Cricket is a new religion all over the world. People worship cricketers and that is why legends are born and when they bid, they leave forever on the game of cricket and for the people who worship them. They make and break records and eventually find their name in the Hall of Fame of cricket. Here are the top 10 greatest cricketers.
10. Clive Lloyd
Clive Lloyd was a West Indies cricketer who made his debut in 1966. He was by far the most successful captain for the West Indies. Lloyd captained the West Indies from 1974–1985 and won two consecutive World Cups in 1975 and 1979.
He was runner-up in the 1983 World Cup, which India eventually won. It was a dream run for the West Indies team while Lloyd was captaining them. His side won 27 matches without defeat and is considered one of the most successful Test captains ever.
9. Dennis Lillee
Former Australian cricketer Dennis Lillee was an avid fast bowler of his time. He was also rated as the ‘outstanding fast bowler of the generation’ and was also known as the best fast bowler of the ’70s. Lily established her name in the ICC Hall of Fame in December 2009.
For his 355 wickets, he was the world record holder for taking the most Test wickets by the time he retired in 1984. Despite Lily being a successful bowler, there were many controversies. Like when he used an aluminum bat instead of a wooden bat. Another incident occurred with Miandad when he fired his leg while taking a run.
8. Rahul Dravid
Popularly known as ‘The Wall’, Rahul Dravid is the best Indian defensive batsman ever. Whenever Team India needed a pile of runs, Dravid was always there to help. He is one of the greatest cricketers in the history of cricket.
A whopping 13,000 runs in Test cricket, 270 against Pakistan and 10,000 odd runs in ODI cricket with the most 153 runs. He set a record of 50 runs off 22 balls, which was not broken for a long time. Dravid kept wickets for India even when the team needed it most. He was named ICC Player of the Year and Test Player of the Year at the inaugural ICC Awards ceremony in 2004.
7. Muttiah Muralitharan
The biggest Test wicket taker so far is Muttiah Muralitharan who has taken 800 wickets. He holds the world record for most Test wickets and ODI wickets as well. With 534 wickets in the ODI stage, he overtook Wasim Akram’s 502 runs. Murali ranked number one in the ICC Player Rankings for Test bowlers for a total of 214 matches and for 1711 days, which is an achievement in itself.
6. Jacques Kallis
The former South African cricketer and best all-rounder for South Africa is one of the greatest all-rounders ever. The first player to score 10,000 runs and take 250 wickets in both ODI and Test cricket.
He is the second highest Test century player with 40, Sachin Tendulkar with only 51. Kallis was the ICC player of the year in 2005 and the Test player of the year. The first South African to score was more than 13,000 runs with 292 wickets, third behind a total of 15,000 runs.
5. Brian Lara
Another West Indies veteran batsman, Brian Lara, holds the record for highest individual first class score of 501 not out and highest international individual test score of 400 not out, which is still not broken by anyone.
His best batting unbeaten 153 against Australia at Bridgetown has been the second performance in the history of Test cricket ahead of 270 by Sir Don Bradman. Lara was awarded the BBC Overseas Sports Person of the Year, which is awarded to only three cricketers, including her. Truly one of the best batsmen in the West Indies.
4. Shane Warne
Shane Warne is Australia’s leg spin bowling legend. He is the second highest wicket-taker in history, Test cricket with 708 scallops and 293 ODIs. He has scored 3000 Test runs without scoring a century and he holds the record for this.
In the year 2000, he was selected as one of the five Wisden Cricketers of the Century and was the only player to live in Panchak while playing in his time. His cricketing life was full of scams such as accepting money from informal sources, testing positive for a substance. But in all of this, Warne was one of the best spin bowlers of his time.
3. Sir Garfield Sobers
Sir Garfield Sobers is considered the greatest all-rounder of cricket. He made his debut for the West Indies at the age of 16 and played for a long time. His first century came against Pakistan where he scored a triple century with a score of 365. He held the record for highest individual score until 1994 when Brian Lara scored 375 runs. He scored 8000 odd runs and took 235 wickets in his 93 tests.
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