In the original format of cricket or other words, I will call Test cricket the hardest format of the game. To survive in this format of the game, a player must have sound technique, strong determination and lots of patience. So, today, I will share with you the strongest Indian Test team of all time.
1. Sunil Gavaskar ( Little Master )
He scored 774 runs in the debut series. Facing the most dangerous bowling attack ( Malcolm Marshall, Joel Garner, Michael Holding & Colin Croft ) of that time and all time. First man in the history of cricket who achieved the milestone of getting 10000 runs. Another milestone is 34 test centuries. He used to play without a helmet in the days when bowlers were at their peak, which shows how great an opener he was.
2. Virender Sehwag ( Nawab of Najafgarh & Multan ka sultan )
The man who proved people wrong with his performance in the test. Many people thought that a man with this type of technique will not play test Cricket for long. He changed the people perception towards him with his huge totals. A man who scored two triple centuries. And missed one triple century by seven runs. The man Converting 11 consecutive Test 100s into scores of 150+. He began with a 195 against Australia at MCG in the Boxing Day Test of 2003. His 11 centuries were – 195, 309, 155, 164, 173, 201, 254, 180, 151, 319 and 201*. Most 250 + score by any Indian batsman – 319, 309, 293 & 254.
3. Rahul Dravid ( The Wall & Mr Dependable )
The most reliable, dependable & one of the finest player of cricket. The man who has faced most deliveries in test cricket. He has faced 31,258 deliveries during his Test Career, with the next closest batman being Tendulkar at 29,437 balls. He has spent 44,152 minutes at the crease in Test Matches which works out to almost 736 hours, also a world record. In my opinion, he’s the best no.3 test player not only in Indian history also in Cricket history. Who can forget his innings at Eden gardens & Adelaide against the most destructive & invincible team Australia in that time? He scored 13288 runs with an average of 52.31 with 36 centuries. Only Player who gave tough competition to English bowlers 2011 tour of England when all other batsman failed from another end. People cheer up even for his one run after forty balls. That shows how mentally strong he was.
4. Sachin Tendulkar ( Master Blaster & God of Cricket)
Doesn’t matter, who pick the all-time best test 11. He will always be the part of all-time best test teams of everyone who knows cricket. The most amazing no.4 player in the history of cricket. He Overshadows players like Brian Lara, Ricky Ponting, Inzmam uL Haq & many more who are considered as their rivals at that time. He destroyed every legendary bowler from Glen McGrath to Wasim Akram and Shane Warne to Muttiah Muralitharan. He’s the highest runscorer of all time for India as well as in the history of cricket. A player who played record 200 test matches and scored 51 test centuries. He’s a legend for a reason.
5. VVS Laxman ( Very Very Special Laxman )
Magician of wrists, Technical strong & Partnership builder. These are some specialities of this man. He’s the unsung hero of the Indian team. A person who actually played the backbone of the team. Not a single cricket fan forget his historic innings of 281 against Australia.
6. Sourav Ganguly ( C ) ( Prince of Kolkata & The Real Royal Bengal Tiger )
A proper left-handed batsman. The man who changed Indian cricket forever. Scoring 16 test hundreds and scored 7000+ test runs. His test saving 239 runs against Pakistan at Bangalore in 2007 still in the memories of Cricket fans. A brilliant captain with skills and aggression.
7. Mahendra Singh Dhoni ( WK ) ( Captain Cool & The Magician behind the stumps)
Best wicketkeeper-batsman. Well, his record is not world-class in test format. But yet he’s the best wicketkeeper-batsman in test format. He has totally taken 256 catches and has effected 38 stumpings in his 9 years test career. His spectacular 224 against Australia in the first Test of their 2013 series was one of the memorable innings.
8. Kapil Dev ( Chandigarh Express )
What an outstanding player he was! One of the finest All-Rounder of cricket. And the best All-Rounder of India. Scored 5248 runs & took 434 wickets. I don’t think I can describe in words his contribution to the Indian team.
9.Anil Kumble ( Jumbo )
Highest wicket-taker for India. 619 test wickets. One of the brilliant leg spinner of all time. And no one can forget his 74/10 against Pakistan at Feroz Shah Kotla stadium, Delhi. A player who played with broken jaw against west indies. Dedication of this player is simply wow. And who can forget his 110 runs at the oval stadium when he reached his maiden test ton with the 9 wickets down and the last man Sreesanth at the other end. And his 87 runs against Australia at Adelaide was his another milestone.
10.Bishan Singh Bedi ( Gifted with magical fingers )
One of the finest spinner of all time. The impressive record of bagging 267 wickets in just 67 Test matches. Bishan Singh Bedi has also been included in the Icc Cricket Hall of Fame.
11.Zaheer Khan ( Zak )
Best left-arm fast bowler of India. Taking 311 wickets in test format. His rivalry with left-handed batsmen especially with former South African skipper Graeme Smith gives goosebumps to many cricket fans. He also has eleven 5-wicket haul to his name.