India is still the best team in the world

[Xoib]

Now before people jump on me, let me clarify my statement.

This is a very poor era of test cricket probably the weakest I have sever seen and India like quite a few others is a deeply flawed side and these flaws are over exposed when teams play out of their comfort zone.

India is probably the best side of a very poor bunch and is also the weakest best side i don't know since Bradman made his debut and there were just two test playing nations.

In Kohli and Ashwin India have two top of the top 5 test cricketers in the world probably no other side can boast that. Kohli will challenge Sachin as India's best ever batsman by the time he retires which should put him among the top 5-7 batsman ever while Ashwin despite his traveling trouble which he seems to have improved upon is also an unbelievable talent.

India has been slightly unlucky in this series the loss of Bhuvi and Bumrah though not series changing but has hurt their chances and they lost a crucial toss at Lords, despite all this the Indian team should not overlook the fact that their batting line barring Kohli in now a proven HTB batting line up. They should move on from the likes of Karthik and Parthiv Patel and look for a long terms replacement of Dohni while Ravi Shastri can not be a coach of a top ranking test side and hence radical changes are needed on this front.

Despite being 2-0 down this series is not over for India though a series win looks remote but they can end this series strongly. I believe Rahul and Pandaya have potential and should be givin this full series and return of Bumrah will make them stronger. This English side is not all that flash batting is shaky and can be exposed while Anderson and Broad are not gettin younger and will be difficult for them to maintain this intensity over a course of 5 tests. So there might still be some life left here.

 

[Aman]

I agree, most top teams are average at best.

 

[Joseph Gomes]

India is not the best. No team is best.

Also test rankings are garbage. Even T20 rankings are more meaningful.

 

[Xoib]

India is not the best. No team is best.

Also test rankings are garbage. Even T20 rankings are more meaningful.

India is the least poor of a mediocre bunch which makes them the best.

Reverse the venue without changing the sides and the score cards would also be in reverse, we do not have any side which can go around the world and stamp their authority.

 

[JaDed]

Think India gets more flak on this forum not coz Indian posters but Pakistani posters, we got humiliated in this test,no otherway around it sadly.

 

[leatherface58]

All teams are abject/mediocre overseas but India is nigh impossible to beat at home by virtue of which they have stayed at top. In a way, it is good because there is no domination here but it is predictable with teams getting thrashed overseas and winning at home. India also wins in familiar conditions such as Sri Lanka and West Indies improving their record further.

 

[Kohli The King of Chase]

India is still ONE OF the best teamS in the world

 

[IAJ]

Absence of Bhuvi and Bumrah have really hurt them, but you hardly get oppportunity to field your best eleven so the backups should always be ready. On foreign soils most teams are bad.

 

[ahmedwaqas92]

bEsT tEaM iN tHe wOrLd iNdEeD

 

[RamLakhan]

Good sensible post. But the adversity & mediocrity that Shastri/Kohli have brought in to the side has to be severely criticized... I don't think Shastri is doing a coaching job! He is making sure that players are having dosti-dosti, yaari-yaari fun... While to some extent this (fun) is needed, but that should not be everything... There should be discipline, and for Shastri discipline is just one hard-talk done occasionally (like tracer bullet)

Pandya can do much better if he is under good coaching surveillance... He can be at least visualized as our Abdul Razzak or Azhar Mehmood (instead of mocking him as Sobers or even Kapil) The reason for persisting him is for the kind of balance he provides (5th bowling option, 6th batsman, 4th/3rd seamer overseas, 3rd/2nd Seamer in India!) Since he is such an integral part, there should be thorough discipline, coaching of this guy, and not play him just like that!

