Top 10 Indian Test batsmen of all time

Test cricket has seen many great cricketers since its inception. And a lot of those great cricketers are Indians. India has produced some of the finest batsmen over the years. Let us look at the 10 best batsmen among them.I have ranked them by considering three parameters:Consistency – Batting consistency throughout a career.Statistics – The total number of runs that he has put up in his career.Reliability – How dependable he was when his team needed him. Each parameter is rated on a scale of 1 to 10 for every player and the composite score (total sum of the three parameters) is determined to arrive at the final ranking. Disclaimer: These are the top 10 Indian Test batsmen in my opinion. If your opinion reflects anything different, you are welcome to share it in the comments below.

#10 Polly Umrigar

Composite score: 8.3+8.4+8.4 = 25.1

Test career: 1948-1962

A iconic figure from the late 1940s to early 1960s, Polly Umrigar became the first Indian batsman to score a double hundred in Test Cricket. Unfortunately, he mostly fell on the losing side whenever he shined with the bat. By the time he retired in 1962, he held batting records for most runs and most hundreds by an Indian until 1978 when some guy named Sunil Gavaskar broke those records.

#9 Vijay Hazare

Composite score: 8.5+8.0+8.9 = 25.4

Test career: 1946-1953

He was the hero during India’s tour to Australia right after Independence. He made his debut when he was 31 years old which shows us why he had a short Test career. However, he was the most reliable batsman in the Indian line-up during his time.

Before Hazare made his Test debut, he was an unbelievable player in first class cricket too. There was a time during the 1943-44 domestic season when he scored 1,000 runs in just 4 first class matches.

#8 Mohammed Azharuddin

Composite score: 8.8+8.8+9.2 = 26.8

Test career: 1984-2000

Azharuddin was a supreme batting figure during his best years. He had great technique. He depended mostly on the on-side during his initial years. Later he improved his off-side repertoire which made him a complete batsman. He made his mark immediately by scoring three consecutive hundreds against England in his first three Tests. He also scored a hundred in his final Test.

#7 Sourav Ganguly

Composite score: 8.3+9.5+9.2 = 27.0

Test career: 1996-2008

The Bengal southpaw was a fierce competitior. A guy who owned the off side, Ganguly was a very reliable middle order batsman. He entered the test format with a bang scoring a hundred on debut against England at the historic Lord’s cricket ground in 1996. From there on his career took off. But since early 2004 he went through a really rough patch and was ultimately removed from captaincy and from the team in 2005. Everybody gave up on Ganguly. He believed in himself when all odds were against him. Finally he made the national team once again in late 2006 and scored an incredible double hundred against Pakistan in 2007. The former captain bid goodbye to cricket in 2008.

#6 Virender Sehwag

Composite score: 8.5+9.4+9.3 = 27.2

Test career: 2001-2013

Virender Sehwag is a pure entertainer. The ‘Multan ka Sultan’ wasn’t fundamentally polished. He is probably the most successful Test batsman who had minimal footwork. He was a master at boundary-hitting. It didn’t matter to him if it was a Test match or an ODI or a T20, his only goal was to hit the ball.

He liked to score as many runs as possible as quickly as possible. He became the first Indian batsman to score a triple century (and also the second). His second triple century was the fastest triple century in history. It took him just 278 balls.

#5 Gundappa Vishwanath

Composite score: 9.2+9.3+9.2 = 27.7

Test career: 1969-1983

Gundappa Vishwanath was one of the finest users of strokeplay ever. He could attack spin and fast bowling equally well. He excelled on pitches others found difficult. He respected the game and showed great sportsmanship. His usage of wrists was exceptional which helped him in attacking fast bowlers better than others.

#4 VVS Laxman

Composite score: 9.2+9.4+9.3 = 27.9

Test career: 1996-2012

V. V. S. Laxman was the ultimate user of his wrists. With his phenomenal strokeplay, he outplayed even Sachin Tendulkar at times. His on-side game was very similar to that of Azharuddin’s. His off-side game was equally great. He found success against every Test-playing nation.

When he faced Australia his success went through the roof. Most of his best knocks came against the mighty team down under. He was so unstoppable against them that Aussie legend Steve Waugh once said: "If you get Dravid (out), great. If you get Sachin (out), brilliant. If you get Laxman (out), it’s a miracle.” And nobody can forget Laxman’s 281 against Australia in 2001 in the Eden Gardens Test where India came out of nowhere and won the match.

#3 Sunil Gavaskar

Composite score: 9.5+9.5+9.5 = 28.5

Test career: 1971-1987

Sunil Gavaskar was a batting genius. Pure and simple. He had a batting monster inside his 5 foot 5 inch body. He had immeasurable levels of concentration. He was called a run machine who went on to become the first batsman in Test Cricket to score 10,000 runs.

During his time, he was considered as the best batsman in the world. During India’s West Indies tour in 1971, Gavaskar scored 771 runs in just 4 Test matches. In one of those test innings, he scored 212 out of India’s total of 387. He destroyed what was regarded as the best bowling line-up in the world. From that point on, he was unstoppable. Even now most of our elders regard him as the best Indian Test batsman.

#2 Rahul Dravid

Composite score: 9.8+9.3+9.8 = 28.9

Test career: 1996-2012

I said this before and I am saying it again. If you want to learn how to bat and plan a Test innings, watch Rahul Dravid bat. His strokeplay was incredible. His technique was flawless. His timing was impeccable. He was as consistent as one can be. He was as reliable as one can be. He was always there when his team needed him. Always. That 180 he scored against Australia in the 2001 Kolkata Test was often forgotten as it was overshadowed by Laxman’s brilliant 281. And he was the architect in India’s win against Australia in the Adelaide Test in December 2003. He saved India in that Test with a classy double hundred which was supported by Laxman’s hundred.

“If India were a car, Sachin Tendulkar were the driver, Rahul Dravid was the engine.”

He was more consistent and reliable than Tendulkar. The only area in which Tendulkar overtook Dravid is in the statistics department. There is no other difference between these two batting gods. In fact there are many cricket gurus who consider Dravid as a superior to Tendulkar. It is really unfortunate that Rahul Dravid’s farewell wasn’t as special as Sachin’s.

#1 Sachin Tendulkar

Composite score: 9.6+9.9+9.6 = 29.1

Test career: 1989-2013

“There is Sachin Tendulkar and then there is the rest of us.”

That quote is enough to describe the man. He has separated himself from his peers, predecessors and successors with his genius. He is really a genius with the bat in his hand. Arguably the most complete batsman to ever play, he had no weaknesses. He had every weapon in his arsenal to counter attack any kind of bowling. That alone proves his consistency and reliability. And if you talk about statistics, he is miles away from the rest.