India's Top 5 Test Batsmen of All Time
India has produced many great batsmen over the years in all forms of cricket.
From the days of Poli Umrigar and Vijay Merchant to the era of Gavaskar & Vensarkar, India always had a strong batting lineup. Then came the golden era of the "Fab Four" viz. Tendulkar, Dravid, Ganguly and Laxman.
In between, India had the likes of Mohammad Azharuddin, who was a treat to watch. Then came the likes of Sehwag, Yuvraj, Dhoni and Kohli, to carry forward the legacy.
Of all those great batsmen, to choose the top five Test players is a very difficult job. Here is my list of India's Top five Test batsmen of all time:
#5 Virender Sehwag
Statistics: Matches: 104, Runs: 8586, Average: 49.34, Strike rate: 82.23, Hundreds: 23
Virender Sehwag redefined the role of a test opener. He showed the world that an opener can come out with the intent of smashing the opposition bowlers from the very first ball, and be successful even in Test cricket.
With 23 hundreds and more than 8500 runs at an average of almost 50, he is arguably one of the greatest Test match openers of all time.
His style of play and match-winning ability was unparalleled. He was truly a once-in-a-generation cricketer, and the history of Test cricket cannot be written without his mention.