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Asia's top 10 Test batsmen ever

Ab Fan

Senior Test Player
Joined
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Here, I have listed down the top 10 batsmen of all-time to have played for Asian teams.

The criteria set is very simple and is for tests, i.e. 4000 test runs.

Here we go.

1. Sachin Tendulkar (India)
2. Sunil Gavaskar (India)
3. Kumar Sangakkara (Sri Lanka)
4. Javed Miandad (Pakistan)
5. Rahul Dravid (India)
6. Virat Kohli (India)
7. Virender Sehwag (India)
8. Younis Khan (Pakistan)
9. Inzamam ul haq (Pakistan)
10. Mahela Jayawardene (Sri Lanka)

The names that miss out by a whisker are VVS Laxman, Mohammad Yousuf, Saeed Anwar, Gundappa Vishwanath and Zaheer Abbas.

Discuss!
 
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In order of merit

Sachin Tendulkar
Virat Kohli
Javed Miandad
Sunil Gavaskar
Rahul Dravid
Kumar Sangakaara
Virendra Sehwag
Mahela Jayewardene
Younis Khan
Inzamam Ul Haq/Zaheer Abbas

I am combining test and ODI cricket.


In pure test cricket in order of merit

Tendulkar
Gavaskar
Dravid
Miandad
Sangakaara
Sehwag
Kohli
Jayewardene
Younis Khan
Hanif Muhammad

In only test cricket Gavaskar moves ahead of Miandad as well as Dravid.Kohli is demoted and Hanif makes the list.
 
Sunil Gavasker
Sachin Tendulkar
Kumar Sangakkara
Javed Miandad
Rahul Dravid
Hanif Muhammad
Younis Khan
Virender Sehwag
Saeed Anwar
Kohli
 
In order of merit

Sachin Tendulkar
Virat Kohli
Javed Miandad
Sunil Gavaskar
Rahul Dravid
Kumar Sangakaara
Virendra Sehwag
Mahela Jayewardene
Younis Khan
Inzamam Ul Haq/Zaheer Abbas

I am combining test and ODI cricket.


In pure test cricket in order of merit

Tendulkar
Gavaskar
Dravid
Miandad
Sangakaara
Sehwag
Kohli
Jayewardene
Younis Khan
Hanif Muhammad

In only test cricket Gavaskar moves ahead of Miandad as well as Dravid.Kohli is demoted and Hanif makes the list.

Why would you pick Jaya ahead of Younis or even Inzi?
 
Bhaijaan's greatest ever Asians who ever batted

1. Sachin Tendulkar - GOAT
2. Sunil Gavaskar
3. Ranjitsinhji
4. Haneef Mohammad
5. Vijay Hazare
 
1)Sachin Tendulkar
2)Sunil Gavaskar
3)Kumar Sangakkara
4)Javed Miandad
5)Hanif Mohammad
6)Rahul Dravid
7)Virat Kohli
8)Younis Khan
9)Inzamam ul Haq
10Mahela Jayawardene
 
I think Vijay Hazare and Vijay Merchant make a strong case as well but they don't qualify my criteria just like Fazal Mahmood didn't for bowling.
 
Javed Miandad ( played much much better bowlers and there was a always a fear factor involved bowling to him)
Sachin Tendulkar
Sunil Gavaskar
Younis Khan
Rahul Dravid
Virat Kohli
Kumar Sangakkara
Zaheer Abbas
Ganguly
Inzamam
 
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I think Vijay Hazare and Vijay Merchant make a strong case as well but they don't qualify my criteria just like Fazal Mahmood didn't for bowling.

..in which case the thread should say greatest batsmen who scored more than 4000 runs in test cricket :)

Terms and conditions apply :srt
 
There are many Asian batsmen who can score heavily in Asian conditions. Only handful of them have scored heavily outside of Asia.

top10.jpg

There are only 10 batsmen here who have more than 5 tons outside of Asia.


You can take now Asian record and then put a list. Many will self select themselves and then you add few more names to make it 10.


These 6 will make by default based on how they played in Asia and outside Asia.


SRT
Gavaskar
Dravid
Sanga
Miandad
Kohli




You can add other 4 names out of YK, Inzzy, Sehwag, VVS, Jaya, Hanif etc....
 
