was washed away. Dhoni played for ACC Asia XI cricket team in the Afro-Asia Cup, scoring 174 runs in three matches at an average of 87 including 139 off 97 balls in the third ODI. Dhoni was named vice-captain of the ODI team for the 2007 Future Cup against South Africa in Ireland and the subsequent seven-match series against England. Dhoni was awarded an 'A' grade contract by BCCI in June 2007. Dhoni was appointed as the captain of the Indian squad for the inaugural World Twenty20 in September 2007. Dhoni led India to victory in the tournament after defeating Pakistan in the final. Dhoni was appointed as the captain of Indian cricket team in all formats later. On 2 September 2007, Dhoni equaled Adam Gilchrist's international record for the most dismissals in an innings in ODI by effecting six dismissals against England. Dhoni took his first and only wicket in international cricket on 30 September 2009 when he bowled Travis Dowlin of West Indies in the 2009 ICC Champions Trophy. However, he scored just three runs in the only match he batted with India crashing out of the series in the group stage after the match against Australia was washed out. Dhoni averaged more than 60 in the 2008-09 season. Dhoni scored two centuries during Sri Lanka's tour of India in November 2009 which India won to achieve the top ranking in ICC test ranking for the first time in its history. Dhoni had an excellent year in ODIs in 2009, scoring 1198 runs in just 24 innings, at an average of 70.43 and topped the ICC ODI batsman rankings for several months. He was named as captain and wicket-keeper of the ICC ODI Team of the year. Dhoni led the Indian squad for the 2011 Cricket World Cup co-hosted by India. India won its second ever ODI world cup after defeating Sri Lanka in the final with Dhoni being named man of the match for scoring an unbeaten 91. In December 2012, Pakistan toured India for a bilateral series for the first time in five years and Dhoni top-scored in all the three matches of the series with a century in the first ODI at Chennai. Dhoni led India to victory in the 2013 ICC Champions Trophy and became the first and the only captain in international cricket to claim all ICC limited overs trophies. In the rain-shortened final against England, India won by five runs on DLS method though Dhoni himself was out for a duck. He was also named as captain and wicket-keeper of the 'Team of the Tournament' by the ICC. After the Champions Trophy, India toured West Indies for a tri-nation tournament against the hosts and Sri Lanka. Dhoni got injured at the start of the tournament thus ruling him out for most of the tournament and returned to play the final where he was adjudged Man of the match for scoring 45 runs off 52 balls including 16 runs in the final cricket to take India to victory by one wicket. In November 2013, Dhoni became the second India batsman after Sachin Tendulkar to aggregate more than thousand runs in ODIs against Australia. India toured South Africa and New Zealand in the 2013–14 season. Though Dhoni scored 84 runs at an average of 48 including one half-century against South Africa and 272 runs with three consecutive 50-plus scores against New Zealand, India lost both the series. Dhoni himself reached 8000 runs in ODI in the series against New Zealand. Dhoni led India in the 2014 ICC World Twenty20 where India finished as runners-up after losing to Sri Lanka in the final. He was named as captain and wicket-keeper of the 'Team of the Tournament' by the ICC. India won the away ODI series in England in 2014 and series against West Indies in India where Dhoni scored 146 runs across the five innings he batted. Dhoni played his last series during India's tour of Australia in December 2014. Following the third Test in Melbourne, Dhoni announced his retirement from the format. In his last test, he effected nine dismissals (eight catches and a stumping), and in the process, went past Kumar Sangakkara's record for most stumpings in international cricket and also set a record for effecting the most dismissals in a match by an Indian wicketkeeper until it was broken by Wriddhiman Saha in 2018. In the Carlton Mid triangular series in Australia, India failed to win a single match with Dhoni himself managing just 70 runs from three innings at an average of 23.34. During the 2015 Cricket World Cup, Dhoni became the first Indian captain to win all group stage matches in a world cup. In the match against Zimbabwe at Auckland, he made 85 which was the highest score by an Indian captain in New Zealand. After beating Bangladesh in the quarter finals, he became the third overall and the first non-Australian captain to win 100 ODI matches. India lost to eventual champions Australia in the semi-finals with Dhoni having a good series, scoring 237 runs in six innings at an average of 59.25 and a strike rate of 102.15 and thus, became only the second Indian captain to have an average over 50 and strike rate over 100 in a particular season of the World Cup. Dhoni led India to victory in the 2016 Asia Cup where India remained unbeaten. Dhoni stepped down as captain of India in January 2017 ahead of the ODI series at home against England. In the second game of the series, he scored 134 off 122 balls, his tenth century in ODIs and his first in over three years. He was named as a wicket-keeper of the 'Team of the Tournament' at the 2017 ICC Champions Trophy in which India finished as runners-up. In August 2017, during the fifth and final ODI against Sri Lanka in Colombo, he became the first wicket-keeper to effect 100 stumpings in ODIs when he stumped Akila Dananjaya off Yuzvendra Chahal. He reached the milestone of effecting 400 dismissals in ODIs in February 2018, following the stumping of Aiden Markram in the third ODI of the South Africa tour. Though he had a relatively mediocre series scoring 79 runs in two innings at a strike rate of 63.20 during India's 2018 tour of England, he went past 10,000 ODI runs, becoming the fourth Indian and twelfth overall to do so. In the 2018 Asia Cup title winning campaign, he scored just 77 runs in four innings at an average of 19.25. While captaining in the group stage match against Afghanistan due to regular captain Rohit Sharma being unavailable, Dhoni became the first cricketer to lead India 200 times in ODIs. Dhoni aggregated 50 runs from three innings in the home series against West Indies. In the series, he effected the fastest stumping in the history of cricket, clocked at 0.08 seconds, when dismissing Keemo Paul. Dhoni was not selected for the T20I squad for the series that followed and the Australia tour later that season. However, he was included in the squad for the ODI series in Australia. In the three-match series, Dhoni scored half-centuries in all three games with the latter two resulting in wins, helping India secure a 2–1 series victory, their first in a bilateral series on Australian soil and was named player of the series while also becoming the fourth Indian to score more than 1,000 ODI runs in Australia. In April 2019, he was named in India's squad for the 2019 Cricket World Cup. On 9 July 2019, Dhoni played in his 350th and final ODI in the semi-final loss against New Zealand. Dhoni announced his retirement from international cricket on 15 August 2020 as he had not played any international cricket since India's loss in the 2019 world cup semi-final. Dhoni played for Bihar state cricket team since 1999 before representing Jharkhand later. He has also played for Rajasthan Cricket Association President's XI, East zone and Rest of India in domestic cricket. In BCCI Corporate trophy, he played for Air India until his resignation from the company in 2013. In February 2005, Dhoni played for India seniors in Challenger trophy, where he scored 102 against India B. Jharkhand State Cricket Association (JSCA) appointed him captain of the Jharkhand team in February 2017 for the 2017-18 Vijay Hazare trophy and on 25 February 2017, he scored his first ever domestic list-A century against Chhattisgarh and led the team to the quarter final where Jharkhand lost against Delhi. Dhoni was acquired by Chennai Super Kings (CSK) for US$1.5 million during the auction for the inaugural season of the Indian Premier League (IPL). He was the most expensive signing in the auction. Dhoni scored 414 runs to lead CSK to the finals in the first season of IPL. Under his captaincy, CSK won the 2010 edition and qualified for Champions League Twenty20. Chennai won the 2010 Champions league. Dhoni scored 392 runs and led CSK to its second consecutive IPL title in 2011. Dhoni led CSK to its second Champions League Twenty20 title in 2014. Dhoni scored 2987 runs from 129 matches in the IPL across the first eight seasons for the Super Kings. Following the two-year suspension of Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals, two new franchises Rising Pune Supergiants and Gujarat Lions were established for the 2016 Indian Premier