India have been one of the strongest cricketing teams in the world in recent years. Here we are taking a look at some of the players who have made India a force to reckon with in international cricket.
While cricket is definitely a team game and every player’s contribution is instrumental in a team’s success, some players have managed to made a name for themselves with their sheer brilliance on the cricket field. Here are few such players who represented India in international cricket:
8. MS Dhoni:
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MS Dhoni made a name for himself in international cricket not only as a captain but as a wicketkeeper-batsman too. Before Dhoni, wicketkeepers in India were only supposed to be good behind the stumps and any contribution with the bat was seen as a bonus. However, Dhoni completely revolutionized the role of wicketkeeper in the Indian team.
He is widely regarded as one of the best finishers in the history of the game. Dhoni scored more than 10000 runs in ODIs and over 4000 runs in Tests. He also hit over 1500 runs in T20Is.
His record as a captain is equally impressive. In 2007, he led India to glory in the T20 World Cup before guiding the team to title in 2011 World Cup and 2013 Champions Trophy. He is still the only captain to have won all the three ICC tournaments in limited-overs format.
Under Dhoni’s captaincy, India mostly started any game as the favourites. Unsurprisingly, Team India used to get favourable odds on leading betting platforms such as SRL cricket betting.
7. Yuvraj Singh:
Yuvraj Singh is regarded as one of India’s greatest match-winners in white-ball cricket. Yuvraj played an instrumental role in India’s triumphant campaign in several big tournaments in the 2000s. He announced himself in international cricket as a teenager by taking a strong Australian attack to the cleaners in only his second ODI, in the 2000 Champions Trophy.
Yuvraj soon became an indispensable part of the Indian middle-order. He was a key member of the Indian team that won the 2007 T20 World Cup. During the same World Cup, he had famously hit Stuart Broad for six sixes in an over while smashing a 12-ball fifty in the must-win clash. Later in the semifinal, he had smashed 70 off just 30 balls against Australia.
The glittering moment in Yuvraj’s illustrious career came in 2011 when he delivered a Player of the Tournament performance. He scored 362 runs and picked up 15 wickets as India won the World Cup after 28 years and also became the first team to win the marquee event on home soil.
The historic performance at the 2011 World Cup was followed by a the biggest challenge in Yuvraj’s life as he was diagnosed with lung cancer. However, Yuvraj came out on top against cancer too and made a fairytale return to international cricket although he struggled to deliver as per expectations.
6. Rahul Dravid:
Rahul Dravid made a name for himself with his elegant batting. While he won over the fans with his classical Test batting, his performance in white-ball cricket was equally impressive. Dravid was India’s go-to man in any crisis and the former India batsman never shied away from taking on any responsibility.
Dravid played 164 Tests and 344 ODIs for India. He scored 13288 runs including 36 centuries and 63 fifties in the longest format of the game. In ODIs, Dravid scored 10889 runs with the help of 12 centuries and 83 fifties. He also led India in both the formats for a brief period. Under his captaincy, India registered series victories in West Indies and England.
5. Virat Kohli:
Virat Kohli is widely regarded as the greatest batsman of his generation and one of the all-time greats. Many even consider him the best ODI batsman of all time. After leading India to glory in the 2008 Under-19 World Cup, Kohli was fast-tracked into the senior side and he grew from strength to strength with each passing day.
In 2015, he was named as the India Test captain and took charge of the team in all the formats at the beginning of 2017. Kohli was a part of the Indian team that won the World Cup in 2011, Champions Trophy in 2013 and 2024 and the T20 World Cup in 2024. He retired from T20Is in 2024 and Tests in 2025. In 2023, he also broke Tendulkar’s record for most ODI tons as he became the first-ever player to hit 50 centuries in the 50-over format.
Overall, Kohli has played 123 Tests and scored 9230 runs including 30 centuries and 31 fifties. In T20Is, he scored 4188 runs in 125 games including a century and 38 fifties. In ODIs, he has scored over 14000 runs with the help of 51 centuries and 74 half-centuries.