Also for Indian test side to do well overseas (or even at home, there have been some heartbreaks like 1st test against Aus, WC T20 match against NZ, Dharmashala ODI against SL, etc), the IPL is playing a major culprit! At least guys like Rahane, Vijay, Pujara, etc, should never have played IPL. (It is anyhow a torture watching them playing IPL, there adding no value there either! Let us increase their test pay by 10 times or 20 times, and IPL/BCCI has to pay that if they are concerned about Test Cricket! Or let them boycott Test Cricket completely, if only money is their concern! Stop this agony!) If Test Cricket is/was any kind of priority, then they should have taken this precaution long back! They should have identified these players and kept them away. Even Rahul... I guess he took IPL very seriously. In 2016 he was taking every measure to improve his stroke-play and he was starting to lose his solid defense! He was injured next year, and then he made up his mind strongly to do well in IPL and he succeed in 2018... Maybe good from his personal perspective, but for proper Indian fans it didn't bother much whether he succeeded in IPL or not. We lost a very good test prospect (that too opener! Which is so critical). IPL money is nothing actually (he lost everything in 2017 anyhow due to injury). After 2 years, if he is not that good or not keeps his name (loses place in National team), then his reputation goes down even in IPL (and hence his form!) So IPL is like fast food which tastes quickly, but decays soon! IPL can be good only after you have established as a player and know every ongoing/ups & downs of cricket (like Kohli) Both player & management should know this fact! IPL will still give money without the expense of these players, without damaging the careers of these players! Heck let IPL be full of even foreign players (let it be full of Gayles, Devilliers, Warners, etc! Stadiums will be filled, TRPs on TV will be raised, fans will be happy, entertainment will be top-notch, what more?) Our critical national players should understand that quick money is not everything, in fact you will lose lot of money if just IPL is kept in mind! Somebody like Rahul can make a lot of money from IPL after 5 years or even more after 8 or 10 years (look how ABD has planned, Dhoni has planned!) These guys should not have short visions! Actually they should get proper guidance about all these things! IPL should be used judicially (players who are still not picked for national side, can play it to display their skills! Players who are out form/dropped can play to see if they are good again!)

If things go just like this with blindfold, then we fans should be disheartened by the way we are been taken for granted, and for the way they are just concentrating on quick cash!

 

[Usman Chadda]

What this series has shown is that the Test Rankings is deeply flawed to the point where its not to be taken seriously anymore. If you tell any casual fan that India is the number one team in the world at the moment, and he/she looks at the results, the individual will probably burst out laughing at you. This defeat at Lord's is bad, and no amount of tinkering with this or that could have changed it. Indian batting line-up is dead and buried for good at the moment, and they need a fresh face to reignite their hopes. Playing the same line-up will definitely lead to a 5-0 whitewash, which will destroy India's reputation

 

[Minnowbasher]

No team is best. You can't say India is better than other teams because India is losing away from home and winning at home which is the case for every team. India are perhaps more comprehensive at home than other teams but they are more garbage than even Pakistan away from home (or atleast in England).

 

[Usman]

I find it funny how Indians blame defeat on the absence of Bhuvi and Bumrah )

The batsmen are showing an inability to hold the bat the right way up, yet Indians think Bhuvi and Bumrah would have turned this series around. Unless Bhuvi and Bumrah are second incarnations of Sachin Tendulker with the bat, their presence in the Indian team would make no difference.

If they were more effective than the other Indian bowlers, then perhaps they would have helped narrow the margin of defeat - maybe to help India to lose by an innings and 100 runs instead of an innings and 200 runs. If that's consolation for Indian fans, they can have that.

This Indian team is poor. Any suggestion that they are the best in the world, or indeed anywhere near it is, frankly, completely deluded.

 

[hadi123]

Tbf, this is the only away performance where India have been thrashed recently. They fought really well in SA and both of those matches they lost could have gone either way, as could have the 1st Test in this series. If you compare India's recent away series to at the start of the current decade, they have definitely improved. I wonder if they will sink or swim in the 3rd Test.

 

[Dr_Bassim]

They may not be the best but if it keeps raining they will keep going back to the pavilion.

If somehow it stops raining and becomes flat and dry, runs will be discounted.

I think the 1st test they lost was the turning point for England in self belief and imploding of India's belief.

Things look really bad from here on.

 

[Titan24]

Wont say India is the best team but definitely among the top sides in world cricket.

I might have accepted India with atleast top heavy batting when there was Sehwag, Tendu, Ganguly, Dravid, Laxman as no 1 test team but this current Indian test team is even mediocre in batting and bowling is carrying its tradition.

Those star players to inspire young kids are missing from this side other than Kohli.

Its one of those phases when many international teams are under development.

Though I think NZ team is pretty much in a developed form atleast as developed as they ever have been others than few spots and its a shame they are not playing more test cricket otherwise there ranking would have improved. [MENTION=132954]Aman[/MENTION] might be able to put more light.

