"No. 1 would be Tendulkar" - Ravi Shastri picks the top 5 Indian cricketers of all time; leaves out Jasprit Bumrah and Rahul Dravid

Former all-rounder and head coach Ravi Shastri was put in a spot, asked to name his top five Indian cricketers of all time. He mentioned some greats in his list but left out the likes of Jasprit Bumrah and Rahul Dravid.

Picking players from different decades, Ravi Shastri named his teammates from the 1983 World Cup-winning Indian side - Sunil Gavaskar and Kapil Dev. Gavaskar was the first Indian batter to cross the 10,000-run mark in Test cricket, while Kapil Dev was the first Indian captain to win a World Cup, leading the team to a revolutionary triumph in 1983.

He then named one of the greatest batters ever to have embraced the sport, Sachin Tendulkar. Ravi Shastri's last two picks included former captains MS Dhoni and Virat Kohli. With a massive 34,357 runs from 664 matches across formats, Sachin is the highest run-getter in international cricket. Dhoni led India to three ICC trophies and is among the most successful captains. Kohli is among the greatest modern-day batters and also India's most successful Test captain.

"Definity Gavaskar will start. Kapil, Sachin, Virat definitely. I am looking at the most influential players of their era. MS again. Bumrah is still got cricket. So the five will be Sunny, Kapil, Sachin, Dhoni and Virat," Shastri said on an episode of 'Stick to Cricket'. (56:04)

Among the five, Shastri picked Sachin Tendulkar as No.1 given the expectations he played under and his longevity. He added that Sachin played some of the deadliest pace attacks of his decade and had a pure technique.

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Ravi Shastri weighs in on the biggest rivalry in cricket

In the same episode, Ravi Shastri was also asked about what he thinks is the biggest rivalry in cricket. The former cricketer picked India-Pakistan as the biggest rivalry from the years he played. He made his international debut in 1981 and played for India till 1992.

However, he believes that in recent times, India-Australia has been a rivalry that has taken up. The Melbourne Test of the 2024-25 Border-Gavaskar Trophy broke the all-time attendance record for a Test match in Australia.

"In the years I have played, India-Pakistan. The interest it generates from the outside, massive. Having said that, I think in the last ten years, India-Australia has taken up. India, England, and Australia have had some fantastic series. We got more crowds in during the Boxing Day Test at the MCG this time. The highest number of people that came in since Bradman's team in 1936. People come in from all parts," he said. (53:15)

Notably, during Ravi Shastri's tenure as head coach, India won two Test series on Australian soil. The victory in 2018/19 was also the first time an Indian team won a Test series down under.

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Edited by Rishab Vm