League season. Supergiants picked Dhoni as one of their five draft picks on 15 December 2015 for ₹125 million (US$1.5 million). He scored 574 runs in 30 matches across two seasons for the Supergiants. Dhoni returned to CSK for the 2018 season. He scored 455 runs and led his team to its third IPL title. Dhoni led CSK to the title again in 2021 and was retained for ₹12 crore (US$1.4 million) before the auction for the 2022 season. Dhoni stepped down from captaincy ahead of that season and Ravindra Jadeja was appointed the new captain. However, a month later, Jadeja handed over the captaincy back to Dhoni in the middle of the season. Dhoni led the franchise to victory again the following season. Under his captaincy, CSK became the most successful IPL franchise with five title wins and ten final appearances. Dhoni became the first player to play 200 T20 matches for CSK and holds the record for most appearances in the IPL. Ahead of the 2024 season, Dhoni handed over captaincy to Ruturaj Gaikwad. He marked his 250th appearance for CSK in this season, in a league stage match against Mumbai Indians on 14 April 2024, helping his team secure a 20-run win, following his unbeaten four-ball 20. Dhoni holds an honorary rank of Lieutenant Colonel in the Parachute Regiment of the Indian Territorial Army (106 Para TA battalion). The honorary rank was presented to him by the Indian Army in 2011 for his service to the nation as a cricketer. After completing five parachute training jumps from Indian Army aircraft in the Agra training camp, he became a qualified paratrooper in 2015. In August 2019, he completed a two-week stint with the Territorial Army in Jammu and Kashmir. While spending a day with the parachute regiment in Ranchi, Dhoni said, I wanted to become a soldier not a cricketer, "Since childhood I wanted to join the Army. Seeing the soldiers, I thought that one day I'll be the same". Dhoni holds the post of vice-president in India Cements Ltd, the company owned by former BCCI president N. Srinivasan. Dhoni is a co-owner of Chennai-based football club Chennaiyin FC, a franchise of the Indian Super League. He also co-owns Ranchi-based hockey club Ranchi Rays, a franchise of the Hockey India League. In February 2016, Dhoni launched lifestyle brand SEVEN which he co-owns while also serving as its brand ambassador. In 2019, Dhoni invested in vehicle re-seller CARS24 and simultaneously became brand ambassador of the company. On 11 October 2022, Dhoni invested in Shaka Harry, a plant-based protein company. In 2019, Dhoni Entertainment entered into a long-term business agreement with Banijay Asia to produce content across various genres. The first show developed by the company was a documentary web series titled Roar of The Lion for Disney+ Hotstar in 2019 which dealt with the ban of Chennai Super Kings from the Indian Premier League in 2016 and their return to win the title in 2018. The production house produced a Tamil language romantic drama LGM which was released on 28 July 2023. Dhoni performed a special cameo appearance in Vijay's film G.O.A.T set to be released on 5 September 2024. Dhoni is one of the most popular cricketers in the world. He serves as a brand ambassdor and endorses more than 35 brands across various segments. As of 2022, Dhoni has more than 75 million followers on social media platforms and his brand value was projected to be $80.3 million by Duff and Phelps. Dhoni's popularity is often compared to Sachin Tendulkar, the highest run scorer in international cricket. The No.7 jersey has been made popular by Dhoni which was retired in 2023 by BCCI. Dhoni has developed a special connection with the city of Chennai whose IPL franchise he represents with fans calling him 'Thala' meaning leader in Tamil. Dhoni is a right-handed batsman and wicket-keeper. Dhoni is an unorthodox batsman who deviates from conventional coaching manuals to showcase his batting technique. Dhoni displays a proclivity for hitting full-length deliveries towards the Long-on, Long-off, and Midwicket regions, rather than the conventional Cover region. He plays pull shots and hook shots off short-pitched deliveries often putting pressure on the bowler to adjust their line and length accordingly. Dhoni holds the bat with a firm grip at the bottom of the handle, striking the ball with force and precision to clear the boundary. He is a powerful hitter of the ball and is one of the fastest men in running between the wickets. He plays the helicopter shot technique, taught to him by a fellow player and childhood friend Santosh Lal. As a batsman, he is recognized for his finishing skills in high-pressure situations. As a wicket-keeper, he has been praised for his fast reflexes behind the stumps while also being criticized for the lack of good technique. He is known for his unorthodox captaincy, approachability and has earned a reputation of being a successful leader. Dhoni is also known for his cool-headed demeanor on the field which has earned him the monicker "Captain cool". Dhoni married Sakshi Singh Rawat on 4 July 2010 in Dehradun. Dhoni and his wife have a daughter who was born on 6 February 2015. He lives in his farmhouse outside Ranchi. Dhoni is an automotive enthusiast and owns a number of bikes and cars in his collection. Dhoni has scored 4876 runs in Test matches at an average of 38 and 10773 runs at an average of above 50 in ODIs. He has scored 16 centuries and 106 fifties in his international career. Dhoni has one of the highest averages in ODI cricket. Dhoni has scored more than 3200 runs across 377 T20 matches. Dhoni has taken 634 catches and effected 195 stumpings in his international career making him one of the most prolific wicket-keepers of all time. In 2007, Dhoni was appointed captain of the captain of the Indian team and served as the captain of all formats from 2008. He captained the Indian team in 332 matches including 200 ODIs and was one of the most prolific and successful captains of all time. Tests Most runs by an Indian wicket-keeper (4876) Most number of sixes by an Indian captain (78) Most dismissals by an Indian and fifth most by any wicket-keeper (294) ODIs Most wins by an Indian captain and second most overall (110) Second most runs as captain (6641) Third most number of matches as captain (200) First player to pass 10,000 runs with an average of over 50 Most not-outs (84) Highest score by a wicket-keeper (183*) Highest eighth wicket partnership for India (100* with Bhuvneshwar Kumar) Most dismissals in an innings (6) and career (432) by an Indian wicket-keeper Most stumpings by any wicket-keeper (123) T20Is Second most matches as captain (72) Most T20I innings (76) and runs (1,153) before scoring a fifty Most stumpings as wicket-keeper (34) Most catches as wicket keeper in a T20I innings (5) Combined Most international matches as captain (332) Most stumpings (195) and only wicket-keeper to make 150 stumpings Third most dismissals as a wicket-keeper (829) Sixth most sixes in career (359) T20 World Cup: 2007 Asia Cup: 2010, 2016 2018 Cricket World Cup: 2011 ICC Champions Trophy: 2013 Indian Premier League: 2010, 2011, 2018, 2021, 2023 Champions League: 2010, 2014 MTV Youth Icon of the Year: 2006 Honorary doctorate degree by De Montfort University: 2011 CNN-News18 Indian of the Year: 2011 Major Dhyanchand Khel Ratna award: 2008 Padma Shri: 2009 Honorary Lieutenant Colonel, Parachute Regiment of the Indian Territorial Army: 2011 Castrol Indian Cricketer of the Year: 2011 ICC People's Choice Award: 2013 Padma Bhushan: 2018 ICC ODI Player of the Year: 2008, 2009 ICC Men's ODI Team of the Year: 2006, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014 (captain in 2009, 2011–2014) ICC Men's ODI team of the decade: 2011–2020 (captain and wicket-keeper) ICC Men's T20I team of the decade: 2011–2020 (captain and wicket-keeper) ICC Spirit of the cricket award of the decade: 2011–2020 Others In 2019, Jharkhand Cricket Association named the JSCA stadium's south stand after Dhoni. In 2023, the Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA) decided to honour him by dedicating seats (J282–J286) at the Wankhede Stadium where he hit the winning shot in 2011 World Cup final. A film based on Dhoni's life from his childhood to the 2011 world cup win, titled M.S. Dhoni: The Untold Story, with Sushant Singh Rajput in the lead role was released on 29 September 2016. The Dhoni Touch: unraveling the enigma that is Mahendra Singh Dhoni, a book by Bharat Sundaresan. Dhoni (2012), a Tamil feature film, directed and produced by Prakash Raj where the plot illustrates the conflicting interests of a father and his son with the father wanting his son to study MBA but his son wanting to become a cricketer like Dhoni. MS Dhoni at ESPNcricinfo MS Dhoni at Wisden India
6. Bishan Singh Bedi (1946 - 2023)
With an HPI of 40.51, Bishan Singh Bedi is the 6th most famous Indian Cricketer. His biography has been translated into 17 different languages.
