Top 6 states to have produced the most Indian Test cricketers post independence

Even though India has been playing Test cricket since 1932, the game only started gaining widespread prominence after India became an independent country in 1947. Since then, the country has produced plenty of remarkable players who have made a name for themselves in the cricketing world.While India have had cricketers from various different states after independence, there are some states that can be credited for producing the most players who represented the national team. These include players who went on to become legends as well as those who played just a one off Test.Here are 6 of the most dominant states in terms of producing Test cricketers:

#6 Bengal (16)

Sourav Ganguly is easily the biggest name to emerge from Bengal

No. of Test cricketers produced since independence – 16

While Bengal has not been too well known for producing prominent Indian cricketers, they surely have contributed some numbers to the Test arena. Sourav Ganguly is easily the first name that comes to mind when you think of Bengal cricket.

However, there have been other known names like Pankaj Roy and Arun Lal who also represented the state of Bengal. Two players from the state who, in the recent past,have made it to the Test team are wicketkeeper Wriddhiman Saha and bowler Mohammad Shami.

#5 Tamil Nadu (23)

Kris Srikkanth is one of the more popular cricketers to emerge from Tamil Nadu

No. of Test cricketers produced since independence – 23

Tamil Nadu is one of the most prominent states to have produced Test cricketers for India post 1947. Although not many of them went on to become big names in Indian cricket, there have been a few players from the state who excelled in Test cricket.

Some of the popular faces from Tamil Nadu who played for India include Krishnamachari Srikkanth, Srinivas Venkataraghavan and Sadagoppan Ramesh. Two of Indias best performers in Test cricket at present, Ravichandran Ashwin and Murali Vijay, play their domestic cricket for Tamil Nadu.

#4 Karnataka (23)

Rahul Dravid is the greatest Karnataka batsman to have played for India

No. of Test cricketers produced since independence – 23

The state of Karnataka has had a rich history of producing some of the countrys finest cricketers since independence, spin bowlers in particular. Three great Indian spinners in Anil Kumble, BS Chandrasekhar and Erapalli Prasanna have all come out of the state.

India have also had some legendary batsmen who played their domestic cricket for Karnataka in the form of Rahul Dravid and Gundappa Vishwanath. KL Rahul and Stuart Binny are two players from the state to be part ofTeam Indias Test scheme of things at the moment.

#3 Gujarat (27)

Ravindra Jadeja is one of the latest talents to come out of Gujarat

No. of Test cricketers produced since independence – 27

Gujarat has been a primary contributor to the Indian Test arena ever since the post independence era began. The greater reason for this has been perhaps the number of domestic teams that belong to the state Gujarat, Baroda and Saurashtra.

A few great names from Gujarat have represented India in Tests over the years such as Polly Umrigar, Nari Contractor, Dilip Doshi and Nayan Mongia. A couple of recruits in the current Test team also hail from the state; these are Ravindra Jadeja and Cheteshwar Pujara.

#2 Delhi (31)

Virender Sehwag has been one of the best products of Delhi cricket

No. of Test cricketers produced since independence – 31

Delhi has been the second most prosperous state in terms of providing Test talent to the national team post independence. Although statehood came for Delhi only in the year 1992, there had already been a number of players who had represented Delhi in domestic cricket prior to that.

Among the prominent cricketers to have emerged out of Delhi are Virender Sehwag, Bishan Singh Bedi, Gautam Gambhir and Chetan Chauhan. The present Indian Test team has as many as 3 representations from Delhi in Virat Kohli, Shikhar Dhawan and Ishant Sharma.

#1 Maharashtra (67)

Sachin Tendulkar is perhaps the best player to come out of Maharashtra

No. of Test cricketers produced since independence – 67

It should not really come as a surprise to many that the state of Maharashtra has produced the most Test cricketers for Team India as its capital cityMumbai has been the countrys premier cricket centre. To think of it, the state may perhaps have also produced the most number of batting legends in Indian cricket.

Some of the iconic names to have emerged from Maharashtra include Sachin Tendulkar, Sunil Gavaskar, Chandu Borde, Dilip Vengsarkar and Zaheer Khan. In the present set-up, Rohit Sharma and Ajinkya Rahane are two big names who hail from the state.