 

[Mamoon]

I find it funny how Indians blame defeat on the absence of Bhuvi and Bumrah )

The batsmen are showing an inability to hold the bat the right way up, yet Indians think Bhuvi and Bumrah would have turned this series around. Unless Bhuvi and Bumrah are second incarnations of Sachin Tendulker with the bat, their presence in the Indian team would make no difference.

If they were more effective than the other Indian bowlers, then perhaps they would have helped narrow the margin of defeat - maybe to help India to lose by an innings and 100 runs instead of an innings and 200 runs. If that's consolation for Indian fans, they can have that.

This Indian team is poor. Any suggestion that they are the best in the world, or indeed anywhere near it is, frankly, completely deluded.

You can't look at the aggregate runs and deduce that the inclusion of Bhuvneshwar wouldn't have made a difference. Bumrah was also a loss, but nowhere near as big as Bhuvneshwar, who is one of the best swing bowlers in the world and would have been lethal in these conditions as he always is.

Bairstow and Woakes ran away with the game. If Bhuvneshwar would have dismissed them, the outlook of the game could have been completely different, because ultimately it comes down to the performance of 1-2 individual players.

I know there are a lot of ifs, buts, coulds and woulds, but that is how it is when a team doesn't get to play not only its full strength team but its best bowler in these conditions by some distance.

 

[Monsee]

When a team gets dismissed for 105 and 130 and lose by an innings and 170 odd runs, we run and cry about lack of such and such bowlers, makes complete sense!

 

[Usman]

You can't look at the aggregate runs and deduce that the inclusion of Bhuvneshwar wouldn't have made a difference. Bumrah was also a loss, but nowhere near as big as Bhuvneshwar, who is one of the best swing bowlers in the world and would have been lethal in these conditions as he always is.

Bairstow and Woakes ran away with the game. If Bhuvneshwar would have dismissed them, the outlook of the game could have been completely different, because ultimately it comes down to the performance of 1-2 individual players.

I know there are a lot of ifs, buts, coulds and woulds, but that is how it is when a team doesn't get to play not only its full strength team but its best bowler in these conditions by some distance.

You always big up Indian cricketers no matter how bad they are and downplay Pakistanis no matter how well they do. Are you Indian by the way? Genuine question.

Indians batting woes having nothing whatsoever to do with their bowlers. You get bowled out for 100 twice, you lose. Stop making excuses. No bowler on planet earth could win you a test match when your batsmen collectively score close to 0.

 

[babajee]

Indians acting like BK is Wasim Akram.

 

[James]

India are a better team than we saw at Lord’s. They could have easily won at Edgbaston, where they bowled superbly throughout the match. It’s fair to say that no team gets to the number one ranking for no reason at all.

 

[Rahul1]

Indians acting like BK is Wasim Akram.

Just like Pak fans acting like babar azam is Viv Richards and Sachin Tendulkar rolled into one.

 

[the_game]

You can't look at the aggregate runs and deduce that the inclusion of Bhuvneshwar wouldn't have made a difference. Bumrah was also a loss, but nowhere near as big as Bhuvneshwar, who is one of the best swing bowlers in the world and would have been lethal in these conditions as he always is.

Bairstow and Woakes ran away with the game. If Bhuvneshwar would have dismissed them, the outlook of the game could have been completely different, because ultimately it comes down to the performance of 1-2 individual players.

I know there are a lot of ifs, buts, coulds and woulds, but that is how it is when a team doesn't get to play not only its full strength team but its best bowler in these conditions by some distance.

Young grasshopper, Indians scored a hundred runs per innings. No amount of Hedleys, Lillees or Imrans in your bowling lineup would be enough for such a shambolic batting performance. I understand you being an Indian apologist, but do not insult the intelligence of the majority of the cricket fans here by throwing laughable excuses.

 

[babajee]

Just like Pak fans acting like babar azam is Viv Richards and Sachin Tendulkar rolled into one.

He’s better than them both though.

 

[UP]

Yes, and I will win 50 million lotto this week.

 

[barah_admi]

How the hell is Ashwin, how is a mediocre bowler outside of Asia, one of the top 5 cricketers on the planet???

 

[akki]

When a team gets dismissed for 105 and 130 and lose by an innings and 170 odd runs, we run and cry about lack of such and such bowlers, makes complete sense!

Man we have beaten all these angrej and other teams with in 3 days and many times in india irrespective of lossing the toss there in india.
England won both tosses here and in india as well,they won almost all the tosses.