Bishan Singh Bedi (25 September 1946 – 23 October 2023) was an Indian cricketer who was primarily a slow left-arm orthodox bowler. He played Test cricket for India from 1966 to 1979 and formed part of the famous Indian spin quartet. He played a total of 67 Tests and took 266 wickets. He also captained the national side in 22 Test matches. Bedi wore a colourful patka and was always known for his outspoken and forthright views on cricketing matters. He was awarded the Padma Shri award in 1970 and the C. K. Nayudu Lifetime Achievement Award in 2004. In Indian domestic cricket, Bedi first played for Northern Punjab when only fifteen, having taken up cricket only two years previously, a particularly late age for this sport. He moved to Delhi in 1968–69 and in the 1974–75 season of the Ranji Trophy, he took a record 64 wickets. Bedi also represented Northamptonshire in English county cricket for many years. He finished his career with 1560 wickets in first-class cricket — more than any other Indian cricketer. His bowling has been described as graceful, even beautiful, and full of guile and artistry. He was an expert in flighting the ball, and was capable of making it hold back or hurry forward and added subtle variations of spin. His action was so relaxed and coordinated that he was able to bowl all day with rhythm and control, a great asset to any captain. He had several very successful Test series: India vs Australia 1969–70: 21 wickets at the average of 20.57 India vs England 1972–73: 25 wickets at the average of 25.28 India in the West Indies 1975–1976 : 18 wickets at the average of 25.33 India vs New Zealand 1976–77: 22 wickets at the average of 13.18 India vs England 1976–77: 25 wickets at the average of 22.96 India in Australia 1977–78: 31 wickets at the average of 23.87 His best Test bowling was 7/98 against Australia at Calcutta in 1969–70, and his best match figures 10/194 at Perth in 1977–78, also against Australia. His best first class bowling was 7/5 for Delhi vs Jammu and Kashmir at New Delhi 1974–75. Although his batting was poor he hit a boundary off the second last ball in the Gillette Cup Semi Final for Northamptonshire vs Hampshire, winning the match by two wickets. His highest score of 50 not out, his only half century at Test level, was scored against New Zealand in Kanpur in 1976. Bedi was appointed captain of India in 1976, succeeding Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi. His first Test victory as captain was against the West Indies at Port-of-Spain in the 3rd Test of the 1976 series in which India scored a then-record 406 in the fourth innings. This was followed up by a 2–0 series victory over New Zealand at home. However, after successive Test series losses to England (3–1 at home), Australia (3–2 away) and Pakistan (2–0 away), he was replaced as captain by Sunil Gavaskar in 1979. Bedi is second to Lance Gibbs in terms of maiden overs per test, 16.35 against 16.62. He bowled 4.2 maiden overs per wicket as against 4.24 by Gibbs. In 2008, Wisden Cricketers' Almanack named Bedi as one of the five best cricketers to have not been selected as a Wisden Cricketer of the Year. As captain of India, Bedi was involved in some controversies. Following India's record-breaking run-chase in the 3rd Test of the 1976 series against the West Indies, the West Indies opted for an aggressive four-man fast bowler attack for the 4th Test. Bedi objected to their tactics of bowling beamers because they could not get Indian batsmen out, and declared the Indian first innings closed early after two players were forced to retire hurt. Subsequently, five players were absent hurt in the second innings of the match. In England's tour of India in 1976–77 he accused John Lever of using Vaseline to illegally polish the ball in the Third Test at Madras. Lever wore Vaseline strips on his forehead to keep the sweat out of his eyes; he was subsequently cleared of any wrongdoing. In November 1978, he became the first captain to concede an international cricket match. In a One Day International against Pakistan at Sahiwal (Pakistan), India with 8 wickets in hand, required 23 runs from 14 balls. Bedi, however, recalled the batsmen from the crease and conceded the match in protest at the bowling of Sarfraz Nawaz who had bowled 4 bouncers in succession with not one being called wide by the umpires. In 1990, after he had managed a tour where India had played poorly, he threatened to dump the entire team in the sea on the return journey. Bedi expressed strong opinions on many aspects of modern-day cricket and was described as "being jealous of modern-day great spinners". In particular, he was a vehement critic of the bowling action of Muttiah Muralitharan ("if Murali doesn't chuck, then show me how to bowl") which he bluntly referred to as cheating and likened to a javelin throw and shot putting, saying that Muralitharan would "complete 1000 Test wickets but they would count as mere run-outs in my eyes". He took a very dim view of chucking, which he called "a bigger threat than bribing and betting" and claimed in 2004 that many bowlers on the subcontinent chuck, calling Muralitharan a "Sri Lankan bandit closing in on a dream artist called Shane Warne". He had stated, though, that he has nothing personal against Muralitharan, although Muralitharan had threatened to sue him. He levelled the same criticisms against his countryman Harbhajan Singh. Regarding suspect actions in cricket, he said "When a bowler is chucking, he's referred to panels and the home cricket board. Why not do the same for a wide or no-ball, then?". He had accused one-day cricket, modern cricket bats and small grounds of causing a decline in classical spin bowling in India. Bedi also attacked Sunil Gavaskar, calling him "a destructive influence". He said to Australian coach John Buchanan "Tell us, John, have you made this Australian team great, or have they made you?" Bedi was born on 25 September 1946, in Amritsar in then British India. His son Angad Bedi (born 1983) is an Indian actor and former model, and his daughter-in-law Neha Dhupia is a well known Bollywood actress. He said that he had always washed his own clothes, calling it "the best exercise for your shoulders and fingers", when pointing out that spin bowling requires suppleness of limbs. Bedi died in New Delhi on 23 October 2023, at the age of 77. Bedi held the world record for the most economical bowling figures in a 60-over ODI match amongst the bowlers who had completed their quota of overs (12 overs). In the 1975 World Cup, when the bowlers were allowed to deliver 12 overs, Bedi finished with 12–8–6–1 (overs-maidens-runs-wickets) against East Africa at Headingley. Bedi was awarded the Padma Shri in 1970. In 2004, Bedi, along with Bhagwat Chandrasekhar, Srinivas Venkatraghavan and Erapalli Prasanna, collectively known as the Indian spin quartet, were named as winners of the C. K. Nayudu Lifetime Achievement Award by the Board of Control for Cricket in India. Robinson, R. (1979). The Wildest Tests. Stanmore, NSW: Cassell Australia. ISBN 0-7269-7375-0. Bishan Singh Bedi at ESPNcricinfo
7. Ravindra Jadeja (b. 1988)
With an HPI of 38.58, Ravindra Jadeja is the 7th most famous Indian Cricketer. His biography has been translated into 22 different languages.
Ravindrasinh Anirudhsinh Jadeja (born 6 December 1988) is an Indian international cricketer who represents the Indian national cricket team in ODI and Test formats. He is an all-rounder, who bats left-handed and bowls left-arm orthodox spin. He is regarded as one of the best all-rounders of his generation, becoming the fifth Indian and fifth-fastest player to score 2,000 runs and take 200 wickets in Test cricket in 2021. Jadeja was the leading wicket-taker in the 2013 ICC Champions Trophy and received the man of the match award as a member of the final-winning team. Later in his career, he was also a part of the team which won the 2024 T20 World Cup, after which he announced his retirement from the T20Is. He represents Saurashtra in first-class cricket and has captained the Chennai Super Kings in the Indian Premier League. As of August 2023, Ravindra Jadeja is the 7th highest ODI wicket taker for India with 220 wickets. Jadeja was vice-captain of the Indian U-19 cricket team that won the World Cup in Malaysia in 2008, under the captaincy of former Indian captain Virat Kohli. He made his ODI debut against Sri Lanka on 8 February 2009 and scored an unbeaten 60 off 77 balls in that match. However, his Test debut came almost four years later, on 13 December 2012, against England at Nagpur. Jadeja was bought for $2 million by the Chennai Super Kings at the 2012 IPL Players Auction. He was bought by the Gujarat Lions in the 2016 IPL Players Auction for ₹9.5 crores after the Chennai Super Kings were banned from the IPL for two seasons. On 22 January 2017, Jadeja became the first Indian left-arm spinner to take 150 One Day International wickets, when he dismissed Sam Billings at Eden Gardens, Kolkata. In March 2017, he became the top ranked bowler in the world leaving behind Ravichandran Ashwin who held that position for a long time. He was announced as captain of the Chennai Super Kings IPL franchise, for the 2022 IPL season, succeeding MS Dhoni. He however stepped down in the middle of the season. Jadeja was born on 6 December 1988 in a Gujarati Hindu Rajput family in Navagam Ghed city of Jamnagar district in Gujarat. His father Anirudh was a watchman for a private security agency. His father wanted him to become an Army officer but his interest was in Cricket, he was scared of his father in his childhood. His mother Lata died in an accident in 2005 and the trauma of his mother's death almost made him quit cricket. His sister Naina is a nurse. He lives in Jamnagar. Jadeja made his first Under-19 appearance for India in 2005 at the age of 16. He was picked in the Indian squad for the 2006 U/19 Cricket World Cup in Sri Lanka. India finished runners-up with Jadeja impressing in the final against Pakistan with a haul of three wickets. He was the vice-captain of the victorious Indian team at the 2008 U/19 Cricket World Cup. He played a crucial role with the ball in the tournament, taking 10 wickets in six games at an average of 13.60. Jadeja made his first-class debut in the 2006–07 Duleep Trophy. He played for West Zone in the Duleep Trophy and for Saurashtra in the Ranji Trophy. In 2012, Jadeja became the eighth player in history, and the first Indian player, to score three first-class triple centuries in his career, joining Don Bradman, Brian Lara, Bill Ponsford, Wally Hammond, WG Grace, Graeme Hick and Mike Hussey. His first came in early November 2011 against Orissa, in which he scored 314 off 375 balls. His second came in November 2012 against Gujarat, in which he scored 303 not out. His third came against Railways in December 2012, in which he scored 331 runs in 501 balls. Jadeja reached this milestone at the young age of only 23. Jadeja caught the attention of the national selectors with his strong all-round showing in the 2008–09 Ranji Trophy – 42 wickets and 739 runs – and was picked for the ODI series in Sri Lanka. His international debut came in the final match of the series on 8 February 2009, where he scored 60*, although India lost the match. In the 2009 World Twenty20, Jadeja was criticised for not scoring fast enough in India's loss to England. After the incumbent all-rounder Yusuf Pathan suffered a loss of form, Jadeja took his place at No. 7 in the ODI team in late 2009. In the third ODI against Sri Lanka in Cuttack on 21 December 2009, Jadeja was awarded the man of the match award following a haul of four wickets. His best bowling is 4–32. He made a comeback