Over the years many greats played cricket for India.
In every era, a transformation came for the team.
They achieved new heights winning world cups or beating Australia in their own home.
Also became the number 1 test team.
India is always known for great batsmen and many multi-format players.
Sunil Gavaskar, Kapil dev, Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, Yuvraj Singh, Virender Sehwag, Ms. Dhoni, etc.
We’ve seen these all-time greats go big on the world stage and show their talent to everyone scoring match-winning runs throughout the years.
These batsmen performed and took the team over the line in crunch situations.
The world also saw the first-ever Double Century in ODI cricket from Sachin Tendulkar.
India has produced great openers and middle-order batsmen.
They also delivered a few great finishers like Kapil Dev and Ms. Dhoni.
With the rise of the IPL (Indian Premier League), the country has seen some great batsmen coming out and making it big.
This league has allowed players to gain some experience and wisdom playing with international players.
It also allowed players to work with great coaches, and support staff.
In the league players learned to play in difficult situations and conditions, and got ready for international cricket.
Many fast-bowling all-rounders and finishers from the IPL are currently getting their opportunities to represent the country.
Today, we are going over the Top 5 Batsmen In the Current Indian Cricket Team (as of October 2022).
5: Hardik Pandya
One of the best finishers of the current era, Hardik is a fast-bowling all-rounder from Choryasi, Gujarat.
He first appeared on the screen in IPL for the franchise Mumbai Indians against RCB (Royal Challengers Banglore) on April 19, 2015.
One of his most known innings came in the IPL against CSK (Chennai Super Kings) where he smashed 3 sixes in an over and later took the team home.
In search of a fast bowling all-rounder, the selectors saw the potential and quality performances shown by Hardik.
He was fast-tracked into the Indian T20 international team and made his debut on Jan 26, 2016.
His bowling performance against Bangladesh in the 2016 ICC T20 World Cup earned him a permanent position in the team. After that, he played many match-winning innings.
Also, he finished the match on some occasions while bowling quite well.
The 2022 IPL season saw him becoming a captain of the new franchise Gujarat Titans. The team won the Tournament in their first-ever season.
4: Rishabh Pant
Pant is a wicket-keeper batsman currently playing all three formats. His strength is his aggressive approach.
He is another player who got recognition due to IPL performances.
First seen playing in the 2016 U-19 World Cup, he had great performances that helped the team reach the final.
He soon got an IPL contract for Delhi Capitals.
Rishabh played some very aggressive innings during the IPL and made his debut for the Indian T20 team on February 1, 2017, against England.
Over the years he has played many match-winning innings when the team was in trouble.
Yet to find consistency in his performances, nonetheless, he is one of the best Indian batsmen in the current team.
3: KL Rahul
Rahul is another player to play U-19 World Cup for India.
He played the domestic tournaments for the Karnataka side.
He made his test debut against Australia on December 26, 2014.
KL got out in both innings playing shots he was not known for.
As the series was already lost, he got another chance in the next test match.
He proved his worth by scoring a century and got praised for his performance.
He was in and out of the team due to the regular players.
The 2016 IPL season shows his aggressive and attacking side of the game.
He proved to be real potential for the international stage.
Those performances earned him opportunities in all 3 formats.
Since then he has played many international matches and shown his talent.
Due to inconsistency, he has lost his place in the test team while retaining his place in both ODI and T20 teams.
When it comes to IPL he’s one of the most consistent players and is currently the captain of the new franchise LSG (Lucknow Super Giants).
He still needs to work on his consistency when it comes to international cricket.
If he does, he can become one of the best players in the world.
But occasional great performances helped him known as one of the best Indian openers right now.
2: Rohit Sharma
The captain of the Indian Cricket Team across formats Rohit Sharma is currently an opener with around 41 international centuries (all formats & as of 2022).
Rohit is known as the most talented batsman in the country. He made his international debut against Ireland on June 23, 2007.
He was always in and out of the side due to the regular players and only got a chance when a player got injured or was resting.
In the early days, he was not as consistent as he would’ve liked and that was another reason for being in and out of the side.
He was quite disappointed not getting a place in India’s 2011 World Cup Squad, worked hard, and performed well in the IPL.
He was captain of the franchise Mumbai Indians in 2013 and the team won the tournament beating the strongest side in the competition CSK.
Soon after that, the turning point came when he opened for India in the 2013 ICC Champions Trophy because of the exclusion of experienced players.
Alongside Shikhar Dhawan, he performed well in that tournament which helped India clinch the trophy.
Rohit became a regular opener and performing well since then breaking many records and helping Mumbai Indians win the IPL 5 times (as of 2022).
The Highlights of his career are winning the IPL 5 times and 3 double-centuries in ODI.
1: Virat Kohli
Regarded as the greatest all-format player of all time Virat Kohli is loved by the cricketing world.
Virat is popular for aggression on the field and is named the chase master because of his ability to help the team chase down big totals.
The capability to rotate the strike, hit boundaries when needed, and change gears according to the situation makes him the most versatile player.
Virat has scored a total of 71 international centuries and 5 IPL centuries (as of October 2022) breaking many records set by Sachin Tendulkar.
He’s Compared to Sachin by the media because of his records.
Under Virat, India won the 2008 U-19 World cup and that led to his international debut against Sri-lanka on Aug 18, 2008.
Soon became a regular member of the team but the breakthrough point of his career came when he smashed 133 runs in 86 balls vs Sri Lanka in 2012
Commonwealth Bank Series.
That innings helped India chase a massive target of 321 in 36.4 overs, it was an unbelievable display of batting.
Since then he has scored many centuries. Virat is still going strong and wants to help team India win the world cup again.
Final Words
In conclusion, India has produced some best batsmen with and without the help of the IPL.
The future of Indian Cricket is in safe hands as the upcoming players are performing well in the franchise and Domestic cricket.
Subscribe to my newsletter — jhaayush.substack.com