There are many Asian batsmen who can score heavily in Asian conditions. Only handful of them have scored heavily outside of Asia.

View attachment 101116

There are only 10 batsmen here who have more than 5 tons outside of Asia.


You can take now Asian record and then put a list. Many will self select themselves and then you add few more names to make it 10.


These 6 will make by default based on how they played in Asia and outside Asia.


SRT
Gavaskar
Dravid
Sanga
Miandad
Kohli




You can add other 4 names out of YK, Inzzy, Sehwag, VVS, Jaya, Hanif etc....

Wow look at Miandad.

And he played against significantly better bowlers and on difficult pitches. He is the best batsman from Asia #ATG
 
Hanif and Anwar are not better than Inzy bhai

Dear brother,

Marhoom Hanif Mohammad is a giant of batsmanship not just from Pakistan but he is a folk hero to all Asians living anywhere in the world.

He remains a example of bravery and courage. Played ATG level test knocks with broken fingers, toenails.removed one day ago etc etc.

To this day no batsman has played a match saving knock nearly half as good as Hameed's triple century first by any Asian.

One can go on and on about the greatest of him.

To call him inferior to Anwar, Inzamam is an insult and it hurts me as a fan and student of the game.

At best only 3 batsmen can be said to be above him in Asia and they would be Sachin, Gavaskar, Ranjitsinhji. That's it. He towers over everyone else.

Without question, the greatest Pakistani cricketer ever
 
Dear brother,

Marhoom Hanif Mohammad is a giant of batsmanship not just from Pakistan but he is a folk hero to all Asians living anywhere in the world.

He remains a example of bravery and courage. Played ATG level test knocks with broken fingers, toenails.removed one day ago etc etc.

To this day no batsman has played a match saving knock nearly half as good as Hameed's triple century first by any Asian.

One can go on and on about the greatest of him.

To call him inferior to Anwar, Inzamam is an insult and it hurts me as a fan and student of the game.

At best only 3 batsmen can be said to be above him in Asia and they would be Sachin, Gavaskar, Ranjitsinhji. That's it. He towers over everyone else.

Without question, the greatest Pakistani cricketer ever

Waah Waah Bhaijaan :afridi, all the hyping for past generation players but for my ODI draft XI, insulting the same older legends like Greenidge, Aravinda and Lillee.

Galat baat hai ye! :ua
 
Waah Waah Bhaijaan :afridi, all the hyping for past generation players but for my ODI draft XI, insulting the same older legends like Greenidge, Aravinda and Lillee.

Galat baat hai ye! :ua

It was for ODI draft for which game of test legends is not suitable dear
 
It was for ODI draft for which game of test legends is not suitable dear

It was for ODI draft for which game of test legends is not suitable dear

So, you mean ODI cricket is all about hitting and smashing sixes on flat wickets that have been produced in the last 7-8 years. If you think that is what ODI cricket is all about, then it's a joke really.

Honestly speaking, ODI cricket did evolved in early 90s but since 2008, it has become a joke of format.

ODI cricket quality was at its best in 90s in an era where Lara, Tendulkar, Anwar, de Silva, Jayasuriya and Flower played. Now it's just a longer version of T20 cricket, you don't need to learn any skill, just hit fours and sides and play some aesthetically pleasing shots and become a great of the game.
 
1. Sachin Tendulkar (India)
2. Hanif Muhammad (Pakistan)
3. Zaheer Abbas (Pakistan)
4. Sunil Gavaskar (India)
5. Kumar Sangakkara (Sri Lanka)
6. Javed Miandad (Pakistan)
7. Rahul Dravid (India)
8. Virat Kohli (India)
9. Younis Khan (Pakistan)
10. Inzimam ul Haq (Pakistan)
 
^

Other respectable names who missed out: Mohammad Yousuf, Aravinda da Silva, Virender Sehwag and Saeed Anwar.
 
Tendulkar
Gavaskar
Maindad
Zaheer Abbas
Dravid
Hanif Muhammad
Sangakarra
Kohli
Inzy
De Silva
 
Dear brother,

Marhoom Hanif Mohammad is a giant of batsmanship not just from Pakistan but he is a folk hero to all Asians living anywhere in the world.