into the Indian ODI side in the third ODI against England at The Oval in London. Arriving at the crease with India 58–5 after 19 overs, he scored 78, adding 112 with skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni and 59 off only 5.1 overs with Ravichandran Ashwin to help his side reach 234–7 in 50 overs. He also took 2–42 from his 9 overs and was named "player of the match", but England won the rain-affected game. His performance in the fourth ODI at Lord's was mixed: he gave away four crucial overthrows with a poor throw from the boundary, but then took a catch on the boundary off the last ball. In the second T20I of the Australian tour in February 2012, Jadeja had figures of 1/16 in 3 overs and effected two run outs in the Australian innings. India went on to win the game and Jadeja was awarded Man of the Match, mainly for his fielding effort. After his impressive performance at the start of Ranji Trophy season 2012–13, when he scored two 300+ scores in 4 matches (4/125 and then 303* against Gujarat at Surat; 331 and 3/109 against Railways at Rajkot in the Ranji Trophy 2012–13), he was called up to join the 15-member India Test team to play the fourth Test against England at Nagpur. In his Test debut against England at Nagpur, he bowled 70 overs and picked 3/117. During the second ODI in the India-England series at Kochi, Jadeja hit 61 off just 37 balls, which took India to a total of 285. In the second innings, he bowled a spell of 2 for 12 in 7 overs, helping India beat England by 127 runs and level the series 1–1. This performance earned Jadeja the Man of the Match award. In the historic 4–0 home Test series win against Australia in February–March 2013, Jadeja took 24 wickets, dismissing the Australian captain Michael Clarke five out of six times in the series which cemented his place in the team as an all-rounder, despite not contributing much with the bat. His seven-wicket haul, including a five-for in the second innings of the final Test match, earned him the Man of the Match award. He played an important role for India in lifting the ICC Champions Trophy 2013. He was the highest wicket-taker of the tournament with 12 wickets, which won him the Golden Ball. He made 33* with bat and took 2 wickets in the final against England. He was also named as part of the 'Team of the Tournament' by the ICC and ESPNcricinfo. He was ranked as the No.1 bowler in ODI cricket by the ICC in August 2013. Jadeja was the first India bowler to top the rankings since Anil Kumble, who topped the table in 1996. He is the fourth India bowler after Kapil Dev, Maninder Singh and Kumble to be ranked No.1. Jadeja scored his maiden Test fifty on 20 July 2014, playing against England and saving the match for India, who were struggling at 235/7. He made 68 runs from just 57 balls. His partnership of 99 with Bhuvneshwar Kumar helped India set England a target of 319. Jadeja was selected for the 2015 Cricket World Cup in Australia and New Zealand despite not being fully fit due to a shoulder injury. He took 9 wickets in 8 games. His returns with the bat were modest, scoring just 57 runs from 5 innings. India went on to lose against Australia in the semi-final. After his poor performance in the next ODI series in Bangladesh, he was dropped from the Indian team. Jadeja returned strongly in the next Ranji season (2015–16), where he picked up 38 wickets from four games and 215 runs, including three 50+ scores. His strong performances were rewarded with selection for the Indian Test side facing South Africa at home. Jadeja helped his team achieve victory, by taking 23 wickets in 4 games. He scored 109 runs in the series, which included crucial knocks lower down the order. Jadeja was included in Indian limited-overs side touring Australia to play five ODIs and three T20Is. In the ODIs, Jadeja bowled economically in a series where more than 3,000 runs were scored in five matches. He took three wickets at an economy rate of 5.35. He was the second-highest wicket-taker in T20Is, picking up five wickets in three games. In the second game of the series, Jadeja took a great catch off his own bowling to get the important wicket of Shane Watson, and he also ran Aaron Finch out, who was batting on 74 at that moment. During Australia's Test tour of India in 2017, Jadeja featured in all four Tests against the tourists. He took 25 wickets and made two half-centuries down the order, which earned him the player of the match in the fourth Test as well as the player of the series award. He along with Ravichandran Ashwin, became the first pair of spinners to be jointly ranked number 1 bowler in ICC Test Rankings history. On 5 August 2017, Jadeja became the fastest left-arm bowler to reach 150 wickets in terms of number of Tests played (32). On 5 October 2018, he scored his first century in Tests. In March 2019, during the second ODI against Australia, Jadeja became the third cricketer for India to score 2,000 runs and take 150 wickets in ODIs. In April 2019, he was named in India's squad for the 2019 Cricket World Cup. In October 2019, in the first Test against South Africa, Jadeja took his 200th wicket in Test cricket. On 6 August 2021, batting during the first innings of the first Test against England at Trent Bridge, Jadeja became the fifth Indian and fifth-fastest player score 2,000 runs and take 200 wickets in Tests. In September 2021, Jadeja was named in India's squad for the 2021 ICC Men's T20 World Cup. His spin-bowling partner on many occasions, R Ashwin, was also named in the squad after 4 years out of the white-ball team. On 5 March 2022, in a Test match against Sri Lanka, Jadeja scored 175* setting an Indian Test record for the highest score made by a No. 7 or lower, breaking the 36-year-old record of Kapil Dev. He then took 5/41 and then 4/46 in the two innings, registering match figures of 9/87 to help India beat Sri Lanka by an innings and 222 runs. He scored his first overseas century in the fifth Test match of the 2022 Indian tour of England. In July 2022, he was named as India's vice-captain for the away ODI series against the West Indies. In September 2022, Jadeja was named in the Indian squad for the 2022 ICC Men's T20 World Cup but was unable to play due to a severe knee injury. Following a five-month recovery, Jadeja returned to the test squad for the home edition of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy on 9 February in Nagpur, where he achieved a Five-wicket haul. Jadeja Becomes Fastest Indian to Take 250 Wickets and Score 2500+ Runs in Test Cricket. In May 2024, he was named in India's squad for the 2024 ICC Men's T20 World Cup tournament. Ravindra Jadeja was selected by the Rajasthan Royals for the inaugural season of the Indian Premier League (IPL) in 2008, and played an important role in their victory (Royals defeated Chennai Super Kings in the final). Jadeja scored 135 runs from 14 matches at a strike rate of 131.06, his best score being 36* against Kings XI Punjab. He did even better in 2009, scoring 295 runs at a strike rate of 110.90, and conceding fewer than 6.5 runs per over. Shane Warne, the captain of Rajasthan Royals, referred to Jadeja as a "superstar in the making". Warne also nicknamed him "Rockstar". Jadeja sat out the 2010 IPL because of a ban arising from contractual irregularities. In 2011, he was bought by the Kochi Tuskers Kerala for $950,000. Kochi Tuskers were terminated from the IPL in September 2011, and in the 2012 IPL player auction, Jadeja was bought by Chennai Super Kings for $2 million (approx. Rs. 9.8 crores) after a tie-breaker with Deccan Chargers who bid the same amount. Jadeja was the most expensive player of the year's auction. He won the Man of the Match award in the second match of the season against Deccan Chargers for his all-round performance (48 runs off 29 balls, 5/16 in 4 overs). For his performances in 2014, he was named in the ESPNcricinfo CLT20 XI. In a Mother's Day game during IPL 2015, Jadeja put in a fine spin bowling performance in Chennai; he took four wickets for 11 runs with a brilliant spell of bowling against Rajasthan Royals. In the 19th match of the 2021 Indian Premier League, Jadeja hit 62*, including a joint-highest ever 37 runs in the last over bowled by Harshal Patel. He later took 3/13 in his four overs and was named Man of the Match. Jadeja was appointed as the captain for the Chennai Super Kings ahead of the 2022 IPL season, replacing MS Dhoni. He however stepped down in the middle of the season, handing over the captaincy back to Dhoni. He was later ruled out of the tournament due to a rib injury. Jadeja and the franchise later unfollowed each other on Instagram, leading to reports about a rift. But the CEO of CSK maintained that he was ruled out on medical advice, and denied allegations of the rift. In the final of the 2023 Indian Premier League final, Chennai Super Kings required 10 from the final two balls. Jadeja hit a 6 and 4 to give CSK the title. Jadeja married politician Rivaba Solanki on 17 April 2016. They have a daughter born in June 2017. Jadeja's contributions in India's 4–0 test series win over Australia in February and March 2013 were praised in the media, and Gavaskar called him one of the architects of the win. Jadeja's dominance of Clarke was also praised in the media. Jadeja was named Player of the Week by the portal Cricket World after the end of the fourth test. Since his performance at the 2009 ICC World Twenty20 event, Jadeja has been a consistent target of sarcasm and jokes on cricket portals and by Indian cricket fans. On Twitter and Facebook, he is jokingly referred to as Sir Ravindra Jadeja since an online joke calling him the same went viral. When Jadeja was out clean bowled for 16 while not offering a shot in the February 2013 Chennai test against Australia, a cricket portal described his dismissal as "Jadeja falls 284 runs short of what would have been a fourth first-class triple-century". Following his good performance against Australia in the 2013 test series, there was a flurry of Jadeja jokes on Twitter comparing him to Rajinikanth. His Wikipedia article was temporarily vandalized to mock him. In April 2013, Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Suresh Raina and Ravichandran Ashwin, teammates of Jadeja in Chennai Super Kings, tweeted several Jadeja jokes on Twitter, in one of which Dhoni referred to him as Sri Sri Pandit Sir Lord Ravindra Jadeja. In response, Jadeja said in April 2013 that it was a joke which everybody was enjoying, and that he had no problem with the prefix Sir. For his flamboyancy with bat, ball and while fielding, Jadeja is often nicknamed 'Rockstar', as he was originally called by Shane Warne. His IPL jersey has the name 'Jaddu' on the back rather than Jadeja, and Dhoni can often be heard calling him this from behind the stumps. Jadeja's sword celebration has been a popular feature of world cricket over the years, as he usually brings this out after scoring a 50 or a 100. Though, he has often been criticised for his caste reference regarding the sword celebration. During the 2019 Cricket World Cup, commentator Sanjay Manjrekar criticised Jadeja by calling him a 'bits and pieces player'. The former apologised after Jadeja's performance at the tournament. ICC ODI Team of the Year: 2013, 2016 Madhavrao Scindia Award for most wickets in Ranji Trophy: 2008–09 Ranked 1st in ICC Top 10 Test all-rounders (2021) Arjuna Award: 2019 Ravindra Jadeja at ESPNcricinfo Ravindra Jadeja's profile page on Wisden.com (Archived 4 March 2016 at the Wayback Machine)
8. Rahul Dravid (b. 1973)
With an HPI of 37.48, Rahul Dravid is the 8th most famous Indian Cricketer. His biography has been translated into 30 different languages.