 

[Artaxerxes]

India is a good team but it is not the best.India became number one by playing lots of matches at home.If India regularly wins series in Australia,England,SA and New Zealand then it can be justified to rank it number one.

 

[bujhee kom]

Owing to their home dominance, India probably are the #1 side. They sweep all at home and have become somewhat competitive away (sans England). But they are not a great side as they struggle for wins away from familiar conditions. There have been 2 truly great teams - the 94-05 Aussies and the 76-92 WI.

All others have shone here or there.

 

[Ab Fan]

Owing to their home dominance, India probably are the #1 side. They sweep all at home and have become somewhat competitive away (sans England). But they are not a great side as they struggle for wins away from familiar conditions. There have been 2 truly great teams - the 94-05 Aussies and the 76-92 WI.

All others have shone here or there.

Actually, this is not even the best side India ever had. It is the best team in the world but not the best India ever had.

 

[finalfantasy7]

Reverse the venue without changing the sides and the score cards would also be in reverse, we do not have any side which can go around the world and stamp their authority.

maybe true, however india have realistically lasted just over 3 days twice in this series, reverse this - at it wont happen

 

[Zaz]

A team that can barely win a test outside the subcontinent is in no way the best team in the world

 

[Bhaag Viru Bhaag]

Absence of Bhuvi and Bumrah have really hurt them, but you hardly get oppportunity to field your best eleven so the backups should always be ready. On foreign soils most teams are bad.

Bhuvi and Bumrah got injured in IPL. They have themselves to blame for their injuries.

 

[jeeteshssaxena]

He’s better than them both though.

If you even have one ounce of this belief in your mind then please get rid of it.You will be heavily heavily disappointed.
If babar makes full use of his talent and does everything which he is capable of he will reach inzi level in tests and amla level in odis.

Babar isnt a prodigy those two were.

 

[topspin]

POTW for me - finally a sensible and an impartial assessment of India's test team.

Chest thumping fans with green tints will do everything to make this team look like a minnow but forget the fact that we're a 7th ranked side. It's a bit like Everton fans taking shots at Liverpool for falling short in the UCL final when they're about a mid table side.

 

[kuskash]

He’s better than them both though.

Nothing to say, no one will take you seriously onwards.

 

[Monsee]

If you even have one ounce of this belief in your mind then please get rid of it.You will be heavily heavily disappointed.
If babar makes full use of his talent and does everything which he is capable of he will reach inzi level in tests and amla level in odis.

Babar isnt a prodigy those two were.

Nonsense, first who defines a prodigy, the people who want to promote a certain player or what?

Second, how was Richards a prodigy, no one announced he will be the next so and so when he was exceptionally young, and he was waiting in the wings for a while etc?

Even if so is the case with Richards, for argument's sake, Babar definitely meets the criteria since he was always earmarked for bigger things and have come through the various ranks. If that is not a prodigy, then what it is?

 

[Monsee]

POTW for me - finally a sensible and an impartial assessment of India's test team.

Chest thumping fans with green tints will do everything to make this team look like a minnow but forget the fact that we're a 7th ranked side. It's a bit like Everton fans taking shots at Liverpool for falling short in the UCL final when they're about a mid table side.

Like another poster above said and many more all over the world pretty much said like wise "A team that can barely win a test outside the subcontinent is in no way the best team in the world"

And since we the 7th ranked team are chest thumping (in your words), while staying on that topic...how is the supposed 'Annihilation of 5th ranked team going on for the world number 1 team' ever since the Rockstarts stepped foot outside of their comfort zones?

 

[Monsee]

Now before people jump on me, let me clarify my statement.

This is a very poor era of test cricket probably the weakest I have sever seen and India like quite a few others is a deeply flawed side and these flaws are over exposed when teams play out of their comfort zone.

India is probably the best side of a very poor bunch and is also the weakest best side i don't know since Bradman made his debut and there were just two test playing nations.

In Kohli and Ashwin India have two top of the top 5 test cricketers in the world probably no other side can boast that. Kohli will challenge Sachin as India's best ever batsman by the time he retires which should put him among the top 5-7 batsman ever while Ashwin despite his traveling trouble which he seems to have improved upon is also an unbelievable talent.