He remains a example of bravery and courage. Played ATG level test knocks with broken fingers, toenails.removed one day ago etc etc.

To this day no batsman has played a match saving knock nearly half as good as Hameed's triple century first by any Asian.

One can go on and on about the greatest of him.

To call him inferior to Anwar, Inzamam is an insult and it hurts me as a fan and student of the game.

At best only 3 batsmen can be said to be above him in Asia and they would be Sachin, Gavaskar, Ranjitsinhji. That's it. He towers over everyone else.

Without question, the greatest Pakistani cricketer ever

Btw, Vijay Hazare and Vijay Merchant are widely regarded as among the greatest Asian batsmen during that time.
 
Updated list for Test Cricket:-

1. Sachin Tendulkar
2. Sunil Gavaskar
3. Vijay Merchant
4. Rahul Dravid
5. Kumar Sangakkara
6. Javed Miandad
7. Virat Kohli
8. Vijay Hazare
9. Hanif Mohammad
10. Virender Sehwag
 
Tendulkar
Gavaskar
Dravid
Sanga
Kohli
Miandad
YK
Sehwag
Hazare
Inzy
 
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The Hanif love is funny
Clearly below someone like Neil Harvey from his own period and Harvey is not rated anywhere near that high by most
 
Tendulkar and Gavaskar are the 2 all-time greats and ahead of the rest.

Sangakarra, Dravid and Miandad is a toss up.

I put Younis Khan ahead of Sehwag personally.
 
The Hanif love is funny
Clearly below someone like Neil Harvey from his own period and Harvey is not rated anywhere near that high by most

Haneef Mohammad 499 was the biggest ever FC score before Brian Lara 501 happened

His triple hundred still remains the greatest test knock ever played

In India, he was able to hit centuries despite losing a finger to a mob attack.
 
Haneef Mohammad 499 was the biggest ever FC score before Brian Lara 501 happened

His triple hundred still remains the greatest test knock ever played

In India, he was able to hit centuries despite losing a finger to a mob attack.

The legendary opener, Vijay Merchant also has a FC career average of 78 with 45 test hundreds, which is second only to Don Bradman and better than Windies legend, George Headley. For Hanif Mohammad, it is 53.

To put into context, Sachin Tendulkar and Steven Smith have FC batting averages of 57-58.
 
It was for ODI draft for which game of test legends is not suitable dear

The legendary opener, Vijay Merchant also has a FC career average of 78 with 45 test hundreds, which is second only to Don Bradman and better than Windies legend, George Headley. For Hanif Mohammad, it is 53.

To put into context, Sachin Tendulkar and Steven Smith have FC batting averages of 57-58.

Can't rate Steven Smith among Top 10 until he has 13,000 test runs minimum at an average above 56
 
Javed miandad
Kumar sangakarra
Inzmam ul haq
Younis khan
Hanif Mohammed
Zaheer Abbas
Mohd Yousuf
Saeed Anwar
Mahela Jayawardene
Virat kohli
 
The legendary opener, Vijay Merchant also has a FC career average of 78 with 45 test hundreds, which is second only to Don Bradman and better than Windies legend, George Headley. For Hanif Mohammad, it is 53.

To put into context, Sachin Tendulkar and Steven Smith have FC batting averages of 57-58.

The issue with that is that the standard of Indian fc bowling at the time is questionable at best. His test average is a fairer representation of his quality
 
Can't rate Steven Smith among Top 10 until he has 13,000 test runs minimum at an average above 56

There is not a single test batsmen that fits into those categories. For me 10,000 at more than 53 is enough to be considered, given that he already has ATG in England and India, series and a peak that is basically the indisputed 2nd greatest peak of all time
 
The issue with that is that the standard of Indian fc bowling at the time is questionable at best. His test average is a fairer representation of his quality

Averages 48 away in England. He missed out all his peak years because of Second World war otherwise could easily average around 55.
 
Averages 48 away in England. He missed out all his peak years because of Second World war otherwise could easily average around 55.