Rahul Sharad Dravid ( ; born 11 January 1973) is a former player, ex-captain and ex-coach of the Indian national cricket team. Known for his outstanding batting technique, Dravid scored 24,177 runs in international cricket and is widely regarded as one of the greatest batsmen in the history of cricket. He is colloquially known as Mr. Dependable and often referred to as The Wall. He won the 2002 ICC Champions Trophy as a member of the Indian team and guided the Indian team to victory in the 2024 ICC Men's T20 World Cup as the head coach. Prior to his appointment to the senior men's national team, Dravid was the Head of Cricket at the National Cricket Academy (NCA), and the head coach of the India Under-19 and India A teams. Under his tutelage, the Under-19 team finished as runners-up at the 2016 U-19 Cricket World Cup and won the 2018 U-19 Cricket World Cup. Under his coaching, Indian cricket team finished as runners-up at the 2023 Cricket World Cup and 2023 ICC World Test Championship final and were semifinalist at the 2022 ICC Men's T20 World Cup . Born in a Marathi family and raised in Bangalore, he started playing cricket at the age of 12 and later represented Karnataka at the under-15, under-17 and under-19 levels. Dravid was named one of the best five cricketers of the year by Wisden Cricketers' Almanack in 2000 and received the Player of the Year and the Test Player of the Year awards at the inaugural ICC awards ceremony in 2004. In December 2011, he became the first non-Australian cricketer to deliver the Bradman Oration in Canberra. As of January 2022, Dravid is the fourth-highest run scorer in Test cricket, after Sachin Tendulkar, Ricky Ponting and Jacques Kallis. In 2004, upon scoring a century against Bangladesh in Chittagong, he became the first player to score a century in all the ten Test-playing countries (now 12). As of October 2012, he holds the record for the most catches taken by a player (non-wicket-keeper) in Test cricket, at 210. Dravid holds a unique record of never getting out for a Golden duck in the 286 Test innings that he has played during his career. He has faced 31,258 balls, which is the largest number of balls faced by any player in test cricket. He has also spent 44,152 minutes at the crease, which is the highest time spent on the crease by any player in test cricket. Dravid and Sachin Tendulkar are currently the highest scoring partnership in Test cricket history, having scored 6,920 runs combined while batting together for India. In August 2011, after receiving a surprise recall during the ODI series against England, Dravid declared his retirement from ODIs as well as Twenty20 International (T20I), and in March 2012, he announced his retirement from international and first-class cricket. He appeared at the 2012 Indian Premier League as captain of the Rajasthan Royals. Rahul Dravid, along with Glenn McGrath, were honoured during the seventh annual Bradman Awards function in Sydney on 1 November 2012. Dravid has also been awarded the Padma Shri and the Padma Bhushan, India's fourth and third highest civilian awards respectively. In 2014, Rahul Dravid joined the GoSports Foundation as a member of their board of advisors. In collaboration with GoSports Foundation, he is mentoring India's future Olympians and Paralympians as part of the Rahul Dravid Athlete Mentorship Programme. Indian badmintonist Prannoy Kumar, para-swimmer Sharath Gayakwad and golfer S. Chikkarangappa were part of the initial group of athletes that were mentored by Rahul Dravid. In July 2018, Dravid became the fifth Indian cricketer to be inducted into the ICC Hall of Fame.
9. Sourav Ganguly (b. 1972)
With an HPI of 37.15, Sourav Ganguly is the 9th most famous Indian Cricketer. His biography has been translated into 26 different languages.
Sourav Chandidas Ganguly ( ; natively spelled as Gangopadhyay; born 8 July 1972), also known as Dada (meaning "elder brother" in Bengali), is an Indian cricket commentator and former cricketer. He is popularly called the Maharaja of Indian Cricket. He was captain of the Indian national cricket team and is regarded as one of India's most successful cricket captains. He was in the winning squad of 2007 ICC T20 World Cup as batsman. As captain, he led Indian national team to win the 2002 ICC Champions Trophy and reach the final of the 2003 Cricket World Cup, the 2000 ICC Champions Trophy and the 2004 Asia Cup. Ganguly scored 11363 runs in his ODI career which stands at ninth position in the world for most runs scored in ODI matches. He was the third batsman to cross the 10,000 runs in One day cricket, after Sachin Tendulkar and Inzamam Ul Haq. He holds the record for highest score in an innings (183) by an Indian batsman in the ODI Cricket World Cup. In 2002, the Wisden Cricketers' Almanack ranked him the sixth greatest ODI batsman of all time. He announced his retirement from international cricket in 2008 and from all forms of cricket in 2012. Ganguly was awarded the fourth highest Indian civilian award, Padma Shri in 2004. He was elected as president of the Board of Control for Cricket in India in 2019. He is also a part of the Supreme Court of India appointed probe panel for the IPL Spot fixing and betting scandal's investigations. Sourav Ganguly was born on 8 July 1972 in Calcutta, and is the youngest son of Chandidas and Nirupa Ganguly. Chandidas ran a flourishing print business and was one of the richest men in the city. Ganguly had a luxurious childhood and was nicknamed the 'Maharaj', meaning the Great King. Ganguly's father Chandidas Ganguly died at the age of 73 on 21 February 2013 after a long illness. Ganguly was educated at St. Xavier's Collegiate School, Kolkata. He was then graduated in commerce from the St. Xavier's College, Kolkata. Since the favourite sport for the people of Calcutta was football, Ganguly was initially attracted to the game. However, academics came in-between his love for sports and Nirupa was not very supportive of Ganguly taking up cricket or any other sport as a career. By then, his elder brother Snehasish was already an established cricketer for the Bengal cricket team. He supported Ganguly's dream to be a cricketer and asked their father to get Ganguly enrolled in a cricket coaching camp during his summer holidays. Ganguly was studying in tenth standard at that time. Despite being right-handed, Ganguly learnt to bat left-handed so he could use his brother's sporting equipment. After he showed some promise as a batsman, he was enrolled in a cricket academy. An indoor multi-gym and concrete wicket was built at their home, so he and Snehasish could practice the game. They used to watch a number of old cricket match videos, especially the games played by David Gower, whom Ganguly admired. After he scored a century against the Orissa Under–15 side, he was made captain of St Xavier's School's cricket team, where several of his teammates complained against what they perceived to be his arrogance. While touring with a junior team, Ganguly refused his turn as the twelfth man, as he reportedly felt that the duties involved, which included organising equipment and drinks for the players, and delivering messages, were beneath his social status. Ganguly purportedly refused to do such tasks as he considered it beneath his social status to assist his teammates in such a way. However, his playmanship gave him a chance to make his first-class cricket debut for Bengal in 1989, the same year that his brother was dropped from the team. He is married to Indian classical dancer dancer Dona Ganguly, with whom he has a daughter Sana (b. 2001). On 2 January 2021, Ganguly complained of chest pain while exercising and was later diagnosed with three blocked coronary arteries which had led to a mild cardiac arrest. He underwent primary angioplasty for one of the blockages on the same day. Following a prolific Ranji season in 1990–91, Ganguly scored three runs in his One Day International (ODI) debut for India against the West Indies in 1992. He was dropped immediately since he was perceived to be "arrogant" and his attitude towards the game was openly questioned. It was rumoured that Ganguly refused to carry drinks for his teammates, commenting that it was not his job to do so, later denied by him. Consequently, he was removed from the team. He toiled away in domestic cricket, scoring heavily in the 1993–94 and 1994–95 Ranji seasons. Following an innings of 171 in the 1995–96 Duleep Trophy, he was recalled to the Indian team for a tour of England in 1996, in the middle of intense media scrutiny. He played in a single ODI, but was omitted from the team for the first Test. However, after teammate Navjot Singh Sidhu left the touring party, citing ill-treatment by then captain Mohammad Azharuddin, Ganguly made his Test debut against England in the Second Test of a three-match series at Lord's Cricket Ground along with Rahul Dravid. England had won the First Test of the three-match series; however, Ganguly scored a century, becoming only the third cricketer to achieve such a feat on debut at Lord's, after Harry Graham and John Hampshire. Andrew Strauss and Matt Prior have since accomplished this feat, but Ganguly's 131 still remains the highest by any batsman on his debut at the ground. India was not required to bat in the second innings due to the match ending in a draw. In the next Test match at Trent Bridge he made 136, thus becoming only the third batsman to make a century in each of his first two innings (after Lawrence Rowe and Alvin Kallicharran). He shared a 255 run stand with Sachin Tendulkar, which became at that time the highest partnership for India against any country for any wicket outside India. The Test again ended in a draw, handing England a 1–0 series victory; Ganguly scored 48 in the second innings. Weeks after his successful tour of England, Ganguly eloped with childhood sweetheart Dona Roy. The bride and groom's family were sworn enemies at that point and this news caused an uproar between them. However, both families reconciled and a formal wedding was held in