“I don’t think you can say it’s the best batting Indian side” – Shane Warne

Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly, Rahul Dravid, VVS Laxman and Virender Sehwag - the celebrated Fab Five of Indian cricket. (Photo: Twitter)

Australian great Shane Warne believes the current Indian batting lineup is nowhere near as strong as the one he played against more often, featuring Virender Sehwag, Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly and VVS Laxman.

Often termed the best-ever Indian side, Virat Kohli & co have relied on their bowling prowess to win Tests. However, their batting has been a significant area of concern. Since 2020, India’s batting average has read 25.4. Among the major teams, only the West Indies averages lower.

Though Shane Warne called Virat Kohli “one of the best batsmen on the planet,” he reckons India aren’t close to being the batting powerhouse they once were.

“Their batting is nowhere near as strong as Dravid, Ganguly, Laxman, Tendulkar, Sehwag. Virat Kohli is one of the best batsmen on the planet, if not the best across all forms, but when you see that top five of Sehwag, Ganguly, Dravid, Laxman, Tendulkar, that isn’t bad. I don’t think you can say that it’s the best batting Indian side,” Shane Warne said on Sky Sports.

Career batting numbers of Indian batters in two eras

10000 FC runs for Virat Kohli in his 210th innings! India's batting coach Vikram Rathour too hot 10000 FC runs in 210 innings.
Fastest Indian to achieve this feat: Ajay Sharma (160 innings).A few other notable mentions: Merchant (171), Laxman (194), Tendulkar (195), Dravid (208)
— Sarang Bhalerao (@bhaleraosarang) September 5, 2021

Rishabh Pant will be a superstar: Shane Warne

While Shane Warne believes that India’s overseas wins have come due to a formidable pace attack, he lauded the batting contributions of Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma and Rishabh Pant. The three are India’s top ranked batters in Test cricket. He tipped the wicketkeeper-batsman as the future superstar of the batting lineup.

Despite Virat Kohli and Rishabh Pant’s failures with the bat, Rohit Sharma came good in England as India led the Test series 2-1 before the Manchester decider was canceled. Earlier this year, Rishabh Pant’s heroics contributed to India’s historic 2-1 win in Australia.

“Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma are two standout players, and I think Rishabh Pant will be a superstar down the track. But I think it is their fast bowlers that have elevated India to be able to win in all conditions and not just in India,” Shane Warne added.

India’s next Test assignment will be the home series against New Zealand, who beat them in the World Test Championship (WTC) final in June.