Yes, definitely could have averaged higher. my point was that his test average was a better approximation of his 'true' value than his FC average. Can see him averaging low 50's personally, somewhere in between Compton and Hutton
 
Haneef Mohammad 499 was the biggest ever FC score before Brian Lara 501 happened

His triple hundred still remains the greatest test knock ever played

In India, he was able to hit centuries despite losing a finger to a mob attack.

The triple isn't the greatest knock every played. Doesn't really compare to Lara's 153, Perera's 153 and Stokes' 135 for instance vs much better attacks, especially considering that the pitch was very flat
The 499 was obviously a good innings, but again the quality of the bowling attack is in question. Could name 50 knocks that I would consider greater
His performances in India are obviously very solid, but he still only averaged 44.
See no reason to put him above Neil Harvey, who has a more rounded career, better peer aclaim and a much greater peak
 
The triple isn't the greatest knock every played. Doesn't really compare to Lara's 153, Perera's 153 and Stokes' 135 for instance vs much better attacks, especially considering that the pitch was very flat
The 499 was obviously a good innings, but again the quality of the bowling attack is in question. Could name 50 knocks that I would consider greater
His performances in India are obviously very solid, but he still only averaged 44.
See no reason to put him above Neil Harvey, who has a more rounded career, better peer aclaim and a much greater peak

Lara's knock has already been bettered by Thisara Perera and Ben Stokes.


But cricket is yet to see a knock even half as great as Murhoom Haneef Mohammad's marathon effort.

To each their own but for me it is the greatest knock ever played in history of test cricket, arguably at any level of cricket.
 
My top 7 -

Sachin Tendulkar (India)
Sunil Gavaskar (India)
Rahul Dravid (India)
Virat Kohli (India)
Kumar Sangakkara (Sri Lanka)
Javed Miandad (Pakistan)
Mahela Jayawardene (Sri Lanka)
Younis Khan (Pakistan)
 
Javed miandad
Kumar sangakarra
Inzmam ul haq
Younis khan
Hanif Mohammed
Zaheer Abbas
Mohd Yousuf
Saeed Anwar
Mahela Jayawardene
Virat kohli

One of the most unbiased posts ever made.

All good except Kohli at 9. What is he doing in Top 10 my dear Kashmiri :)) :))
 
Younis Khan has total 5 centuries in SENA ,virat has 6 in Australia alone and he still has 4 years more atleast.

No comparison there.

Sachin
Gavaskar
Sangakkara
Dravid
Kohli
Miandad
Inzamam
Khan
Sehwag
Jayawardene
 
^ Inzy and Sehwag have poor SENA records. Top 10 players should be able to play everywhere.
 
Younis Khan has total 5 centuries in SENA ,virat has 6 in Australia alone and he still has 4 years more atleast.

No comparison there.

Sachin
Gavaskar
Sangakkara
Dravid
Kohli
Miandad
Inzamam
Khan
Sehwag
Jayawardene

I hear your point on Yoni but what has Sangakkara achieved in SENA? Inzamam, Sehwag too.

In terms of SENA achievements, someone like Jimmy Amarnath leapfrogs many places right into Top 5 .
 
YK
Inzi
Sanga - Criminally under rated, was a keeper for a decent chunk of games.
Miandad
Hanif
Mahela
Zaheer Abbas
Saleem Malik
Dravid
Gavaskar
 
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Tier 1

Tendulkar
Gavaskar
Dravid
Kohli
Miandad
Sangakarra

Tier 2
Inzamam
Younis Khan
Sehwag
Laxman
 
Lara's knock has already been bettered by Thisara Perera and Ben Stokes.


But cricket is yet to see a knock even half as great as Murhoom Haneef Mohammad's marathon effort.

To each their own but for me it is the greatest knock ever played in history of test cricket, arguably at any level of cricket.

I legit put those knocks next to it.
How is Hanif's so good. Incredibly flat pitch. Mccullum's triple better to e purely looking at match saving triples. Atherton 185 better as well obviously for matchsavers, and way way more (ponting 156 and more)
 
One of the most unbiased posts ever made.

All good except Kohli at 9. What is he doing in Top 10 my dear Kashmiri :)) :))
Kohli is the most dominant Indian batsmen ever. Tendulkar didn’t have a peak and Dravid and Gavaskar didn’t dominate.
Kohli is underrated because he is constantly compared to Smith, who since 2014 is in the 2nd greatest period by any batsmen ever. Kohli could easily finish his career at Sachin level, above that of people like Ponting, Dravid and Kallis

Edit: I literally cannot read.
 
