The best left-handed Indian batsmen of all time

The right-handers have dominated cricket but the left-handers are the ones who inject beauty in the game.

Left-hand bowlers are known for creating awkward angles and sharp movement. Some of the finest bowlers in cricket have been left-arm bowlers and same is the case in the batting department.

Left-hand batsmen are elegant and have a glorious charm in their batting. The cuts, drives and the pulls look scintillating when played by a left-hander.

In Indian cricket, the left-hand batsmen have contributed immensely since inception and have helped in making the sport popular among the masses. Here, we trace the best left-hand batsmen produced by India.

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#10. Vinod Kambli

If talent alone was the criteria for success, then Vinod Kambli would have ended his cricket career as a legendary batsman. But such is the beauty or the complexity of cricket that talent alone never creates legends. Kambli found this the hard way and the left-hand batsman featured in only 17 Tests and 104 ODIs.

The talented left-hand batsman from Mumbai made his mark in cricket at the age of 17, when he scored 349* in an inter-school match and stitched a 664 run partnership with Sachin Tendulkar, his school-mate, and international cricket's biggest superstar.

After his heroics at the school level, there was no turning back for Kambli and he soon made it to India's Team team where he scored two double centuries in his first seven Tests.

But a string of low scores pushed him out of the team and his issues such as his indiscipline meant he was never recalled In the national team despite averaging 54.20 and scoring 1084 runs in 21 innings.

#9. Salim Durani

One of India's biggest match-winners, Salim Durani enabled India to win the home Test series against England in 1961/62 and later a Test in West Indies in 1971 with his all-round performances.

His primary role was of a left-arm spinner, but his batting prowess was effective as well. During his era, very few batsmen embraced the approach of aggressive batting, and Durani was one among them. He was especially famous for his six-hitting ability and memories of his dazzling footwork have become a folklore.

His batting average of 25.04 in 50 Test innings doesn't justify his batting talent and his contribution to the Indian team is much more than the 1202 runs he scored in 29 Tests.

#8. Robin Singh

An agile fielder and an effective medium pace bowler, Robin Singh's primary identity was of an aggressive batsman who batted in the middle order and specialized in scoring quick runs in the death overs.

The chinks in his batting armory meant he played only one Test for India, but despite his technical flaws, he became an essential cog in India's ODI team in the 1990's courtesy of his bold batting and smart strokeplay.

He accumulated 2336 runs in 136 ODIs and retired as one of India's best fielders and limited overs all-rounders.

#7. Suresh Raina

Suresh Raina took giant strides in the domestic circuit and debuted for India at the age of 19 after impressing everyone in the U-19 team. The left-hand batsman is one of the fittest cricketers across the world and is known for his power-hitting.

His flaws against the short delivery shortened his Test career but in the ODI format, he served India for one decade and went on to lead the side on tours of Zimbabwe.

During the later part of 2000's he was India's most reliable and successful middle-order batsman and rescued the team on several occasions with his quick running between the wickets and fearless strokeplay.

He scored more than 5000 runs in ODIs and has 36 half-centuries on his name. Although he averages only 26.48 in Tests, he is one of the few batsmen to score a hundred in the debut Test innings.

#6. Shikhar Dhawan

By scoring the most runs for India in the three ICC events (two Champions Trophy and one World Cup) since his debut and scoring 17 international hundreds, Shikhar Dhawan has done enough to earn a place among India's best left-hand batsmen.

The swashbuckling opener had a dream start to his international career as he scored the fastest Test century by a debutant. He scored 180 runs against Australia in his debut Test but since then had little success while playing the red-ball. Two hundred in three Tests in the recent series against Sri Lanka has rejuvenated his Test career but his biggest contribution has arrived in ODI cricket.

He has amassed close to four thousand runs in just 90 ODIs and has slammed 11 hundreds. Importantly five of these centuries have come in ICC events.

#5. Nari Contractor

A highly talented and skillful left-hand batsman from Gujarat, Nari Contractor was at the peak of his career, when a bouncer struck him on his skull. The injury was so fatal that Contractor had to undergo several surgeries. He did play domestic cricket after recovering from the injury but he never appeared in Tests.

Until the unfortunate incident, he had piled up 1611 runs at an average of 31.58 in 31 Tests. But more than his runs, the manner in which he scored these runs mattered. In 1959, against England, India made 168 runs and Contractor scored 81 of these runs and that too after getting his rib broken by a short-delivery.

His only hundred came against Australia, the best team of that era. Thanks to his batting heroics, he was named as India's captain, but the unfortunate injury ended his promising career.

#4. Ajit Wadekar

One of India's finest batsmen at number three, Ajit Wadekar could change gears with ease to adapt to the conditions. He was solid as steel when the team was in trouble and aggressive and fluent when the team was in a commanding position.

Wadekar was the captain of India's team that won the historic Tests in 1971 against England and West Indies. In 71 Test innings, he has 14 scores of fifty-plus and his average of 31.07 reflects his batting prowess.

#3. Gautam Gambhir

Hailed as the 'unsung hero of Indian cricket', Gautam Gambhir was number one ranked batsman in ICC Test rankings in 2009.

He was a prolific run-scorer in all three formats during that era and formed a highly successful opening pair with Virender Sehwag. He has more than ten thousand international runs, an impressive feat but his biggest achievements are his knocks in the finals of ICC world cups.

In the finals of the inaugural T20 world cup in 2007, he scored 75 runs which were 47% of India's total runs on that night, and in the 2011 world cup, his knock of 97 runs won India the world cup.

The left-hand batsman is also the only Indian and the only fourth international cricketer to score five hundreds in five consecative Tests.

#2. Yuvraj Singh

Everything about Yuvraj Singh is dazzling, dramatic and full of life. He kick-started his international career by scoring 84 runs off 80 balls against the dominating Australians at the age of 18 in 2000.

He rose to the limelight in 2002 as his half-century anchored a historic, memorable and sensational chase against England in the finals of the NatWest Series. The next major highlight of his career came in 2007 when he smashed Stuart Broad for six sixes in one over in the inaugural world cup. One match later, he annihilated the then world champions, Australia with a knock of 30-ball 70 and became the architect of India's title triumph.

Four years later, he played the similar role in India's world cup championship win. With 365 runs, he bagged the man-of-the-series award but the happiness was short-lived as he was diagnosed with cancer.

The left-hander fought back and won the battle against cancer and staged an inspiring comeback in international cricket. Truly a dramatic and sensational story!

#1. Saurav Ganguly

Sensational off-side play, glorious foot-work against the spinners and a bold approach enabled Ganguly to score more than ten thousand ODI runs and become one of India's finest batsmen ever.

He scored a hundred in his debut Test at Lord's and since then his average never dropped below 40 in Test cricket. In ODI's he was even more effective and tagged with Tendulkar to produce a successful opening combination in ODIs.

He has 22 hundreds in ODIs, 16 in Tests and more than 18 thousand international runs, an achievement that puts at the top.