February 1997. Same year, Ganguly scored his maiden ODI century by hitting 113, opposed to Sri Lanka's team total of 238. Later that year, he won four consecutive man of the match awards, in the Sahara Cup with Pakistan; the second of these was won after he took five wickets for 16 runs off 10 overs, his best bowling in an ODI. After a barren run in Test cricket his form returned at the end of the year with three centuries in four Tests, all against Sri Lanka, and two of these involved stands with Sachin Tendulkar of over 250. During the third final of the Independence Cup at Dhaka in January 1998, India successfully chased down 315 off 48 overs, and Ganguly won the Man of the Match award. In March 1998 he was part of the Indian team that defeated Australia; in Kolkata, he took three wickets having opened the bowling with his medium pace. Ganguly was part of the Indian team that competed in the 1999 World Cup in England. During the match against Sri Lanka at Taunton, India chose to bat. After Sadagoppan Ramesh was bowled, Ganguly scored 183 from 158 balls, and hit 17 fours and seven sixes. It was the second highest score in World Cup history and the highest by an Indian in the tournament at the time. His partnership of 318 with Rahul Dravid is the highest overall score in a World Cup and is the second highest in all ODI cricket. In 1999–00, India lost Test series to both Australia and South Africa that involved a combined total of five Tests. Ganguly struggled scoring 224 runs at 22.40; however his ODI form was impressive, with five centuries over the season taking him to the top of the PwC One Day Ratings for batsmen. Around the same time, allegations came that Ganguly was romantically involved with South Indian actress Nagma, something he denied. In 2000, after the match fixing scandal by some of the players of the team, Ganguly was named the captain of the Indian cricket team. The decision was spurred due to Tendulkar stepping down from the position for his health, and Ganguly being the vice-captain at that time. He began well as a captain, leading India to a series win over South Africa in the five-match one day series and led the Indian team to the finals of the 2000 ICC KnockOut Trophy. He scored two centuries, including one in the final; however, New Zealand still won by four wickets. The same year, Ganguly tried his hand at county cricket career in England but was not successful. In "The Wisden Cricketer", reviewers Steve Pittard and John Stern called him as "The imperious Indian—dubbed 'Lord Snooty'". They commented: "At the crease it was sometimes uncertain whether his partner was a batsman or a batman being dispatched to take his discarded sweater to the pavilion or carry his kit bag. But mutiny was afoot among the lower orders. In one match Ganguly, after reaching his fifty, raised his bat to the home balcony, only to find it deserted. He did not inspire at Glamorgan or Northamptonshire either. At the latter in 2006 he averaged 4.80 from his four first-class appearances." His Lancashire teammate Andrew Flintoff thought him to be aloof and compared his attitude to that of Prince Charles. In Australia's three Test and five-match ODI tour of India in early 2001, Ganguly caused controversy by arriving late for the toss on four occasions, something that agitated opposing captain Steve Waugh. In the Fourth ODI, he caused further controversy by failing to wear his playing attire to the toss, something considered unusual in cricket circles. However, India won the Test series 2–1, ending Australia's run of 16 consecutive Test match victories in the Second Test. The match saw India looking set for defeat after conceding a first innings lead of 274. Waugh chose to enforce the follow-on and V. V. S. Laxman (281) and Rahul Dravid (180) batted for the entire fourth day's play to set Australia a target of 384 on a dusty, spinning wicket. The Australians were unable to survive and became only the third team to lose a Test after enforcing the follow-on. In November 2001, Ganguly's wife Dona gave birth to their daughter Sana. During the final match of the 2002 NatWest Series held in Lords after a stunning performance by teammates Yuvraj Singh and Mohammad Kaif, Ganguly took off his shirt in public and brandished it in the air to celebrate India's winning of the match. He was later strongly condemned for tarnishing the "gentleman's game" image of cricket and disrespecting Lord's protocol. Ganguly said that he was only mimicking an act performed by the British all-rounder Andrew Flintoff during a tour of India. In 2003, India reached the World Cup Final for the first time since 1983, where they lost to the Australians. Ganguly had a successful tournament personally, scoring 465 runs at an average of 58.12, including three centuries. By 2004, he had achieved significant success as captain and was deemed as India's most successful cricket captains by sections of the media. However, his individual performance deteriorated during his captaincy reign, especially after the World Cup, the tour of Australia in 2003 and the Pakistan series in 2004. In 2004, Australia won a Test series in India for the first time since 1969. It was speculated that Ganguly was in disagreement with the head of cricket in Nagpur over the type of pitch to be used for the Third Test. The groundsmen went against Ganguly, leaving a large amount of grass on the pitch. Some experts indicated that the reason for this was for "spite or revenge" against the Indian captain. When Australia's stand-in-captain, Adam Gilchrist, went to the toss, he noticed Rahul Dravid was waiting instead of Ganguly, leaving him to ask Dravid where Ganguly was. Dravid could not give a definitive answer, saying: "Oh, who knows?" Following indifferent form in 2004 and poor form in 2005, he was dropped from the team in October 2005. Having been nominated and rejected in 2000, when the game suffered a tarnished reputation due to match fixing scandals, the captaincy was passed to Dravid, his former deputy. Ganguly decided against retiring and attempted to make a comeback to the team. Ganguly was awarded the Padma Shri in 2004, India's fourth highest civilian award, in recognition of his distinguished contribution in the field of sports. He was presented with the award on 30 June 2004, by then President of India, Dr. A. P. J. Abdul Kalam. In September 2005, Greg Chappell became the coach of India for the tour of Zimbabwe. Ganguly's dispute with him resulted in many headlines. Chappell had emailed the Board of Control for Cricket in India, stating that Ganguly was "physically and mentally" unfit to lead India and that his "divide and rule" behaviour was damaging the team. This email was leaked to the media and resulted in huge backlash from Ganguly's fans. Ganguly had enlisted the support from the Indian media and eventually the board had to intervene and order a truce between the pair. BCCI president Ranbir Singh Mahendra issued a statement that, "In view of the decision that cricket is to go forward, both the coach and the captain have been asked to work out a mutual and professional working relationship. For this, performance will be the criteria, applicable to captain, coach and players. [...] Of course the captain controls the game, the coach does his own job. Mutual trust is important. Henceforth no player/captain/coach will write or have any interaction with the media. Going to the media will lead to disciplinary action." Ganguly, Chappell and the Indian team manager for the Zimbabwe tour, Amitabh Choudhary, were asked to appear before the BCCI committee, where it was reported that assurance of working together was given by them. Consequently, due to his poor form and differences with the coach, Ganguly was dropped as the captain of the team, with Dravid taking his place. Chandresh Narayan, chief correspondent for The Times of India, commented that "The row with Greg Chappell just added to the mystery, but he was going through a really bad patch then, his only score [of note] was a hundred against Zimbabwe and that didn't count for much." Ten months later, during India's tour to South Africa, Ganguly was recalled after his middle order replacements Suresh Raina and Mohammad Kaif suffered poor form. Following India's poor batting display in the 2006 ICC Champions Trophy and the ODI series in South Africa, in which they were whitewashed 4–0, Ganguly made his comeback to the Test team. Wasim Jaffer, Zaheer Khan and Anil Kumble had earlier been selected for the one-day squad, despite their recent poor performances. Many saw this as an indictment of coach Greg Chappell's youth-first policy. Coming in at 37/4, Ganguly scored 83 in a tour match against the rest of South Africa, modifying his original batting style and taking a middle-stump guard, resulting in India winning the match. During his first Test innings since his comeback, against South Africa in Johannesburg his score of 51 helped India to victory, marking the first Test match win for the team in South Africa. Though India lost the series, Ganguly accumulated the most runs on the scoring chart. After his successful Test comeback he was recalled for the ODI team, as India played host to West Indies and Sri Lanka in back to back ODI tournaments. In his first ODI innings in almost two years, he scored a matchwinning 98. He performed well in both series, averaging almost 70 and won the Man of the Series Award against Sri Lanka. Ganguly was allotted a place in the official team for the 2007 Cricket World Cup. He was the leading scorer for India in their first round defeat against Bangladesh. After India were knocked out of the tournament in the group stage, there were reports of a rift between certain members of the Indian team and Chappell. Ganguly was alleged to have ignored instructions from the team management to score quickly. After Tendulkar issued a statement saying that what hurt the team most was that "the coach has questioned our attitude", Chappell decided not to renew his contract with the Indian team and left his post as coach, citing "family and personal reasons". On 12 December 2007, Ganguly scored his maiden double century of his career while playing against Pakistan. He scored 239 runs in the first innings of the third and final Test match of the series. He was involved in a 300 run partnership for the fifth wicket with Yuvraj Singh. Ganguly remained prolific in both Test and ODI cricket in the year 2007. He scored 1106 Test runs at an average of 61.44 (with three centuries and four fifties) in 2007 to become the second highest run-scorer in Test matches of that year after Jacques Kallis. He was also the fifth highest run-scorer in 2007 in ODIs, where he scored 1240 runs at an average of 44.28. For his performances in 2007, he was named in the World Test XI by ESPNcricinfo. In the controversial test vs Australia in January 2008, Ganguly scored half centuries in both the innings in a losing cause. In February 2008, Ganguly joined as the captain of Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) team, owned by Bollywood actor Shah Rukh Khan, as part of the Indian Premier League (IPL). On 18 April 2008, Ganguly led the KKR, in the IPL Twenty20 cricket match. They had a 140 run victory over Bangalore Royal Challengers (captained by Rahul Dravid and owned by Vijay Mallya). Ganguly opened the innings with Brendon McCullum and scored 10 runs while McCullum remained unbeaten, scoring 158 runs in 73 balls. On 1 May, in a game between the Knight Riders and the Rajasthan Royals, Ganguly made his second T20 half century, scoring 51 runs off of 39 balls at a strike rate of 130.76. In his innings, Ganguly hit four 4s and two sixes, topping the scorers list for the Knight Riders. On 7 July 2008, media reported that Ganguly was being projected as a candidate for the post of President of the Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) against his former mentor Jagmohan Dalmiya. Reports also suggested that he could run for the post of BCCI President in 2014 as East Zone's representative. Ganguly himself did not deny the reports and did not rule out any such move. The same year in October, Ganguly announced that the Test series against Australia starting in October 2008 would be his last and stated "[t]o be honest, I didn't expect to be picked for this series. Before coming here, [at the conference] I spoke to my team-mates and hopefully I will go out with a winning knock." Ganguly played in every game of the four-Test series and amassed 324 runs at an average of 54.00. While playing the second Test match of the series in Mohali, Ganguly scored his final test century. In the final test match he played at Nagpur against Australia he scored 85 and 0 in his first and second innings respectively. In the Fourth and final Test, with India needing one wicket to secure a victory, the Indian captain, Mahendra Singh Dhoni, invited Ganguly to lead the side in the field for the final time. India regained the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, winning the series 2–0. In May 2009, Ganguly was removed from the captaincy of the KKR for the 2009 season of the IPL, and was replaced by McCullum. The decision was questioned by media and other players of the team, when KKR finished at the bottom of the ranking table with three wins and ten losses. After that, Bengali television channel Zee Bangla roped him as the host of the reality quiz show titled Dadagiri Unlimited. It presented participants from the 19 districts of West Bengal, who had to answer questions posed by Ganguly. By August, he was appointed the chairman of CAB's Cricket Development Committee. The job of the committee is to receive a report from the selectors at the end of every cricket season, assess the accountability of the selectors and make necessary recommendations. He played for the Ranji cup in the Bengal team in October 2009. Ganguly scored 110 in the match against Delhi and was involved in a partnership of 222 runs with Wriddhiman Saha. In the third season of the IPL, Ganguly was once again given the captaincy of KKR, after the team ended at the bottom in the second season. The coach John Buchanan was replaced by Dav Whatmore. In 40 matches and 38 innings for KKR Ganguly scored 1,031 runs and took eight wickets. In the fourth season of the IPL he was signed by the Pune Warriors India, after being unsold in initial bidding process and he made 50 runs of four matches and three innings. In the 2012 season he has been appointed as the Captain cum mentor for Pune Warriors India. On 29 October 2012, he announced that he has decided not to play in next year's IPL and to retire from the game. Ganguly was part of the Supreme Court of India appointed Justice Mudgal Committee probe panel for the IPL Spot fixing and betting scandal's investigations. From 2015 to October 2019, he was the President of the Cricket association of Bengal. In 2018 his autobiographical book A Century is Not Enough was published. In March 2019, Ganguly was appointed as the advisor of the Delhi Capitals IPL team. In October 2019 he became President of the Board of Control for Cricket in India and President of the editorial board with Wisden India. Ganguly's security cover was upgraded to 'Z' Category by the West Bengal government. He will now have 8 to 10 police personnel guarding him. Ganguly commented that David Gower was the first cricketer to attract him to the game. He loved Gower's style and used to watch old videos of him playing. Other cricketers who had an influence on him are: David Boon, Mohinder Amarnath, Kapil Dev and Allan Border. Ganguly is a left-handed batsman whose runs came primarily from the off-side. Debashish Dutta, author of Sourav Ganguly, the maharaja of cricket, commented that throughout his career, "Ganguly played off-side shots such as the square cut, square drive and cover drive with complete command." Rahul Dravid has called Ganguly "...next to God on the off-side." He used to hit powerful shots to the off-side on front and back foot with equal ease. However, early in his career he was not comfortable with the hook and pull, often giving his wicket away with mistiming such shots. He was also criticised for having difficulty in handling short bouncers, notoriously exploited by the Australians and South Africans. However, after his comeback in 2007, he worked upon these weaknesses to a large extent. Amrita Daityari, author of Sourav Ganguly: the fire within, noted that in ODIs, where Ganguly usually opened the innings, he used to try to take the advantage of fielding restrictions by advancing down the pitch and hitting pace bowlers over extra cover and mid-off. She commented: "Ganguly was notorious for attacking left-arm spin bowlers. Due to excellent eye–hand coordination, he was noted for picking the length of the ball early, coming down the pitch and hitting the ball aerially over mid-on or midwicket, often for a six. However, he did have a weakness in running between the wickets and judging quick singles." There were many instances where Ganguly's batting partner was run out due to Ganguly's calling for a run, and then sending him back while halfway down the pitch. A situation like this happened in an ODI against Australia where he took a single when on 99, but he coasted and did not ground his bat. Although the bat was past the crease, it was in the air and he was consequently run out. Ganguly said, "I love to watch myself hit a cover drive, to watch myself hit a hundred." Ganguly's relationship with former Indian coach John Wright has been well documented in contemporary media, with them denoting the relationship as a "symbiotic process". They credited Wright and Ganguly with bringing out international class performers, through academic, coaching and scientific fitness regimens. According to Dubey, Ganguly and Wright, along with other members of the team like Tendulkar and Dravid, were the first to understand the importance of a foreign coach for the Indian cricket team and was convinced that the domestic coach has outlived its utility. Ganguly's aggressive style and Wright's importance on fitness ushered in the development of a better cricket team for India. Ganguly is a right-arm medium pace bowler. He can swing and seam the ball both ways and often chips in with useful wickets to break partnerships. Vinod Tiwari, author of the biography Sourav Ganguly praised him saying "[d]espite not being very athletic as a fielder, Ganguly has taken 100 catches in one-day Internationals. That's something to be proud of!" However he criticised Ganguly's ground fielding, especially his slowness in intercepting the ball to prevent runs and his tendency to get injured during catching the ball. Author Pradeep Mandhani commented that in his tenure between 2000 and 2005, Ganguly became India's most successful Test captain. He led his team to victory on 21 occasions – seven times more than Mohammad Azharuddin with the second most wins—and led them for a record 49 matches—twice more than both Azharuddin and Sunil Gavaskar. Compared to his batting average of 45.47 when not captain, Ganguly's Test batting average as captain was a lower 37.66. Statistics about Ganguly show that he was the seventh Indian cricketer to have played 100 Test matches, the 4th highest overall run scorer for India in Tests, and the fourth Indian to have played in more than 300 ODIs. In terms of overall runs scored in ODIs, Ganguly is the third among Indians after Sachin Tendulkar (who has the most ODI runs) and Virat Kohli and the ninth overall. He has scored 16 centuries in Test matches and 22 in ODIs. He is also one of only ten batsmen to score more than 10,000 runs in ODIs. Along with Tendulkar, Ganguly has formed the most successful opening pair in One Day Cricket, having amassed the highest number of century partnerships (26) for the first wicket. Together, they have scored more than 7000 runs at an average of 48.98, and hold the world record for creating most 50-run partnership in the first wicket (44 fifties). Ganguly became the fourth player to cross 11,000 ODI runs, and was the fastest player to do so in ODI cricket, after