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Tendulkar/Gavaskar, top two, order as you like
Kohli
Sangakkara
Dravid
YK
Sehwag
Miandad
Inzi
Hanif Mohammad or VVS
 
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Anyway for me the top two are clear:
Sachin
Gavaskar in that order
Then something like:
Sanga
Kohli
Miandad
Dravid
Younis
Hazare/Merchant (hard to rate but def could belong in this tier)

Then
Inzamam
Jayawardene
Laxman
Sehwag
Yousuf
Vengsarkar etc
 
Tier 1

Tendulkar
Gavaskar
Dravid
Kohli
Miandad
Sangakarra

Tier 2
Inzamam
Younis Khan
Sehwag
Laxman

Miandad doesn't belong to tier 1, he has a pathetic record (averages less than 30) against the best side of his times.
 
Kohli is the most dominant Indian batsmen ever. Tendulkar didn’t have a peak and Dravid and Gavaskar didn’t dominate.
Kohli is underrated because he is constantly compared to Smith, who since 2014 is in the 2nd greatest period by any batsmen ever. Kohli could easily finish his career at Sachin level, above that of people like Ponting, Dravid and Kallis

Edit: I literally cannot read.
Tendulkar didn't have a peak? Lol wth? How did he score close to 16000 runs in Test Cricket then? Kohli hasn't even scored half of that in test cricket and he is going to be 32 later this year. :inti
 
One of the most unbiased posts ever made.

All good except Kohli at 9. What is he doing in Top 10 my dear Kashmiri :)) :))

Biased or unbiased it doesn't matter.These are the batsman in my eyes are top 10 from Asia.Actually I think virat should be in top 5 my mistake here.he is the only Indian player I have ever liked.
 
Tendulkar didn't have a peak? Lol wth? How did he score close to 16000 runs in Test Cricket then? Kohli hasn't even scored half of that in test cricket and he is going to be 32 later this year. :inti
This is just to prop up his favourite, Smith.
 
Tendulkar didn't have a peak? Lol wth? How did he score close to 16000 runs in Test Cricket then? Kohli hasn't even scored half of that in test cricket and he is going to be 32 later this year. :inti

If you look through Tendulkar career, you will struggle to find a period where he averaged 65/70 over 40ish tests. Richards has it, Smith has it, Kohli has it, Sobers, Dravid, Smith and some others
That is all that I mean by a peak. If you find one of Tendulkar I will be happy to change my opinion regarding this

I still rate Tendulkar very highly due to his consistency across conditions and longevity, and I place him in my all time XI but it is quite clear that he doesn’t a peak comparable with some other batsmen
 
If you look through Tendulkar career, you will struggle to find a period where he averaged 65/70 over 40ish tests. Richards has it, Smith has it, Kohli has it, Sobers, Dravid, Smith and some others
That is all that I mean by a peak. If you find one of Tendulkar I will be happy to change my opinion regarding this

I still rate Tendulkar very highly due to his consistency across conditions and longevity, and I place him in my all time XI but it is quite clear that he doesn’t a peak comparable with some other batsmen

40ish ??

How about 70ish?

1 jan 1993 and 27 Feb 2002 - 70 Test - Avg 65+
 
40ish ??

How about 70ish?

1 jan 1993 and 27 Feb 2002 - 70 Test - Avg 65+

To add - Home and away, both were around 65 in this 10 years period. We had tons of ATG bowlers in that period so you can draw some conclusion about what 65+ avg in 70 tests will mean as a peak in that period.
 
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2nd peak of SRT was not 70ish tests , but

17 oct 2008 and 16 dec 2010 - 24 tests - avg 75+
 
This is just to prop up his favourite, Smith.

Tragedy that BCCI didn't schedule enough tests when Sachin was at his peak. We used to average 4-5 tests per year quite often in the 90s. He played his 100th test only in October 2002, debut was in 1989.
 
40ish ??

How about 70ish?

