Former Indian Test opener Aakash Chopra has named India’s top five Test batters amid the series against Sri Lanka. Chopra picked Sachin Tendulkar as his first choice and added the Master Blaster was the most complete Indian Test batter.
Tendulkar amassed 15921 runs in 200 Test matches at an average of 53.78 and he is the leading run-getter in the red-ball version. The former right-hander scored 51 centuries and 68 fifties in the Test format.
“I don’t think there is anyone better technically equipped than him. Not having a long lean phase across generations and decades, if you speak of Test cricket, he has to be right up there. He will feature in my top five,” Chopra said. (via Crex)
Meanwhile, Chopra picked Rahul Dravid, Sunil Gavaskar, VVS Laxman and Virat Kohli as the other four top Indian Test batters.
“If you look at the five years before retirement, Kohli had only three hundreds. But he has been an outstanding Test cricketer. He has over 9000 runs and has scored them in difficult conditions, be it in Australia or South Africa. He has scored big hundreds and made four double hundreds in a single season,” Aakash Chopra stated.
Kohli amassed 9230 runs in 123 Test matches at an average of 46.85, including 30 centuries. In the last 69 Test innings since 2020, Kohli has managed only 2028 runs at an average of 30.72, including just three centuries.
Before 2020, Kohli accumulated 7202 runs in 141 Test innings at an average of 54.97, including 27 centuries.
On the other hand, Rahul Dravid was known for his solid defense and he accumulated 10889 runs in 164 Test matches at an average of 52.31.
Gavaskar was the first man to score 10,000 Test runs and ended his career 10122 runs in 125 Test matches at an average of 51.12. Laxman gathered 8781 runs in 134 Test matches at an average of 45.5.