India has been slightly unlucky in this series the loss of Bhuvi and Bumrah though not series changing but has hurt their chances and they lost a crucial toss at Lords, despite all this the Indian team should not overlook the fact that their batting line barring Kohli in now a proven HTB batting line up. They should move on from the likes of Karthik and Parthiv Patel and look for a long terms replacement of Dohni while Ravi Shastri can not be a coach of a top ranking test side and hence radical changes are needed on this front.

Despite being 2-0 down this series is not over for India though a series win looks remote but they can end this series strongly. I believe Rahul and Pandaya have potential and should be givin this full series and return of Bumrah will make them stronger. This English side is not all that flash batting is shaky and can be exposed while Anderson and Broad are not gettin younger and will be difficult for them to maintain this intensity over a course of 5 tests. So there might still be some life left here.

How is he that when he can barely get picked by his own team on a regular basis especially when the team is playing outside Asia; also his record in Aus/SA/Eng/NZ is rank bad as it can be?

 

[Ab Fan]

How is he that when he can barely get picked by his own team on a regular basis especially when the team is playing outside Asia; also his record in Aus/SA/Eng/NZ is rank bad as it can be?

He has a very good record in England and for an off-spinner, his record is quite decent in Aus as well.

 

[gazza619]

I agree, most top teams are average at best.

I kind of disagree. If lets say you go back to 1990s. You had world class teams like Pakistan, WI, Australia and South Africa. Sri Lanka. India and England at best were home track bully. NZ was pretty much in the same category as Zimbabwe giving odd good performances. Bangladesh was not worth talking about.

Now if you look at today, Australia has suffered downfall (still tough to beat them at home). WI is now the new Zimbabwe. India and England are a force today (they are not like the Australia of the 90s) but the quality of their pool players has increased. NZ is a far better team. SA is still a good team. Pakistan is below par but still tough to beat. Bangladesh has massively improved.
So if you deeply review the teams today the quality is a bit more scatterred.

 

[Monsee]

He has a very good record in England and for an off-spinner, his record is quite decent in Aus as well.

So, based on the first test in this series, his record suddenly becomes very good, he took 7 in that one game but went wicketless in the next one and was pretty decently mauled? He has played 4 tests in England and in rest of the 3 he got 3 wickets, 10 wickets in 4 tests overall...is that a very good record? Sample size is quite small but good performance in 1 in 4 tests makes it fair/decent at best and not very good!

In Australia, he has 21 wickets in 6 tests at 54.71 and 97 SR; how is that quite decent? It is barely average or fair? Quite decent would at least have the average at 35-40 and a SR not touching 100 balls mark for sure.

Again in SA, he has 7 wickets in 3 tests at 46 average and 101.5 SR, pretty poor is what I call that!

His overall record in these three combined reads:

Mat Inns Overs Mdns Runs Wkts BBI BBM Ave SR
13 21 557.4 84 1762 38 4/62 7/121 46.36 88.0

IMO, and probably a lot of others as well in the world, this record would be something considered just about ok (if not poor), nothing special to put him in the bracket of top 5 test players in the world!

 

[Ab Fan]

So, based on the first test in this series, his record suddenly becomes very good, he took 7 in that one game but went wicketless in the next one and was pretty decently mauled? He has played 4 tests in England and in rest of the 3 he got 3 wickets, 10 wickets in 4 tests overall...is that a very good record? Sample size is quite small but good performance in 1 in 4 tests makes it fair/decent at best and not very good!

In Australia, he has 21 wickets in 6 tests at 54.71 and 97 SR; how is that quite decent? It is barely average or fair? Quite decent would at least have the average at 35-40 and a SR not touching 100 balls mark for sure.

Again in SA, he has 7 wickets in 3 tests at 46 average and 101.5 SR, pretty poor is what I call that!

His overall record in these three combined reads:

Mat Inns Overs Mdns Runs Wkts BBI BBM Ave SR
13 21 557.4 84 1762 38 4/62 7/121 46.36 88.0

IMO, and probably a lot of others as well in the world, this record would be something considered just about ok (if not poor), nothing special to put him in the bracket of top 5 test players in the world!

Its not just one test in England now. He did took 3 wickets in an inning (3-72) in the 2014 series as well. He didnt failed in that series, he was brilliant in first test and in second test, pretty much every single spinner in the world would have got hammered as there was absolutely nothing there for spin bowlers.