1 jan 1993 and 27 Feb 2002 - 70 Test - Avg 65+

Wow, when quality of bowling was so high and in the relatively low scoring era. An Aussie of Englishman would have played 100 tests in that period, Sachin was unlucky to miss out on 3000 runs at 65 avg and 15 100s. Thanks to BCCI's greed.

By the end of 90s only 3 batsmen could maintain 50+ average:
SRT 57
Lara 51/52
Steve Waugh just over 50
 
Here, I have listed down the top 10 batsmen of all-time to have played for Asian teams.

The criteria set is very simple and is for tests, i.e. 4000 test runs.

Here we go.

1. Sachin Tendulkar (India)
2. Sunil Gavaskar (India)
3. Kumar Sangakkara (Sri Lanka)
4. Javed Miandad (Pakistan)
5. Rahul Dravid (India)
6. Virat Kohli (India)
7. Virender Sehwag (India)
8. Younis Khan (Pakistan)
9. Inzamam ul haq (Pakistan)
10. Mahela Jayawardene (Sri Lanka)

1. KOHLI
2. SANGAKKARA
3. TENDULKAR
4. GAVASKAR
5. DRAVID
6. YOUNIS KHAN
7. JAYAWARDENE
8. INZAMAM
9. LAXMAN
10. M YOUSUF

Javed Miandad's record was bloated by home umpires not giving him out LBW.
 
1. KOHLI
2. SANGAKKARA
3. TENDULKAR
4. GAVASKAR
5. DRAVID
6. YOUNIS KHAN
7. JAYAWARDENE
8. INZAMAM
9. LAXMAN
10. M YOUSUF

Javed Miandad's record was bloated by home umpires not giving him out LBW.
Kohli ahead of Tendulkar ?
 
Miandad doesn't belong to tier 1, he has a pathetic record (averages less than 30) against the best side of his times.

On the whole, I consider him tier 1. However, I would understand why one may want to put him in tier 2.
 
Tier 1

Tendulkar
Gavaskar
Dravid
Kohli
Miandad
Sangakarra

Tier 2
Inzamam
Younis Khan
Sehwag
Laxman

I will slightly change my rankings

Tier 1
Tendulkar
Gavaskar
Dravid
Kohli
Miandad
Sangakarra

Tier 2

Younis Khan
Laxman
Inzamam
Sehwag
Mahela Jayawardane


Simply adding Mahela. IMHO, Inzi, Sehwag and Mahela are on the same level. If one of these is tier 2, then so are others.
 
40ish ??

How about 70ish?

1 jan 1993 and 27 Feb 2002 - 70 Test - Avg 65+

62 tests at an average of 63 vs non minnows. Very good obviously, but still below the Ponting's, Richards' and Sobers' of thus world
 
62 tests at an average of 63 vs non minnows. Very good obviously, but still below the Ponting's, Richards' and Sobers' of thus world

SL had an army of part timers operating till the late 90s before Murali and Vass became a force. NZ too were considerably worse than Zim with the ball in the 90s and Eng wasn’t too flash either for the most part [Team stats]. Sachin feasted on all four. That average actually plummets down to around the 50 mark against the top attacks. Still great obviously but not something earth shattering.

When it comes to comparing players on a level playing field I don't think there's a more objective, thorough and accessible measurement out there than player ratings. It takes into account a whole heap of factors including bowling quality, opposition, pitch conditions etc which basic averages obviously do not.

Sachin neither reached the 900 ratings point mark nor sustained such high levels for lengthy periods throughout his entire 24 year Test career. He should have killed it the way a certain “South African” is portraying things lol. In fact his rating was actually under the 750 mark for around 40% of his career.

Screen-Shot-2018-12-23-at-10-35-17-am.png


Sachin

Rating of 850ish on average for around 6 years all up (25% of career)
Spent around 10 years under 750 (40% of career) and the rest on average 800ish for around 8 years (35% of career)

Compare that with Lara and Sanga for instance

Lara

Rating of 850ish on average for around 8 years all up (50% of career)
Spent around 4 years under 750 (25% of career) and the rest on average 800ish for around 4 years (25% of career).

Sanga

Rating of 850ish on average for around 9 years straight (60% of career)
Spent around 4 years under 750 (25% of career) and the rest on average 800ish for around 2 years (15% of career)
 
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