According to reports, Kohli is likely to play the 2027 World Cup. If that happens, it will definitely make India one of the favourites in the World Cup odds on Sportsbet.io.
4. Anil Kumble:
In a country that was always blessed with some of the game’s most skillful spinners, Anil Kumble is the most decorated spinner of all time. No Indian spinner has enjoyed such long and decorated career as Kumble in international cricket. He is one of India’s greatest match-winners in Test cricket.
In 1999, he became the first and so far only Indian cricketer to take all ten wickets in an innings, achieving the feat against Pakistan in Delhi. Two years later, he became the first Indian spinner to take 300 Test wickets before achieving the same feat in ODIs in 2002. In 2007, he also hit a Test century in England before breaking the 600-wicket mark in Tests in 2008.
During the twilight of his career, Kumble also led the Indian team in Tests. With a staggering 619 wickets, Kumble finished his career as India’s highest wicket-taker in Tests. With 334 wickets, he is also India’s highest wicket-taker in ODIs.
3. Kapil Dev:
Kapil Dev is undoubtedly the greatest allrounder to have represented India in international cricket. Kapil made a name for himself when some of cricket’s most decorated allrounders such as Richard Hadlee, Ian Botham and Imran Khan also played. In 2002, Kapil was named by Wisden as the Indian cricketer of the century ahead of the likes of Sunil Gavaskar and Sachin Tendulkar.
Kapil left a huge legacy not only as an allrounder but a captain as well. It was under his captaincy that India defied all the odds and beat the all-conquering West Indies team in the final to lift the 1983 World Cup. He was a fast-bowler and a middle-order batsman.
He was the highest wicket-taker in Test cricket at the time of his retirement in 1994. He also holds the record of being the first to take 200 wickets in ODIs. Kapil is still the only cricketer with more than 400 wickets and over 5000 runs in Test cricket.
After bringing down curtains on his playing career, Kapil coached the Indian team briefly but without much success. He was bestowed with the Padma Shri in 1982 and the Padma Bhushan in 1991. In 2010, he was also inducted into the ICC Hall of Fame before receiving the C. K. Nayudu Lifetime Achievement Award in 2013.
2. Sunil Gavaskar:
Sunil Gavaskar is one of the greatest opening batsmen of all time. Gavaskar instilled a culture of self belief among the Indian batsmen by doing well against all oppositions irrespective of conditions. Gavaskar played 125 Tests and scored 10122 runs with the help of 34 centuries. He is the first Indian batsman to score 10000 runs in Test cricket and also held the record for most Test centuries at the time of his retirement.
Gavaskar also played 108 ODIs for India and was a part of the team that won the country’s first World Cup in 1983. He scored 3092 runs in ODIs including 1 century and 27 half-centuries. After retiring from the game as a player, Gavaskar has been plying his trade as a commentator.
1. Sachin Tendulkar:
Sachin Tendulkar is widely regarded as the greatest Indian cricketer of all time and many even consider him the most complete batsman of all time. Tendulkar’s career is nothing less than a fairytale. He made his debut in international cricket as a teenager and went on to establish himself as one of the best batsmen in the world in no time. As a teenager, he scored hundreds in England, Australia and South Africa.
Tendulkar plied his trade in the game when some of cricket’s most decorated batsmen such as Brian Lara, Ricky Ponting, Jacques Kallis, Kumar Sangakkara and others were active as well. The former India batsman still managed to carve his own niche. He played in international cricket for more than two decades and remained one of the best in the world throughout his illustrious career.
Tendulkar was the owner of most of the major batting records at the time of his retirement. He was the highest run-scorer in Tests as well as ODIs in addition to holding the record for scoring most centuries in both the formats. Tendulkar was also the first man to hit a double century in ODIs, achieving the feat during the twilight of his career.
Overall, Tendulkar played a record 200 Tests and 463 ODIs. He scored more than 18000 runs in ODIs and over 15ooo runs in Tests including 100 centuries. He also hit more than 150 half-centuries in international cricket.