In Australia, you have to consider the context of the game. It is a place which is considered as a graveyard for off-spinner. Murali averages 75 there, Swann averages 50+ there as well. The job of the spinner there is to not leak runs, kept batters quiet and get some wickets. He did it very well in Australia tours.

In SA, he was terrible in the 2014 tour. He was an average bowler back then as well. Improved a lot since then.

Didnt played in NZ yet, but he has been brutal in WI and Sri Lanka as well.

Spinners are generally not all-conditions bowlers and their job is different from fast bowlers.

An average of 30 with the bat adds more value as a cricketer overall.

 

[Monsee]

Its not just one test in England now. He did took 3 wickets in an inning (3-72) in the 2014 series as well. He didnt failed in that series, he was brilliant in first test and in second test, pretty much every single spinner in the world would have got hammered as there was absolutely nothing there for spin bowlers.

In Australia, you have to consider the context of the game. It is a place which is considered as a graveyard for off-spinner. Murali averages 75 there, Swann averages 50+ there as well. The job of the spinner there is to not leak runs, kept batters quiet and get some wickets. He did it very well in Australia tours.

In SA, he was terrible in the 2014 tour. He was an average bowler back then as well. Improved a lot since then.

Didnt played in NZ yet, but he has been brutal in WI and Sri Lanka as well.

Spinners are generally not all-conditions bowlers and their job is different from fast bowlers.

An average of 30 with the bat adds more value as a cricketer overall.

All said and done, even if I agree or listen to your opinion, I fail to see how he can be considered amongst top 5 test players in the world? A top 5 or top 10 test player would be an asset to his team, irrespective of the environment...which Ashwin clearly is not when he tours to lands that are a bit challenging, not a single 5 wicket haul in any of those places!

Considering his batting, that is still barely even a top 20 test player material, let alone a top 5 test player in the world!

This comment about 'Improved a lot' has to translate in some really excellent performances otherwise that is just a thought or false impression at best!

 

[Aman]

Wont say India is the best team but definitely among the top sides in world cricket.

I might have accepted India with atleast top heavy batting when there was Sehwag, Tendu, Ganguly, Dravid, Laxman as no 1 test team but this current Indian test team is even mediocre in batting and bowling is carrying its tradition.

Those star players to inspire young kids are missing from this side other than Kohli.

Its one of those phases when many international teams are under development.

Though I think NZ team is pretty much in a developed form atleast as developed as they ever have been others than few spots and its a shame they are not playing more test cricket otherwise there ranking would have improved. [MENTION=132954]Aman[/MENTION] might be able to put more light.

We've been going alright, but I don't think we have the quality to improve our ranking. We're solid at home against SC teams, but I'd back the likes of Aus, England and SA to beat us here. Away we're not as bad as some teams, but we're not exactly good either. We were smashed in India and we'd probably lose in SA, Eng, Pakistan (UAE) and Aus.

 

[Xoib]

How is he that when he can barely get picked by his own team on a regular basis especially when the team is playing outside Asia; also his record in Aus/SA/Eng/NZ is rank bad as it can be?

Not a big Ashwin fan but he odes have a case of being top 5.

As you said you need to be great in all conditions to be a top5 cricketer then who meets the criteria,

Kohli, Starc, Smith, Steyn when he is fit who else?

Williamson and Root do not make enough impact to be labeled match winners every where Rabada is still unproven in Asia there is Stokes but very inconsistent. The likes of Anderson and Ashwin are probably the biggest match winners when conditions favor them so yes a top 7 if not a top 5 is a fair assessment.

 

[happydavy]

India wasn't the best team and India isn't the best team, plain and simple. India because of hype around it gets exaggerated praise when it wins and exaggerated criticism when it loses. And this is true even for ODI team.

 

[The Googly]

International cricket standards are the poorest for 20 years thanks to t20 which has destroyed the traditional techniques.

India deserve to be number 1 but they are not the true number 1 as has been seen. Their batting is probably worse then Pakistan away from India and their bowling is not good enough.

No one is good enough to deserve the true number 1 spot outright. However, I would put Australia, South Africa and Pakistan ahead of India.

 

[Monsee]

Not a big Ashwin fan but he odes have a case of being top 5.

As you said you need to be great in all conditions to be a top5 cricketer then who meets the criteria,

Kohli, Starc, Smith, Steyn when he is fit who else?