Tendulkar. As of 2006, he is the only Indian captain to win a Test series in Pakistan (although two of the three Tests of that series was led by Rahul Dravid). He is also one of the five players in the world to achieve amazing treble of 10,000 runs, 100 wickets and 100 catches in ODI cricket history, the others being Tendulkar, Kallis, Sanath Jayasuriya and Tillakaratne Dilshan. Author Mihir Bose, in his book, The magic of Indian cricket: cricket and society in India. commented that "The cricket world had gotten too used to the stereotype of the meek Indian cricketer. All that has changed under Ganguly, perhaps for the better." He credits Ganguly for not being shy of taking on responsibility. "He showed that he can be a leader of a team, which has greats like Sachin and Dravid in the side, without any problems. Under Ganguly's leadership, India started winning matches and tournaments, previously lacking from the team considerably." Within a few years of his captaincy, Ganguly rewrote the rules of being a captain of a cricket team. Unlike some of his predecessors, Ganguly was considered impartial, non-parochial, and forever pushed his players to perform better. Off the field, his interactions with the media, his fans, and detractors were uncompromisingly honest and earned him the respect of cricket followers everywhere. However, along with this respect came the criticisms. Ganguly was condemned as a hot-tempered man who refused to listen to other's opinions and abided by his own rules and regulations. Matthew Engel, ICC sport critic, noted that this "turning deaf" to other's opinions would one day harm Ganguly and that it was sheer luck that he existed on the sporting world. Ganguly believed that his legacy as a captain was that he was able to build a proper Indian team. He added, "[We] were able to change the face of Indian cricket. That's what I'm proud of, because I think we made a huge difference. People used to think that we would simply roll over when playing out of India, but we changed the image. [...] [The team wouldn't take any crap from any opposition] Absolutely, and that came from self-belief that, that we had the ability to do well outside India." Bose commented that Ganguly's greatest legacy lay in his influence on the younger and budding generation of cricketers. Ganguly felt that every young player should play two years of domestic cricket before being selected for international assignments. He also said that every newcomer should be given at least five games to prove himself. Later he explained that being at the receiving end of an unfair decision against him, that threatened to ruin his international cricket career, it enabled him to understand the insecurities of other newcomers in the team better than his predecessors. Ganguly had always backed the influence and contribution of younger players of the team. Despite his contributions, his captaincy and coaching methods came under immense scrutiny from the press as well as other scholars. Engel commented that "He seems like aloof to the problems that his mal-decisions are creating. I don't particularly believe that Ganguly has an 'effing knowledge how to lead his team and tries to counter-pose it with instigating limitless, confrontational behaviours within the younger members of it. [One day] the time will come when such shock tactics will cease to work." An article on Cricinfo Magazine pointed out his reckless behaviour. The reporter Rahul Bhattacharya said, "Generally Ganguly fostered angry or reckless young men. To him 'good behaviour', a broad term espoused by the present team management, belonged in school and probably not even there. He himself had been summoned to the match referee no less than 12 times in the last decade. His approach was bound to precipitate what could possibly be termed a cultural conflict in the world of modern sport. For Ganguly, like for Arjuna Ranatunga, competitiveness involved brinksmanship rather than training. As far as they were concerned Australia were not to be aspired to. They were simply to be toppled. England were not to be appeased. Victory lay precisely in their disapproval. In other words, Ganguly and Ranatunga wanted to do things their way." The only cricketer to win four consecutive man of the match awards in One Day Internationals. The ninth highest run-scorer in ODI history and third among the Indians, with 11,363 runs. He holds the record for registering the highest individual score by any batsman in a ICC Champions Trophy final (117) He was also the first player to score 3 centuries in the history of ICC Champions Trophy The second fastest batsman to reach 9,000 ODI runs after AB De Villiers of South Africa who broke Ganguly's record in 2017 One of the only six cricketers to have achieved the unique treble of 10,000 runs, 100 wickets & 100 catches in ODI cricket. (Others cricketer were Sachin Tendulkar, Sanath Jayasuriya, Jacques Kallis, Chris Gayle, Tillakaratne Dilshan.) Has the highest individual score by an Indian batsman (183) in the Cricket World Cup. One of the 14 cricketers in the world to have played 100 or more Tests and 300 or more ODIs. Sourav Ganguly is the only batsman to score a century on debut and to be dismissed first ball in his final Test innings. Ganguly, Sourav; Bhattacharya, Gautam (2018). A Century is Not Enough: My Roller-coaster Ride to Success. Juggernaut Books. ISBN 978-93-86228-56-7. List of international cricket centuries by Sourav Ganguly List of highest individual scores in ODIs Dadagiri Unlimited List of Cricket Association of Bengal Presidents No Dada No KKR Cricket All-Stars Sourav Ganguly at ESPNcricinfo Sourav Ganguly Official on Facebook
10. Anil Kumble (b. 1970)
With an HPI of 35.45, Anil Kumble is the 10th most famous Indian Cricketer. His biography has been translated into 24 different languages.
Anil Kumble (; born 17 October 1970) is an Indian former cricket captain, coach and commentator who played Test and One Day International cricket for his national team over an international career of 18 years. Widely regarded as one of the best leg spin bowlers in Test Cricket History, he took 619 wickets in Test cricket and was the third highest wicket taker of all time at the time of his retirement in 2008. In 1999 while playing against Pakistan, Kumble dismissed all ten batsmen in a Test match innings, joining England's Jim Laker as the second player to achieve the feat. Unlike his contemporaries, Kumble was not a big turner of the ball, but relied primarily on pace, bounce, and accuracy. He was nicknamed "Apple" and "Jumbo". Kumble was selected as the Cricketer of the Year in 1993 Indian Cricket, and one of the Wisden Cricketers of the Year three years later. Kumble was a member of the Indian team that was one of the joint-winners of the 2002 ICC Champions Trophy, which the title was also shared with Sri Lanka. Born in Bangalore, Mysore State (now Karnataka), Kumble developed an early interest in cricket as he grew up watching players like B. S. Chandrasekhar before becoming a full-fledged cricketer. He made his First-class debut at the age of 19 while representing Karnataka. Soon he was picked up for the Austral-Asia Cup in 1990 before making his Test debut against England later that year. Since then he has represented the Indian Test team on more than 132 Test matches and was responsible for many of India's victories. Kumble became a part of the regular ODI team during the early 1990s and held some of the best performances during this time; which included his six for 12 (six wickets for 12 runs) against the West Indies. The year 1996 proved to very successful for him as he was selected for the World Cup and emerged as the most successful bowler of the tournament; he played seven matches and captured 15 wickets at an average of 18.73. Kumble was awarded the Padma Shri, India's fourth-highest civilian honour in 2005. After having played for 18 years, he announced his retirement from international cricket in November 2008. In October 2012, Kumble was appointed the chairman of the International Cricket Council (ICC)'s cricket committee. Between 2012 and 2015, Kumble held positions as a chief mentor for the teams Royal Challengers Bangalore and Mumbai Indians in the Indian Premier League. He was also a former head coach of the Indian cricket team as well. In February 2015, he became the fourth Indian cricketer to be inducted into ICC Hall of Fame. Kumble is currently the head coach and the director of cricket operations of Punjab Kings.
People
Pantheon has 44 people classified as Indian cricketers born between 1946 and 1999. Of these 44, 43 (97.73%) of them are still alive today. The most famous living Indian cricketers include Sachin Tendulkar, Sunil Gavaskar, and Kapil Dev. The most famous deceased Indian cricketers include Bishan Singh Bedi. As of April 2024, 11 new Indian cricketers have been added to Pantheon including Shreyas Iyer, Mohammed Siraj, and Kuldeep Yadav.
Living Indian Cricketers
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Sachin Tendulkar
1973 - Present
HPI: 48.00
Sunil Gavaskar
1949 - Present
HPI: 44.80
Kapil Dev
1959 - Present
HPI: 43.77
Virat Kohli
1988 - Present
HPI: 42.88
MS Dhoni
1981 - Present
HPI: 41.25
Ravindra Jadeja
1988 - Present
HPI: 38.58
Rahul Dravid
1973 - Present
HPI: 37.48
Sourav Ganguly
1972 - Present
HPI: 37.15
Anil Kumble
1970 - Present
HPI: 35.45
Harbhajan Singh
1980 - Present
HPI: 34.65
Mithali Raj
1982 - Present
HPI: 34.37
Syed Kirmani
1949 - Present
HPI: 34.16
Deceased Indian Cricketers
Go to all RankingsNewly Added Indian Cricketers (2024)
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Shreyas Iyer
1994 - Present
HPI: 26.03
Mohammed Siraj
1994 - Present
HPI: 25.97
Kuldeep Yadav
1994 - Present
HPI: 25.65
Irfan Pathan
1984 - Present
HPI: 25.62
Shubman Gill
1999 - Present
HPI: 25.61
Ashish Nehra
1979 - Present
HPI: 25.04
Smriti Mandhana
1996 - Present
HPI: 24.65
Ajinkya Rahane
1988 - Present
HPI: 23.01
Rishabh Pant
1997 - Present
HPI: 22.33
Axar Patel
1994 - Present
HPI: 22.31
Ishant Sharma
1988 - Present
HPI: 20.74