Williamson and Root do not make enough impact to be labeled match winners every where Rabada is still unproven in Asia there is Stokes but very inconsistent. The likes of Anderson and Ashwin are probably the biggest match winners when conditions favor them so yes a top 7 if not a top 5 is a fair assessment.

If he has not even taken a 5 wickets haul (despite being a specialist bowler) and helped his team win overseas, at least 1-2 tests, I would rather not label him a top 10, let alone top 5. He has to have some stand out matches, even a couple to be called that; in absence of those, he is a very good home track and spin wickets bowler, that is it!

Other top 5-10 players could be players like Azhar Ali (does have a few stand out performances out of Pakistan), Faf du Plesis, Cook (although going down quick), David Warner, Anderson (not sure about his record away from home though), Trent Boult, Herath, Broad (def better than Ashwin), Yasir Shah, even Jason Holder (in terms of performances all around the world), Shakib, Ben Stokes, even someone like Moeen Ali.

Off course you can disagree but until he wins or helps win a test or two, we cannot even make a case for top10 and for him to be a top 5, he has to take some good amount of wickets; a best of 4 wickets in one match and then going wicketless next innings does not make a good case for him

 

[Mahee]

Pakistan team is the best

 

[TeamPak95]

For me right now the spot of best team in the world is still vacant and has been vacant since Graeme Smith's mighty SA were number one in the world. And by "best team in the world" I mean a team that's winning test series' home and away (or at least most places away). India to me is not the "best team in the world" but "the closest to being the best team", and that too is a fair ways away as well.

 

[Ab Fan]

For me right now the spot of best team in the world is still vacant and has been vacant since Graeme Smith's mighty SA were number one in the world. And by "best team in the world" I mean a team that's winning test series' home and away (or at least most places away). India to me is not the "best team in the world" but "the closest to being the best team", and that too is a fair ways away as well.

Good point. If India had won one series against top opposition away from home, a case could be made for them as they were dominant at home and have won series in SL and WI both home and away.

At this point, post Smith's SA team, there hasn't been a true no.1 ranked team in the world.

 

[wrongun]

The OP has a sound basis. No other team is as dominant, unbeatable at home. So India are head there (ignoring all talk about conditions blah blah). Oz, SA, England are all losing even at home from time to time. Pakistan similarly.

No-one is winning regularly away in "alien" conditions- Oz or SA can swap a series perhaps but struggle in Asia. All Asian teams struggle in Oz/SA. Pakistan occasionally turn up in England but get murdered elsewhere etc.

Given that no-one is winning at home as much as India and no-one else is really doing noticeably or consistantly better away either to raise a counter-argument , then India are probably the #1 side. Not world beaters but a thin, deserved #1 ranking.

Who knows they might show some fight & draw or win a Test or two this tour and emerge with some respectability or an enhanced reputation. They were right in that first Test, crashed badly in the second and know we'll see how resilient they are.

 

[Oligochaetes]

Last 2 away series for each Team

Australia
in South Africa - Lost 1-3
in Bangladesh - drew 1-1

England
in New Zealand - lost 0-1
in Australia - lost 0-4

South Africa
in Sri Lanka - Lost 0-2
in England - Lost 1-3

India
In Sri Lanka - Won 3-0
In West Indies - Won - 2-0

Pakistan
In Ireland - Won - 1-0
In England - Draw - 1-1


Based on the above, right now, India are No.1. This is the first BAD series they are having since they lost to England and Australia in 2014/15. The schedules have favored them as they played mostly at home.

 

[Kashmirilion]

Last 2 away series for each Team

Australia
in South Africa - Lost 1-3
in Bangladesh - drew 1-1

England
in New Zealand - lost 0-1
in Australia - lost 0-4

South Africa
in Sri Lanka - Lost 0-2
in England - Lost 1-3

India
In Sri Lanka - Won 3-0
In West Indies - Won - 2-0

Pakistan
In Ireland - Won - 1-0
In England - Draw - 1-1


Based on the above, right now, India are No.1. This is the first BAD series they are having since they lost to England and Australia in 2014/15. The schedules have favored them as they played mostly at home.

Wasn't India's last away series south Africa which they lost 2-1?

 

[Oligochaetes]

Wasn't India's last away series south Africa which they lost 2-1?

Oh yes you r right, I missed it...