Who is the greatest Indian Cricketer ever.

[Akash_Cric]

Agreed, although Sachin is a close second. I rate kapil higher cause besides him, we have not produced any quality pace bowlers.

[maniac]

Agree....In terms of total package and talent No 1...in terms of acheivements,accomplishments and what he brought to the table...tied with SRT or slightly below

[Vanarp22]

I tend to believe..... Very close... b/w Gavaskar,Tendu and Kapil!!!! But everyone can agree...he is the best all rounder(only all rounder) India ever had!!

You forgot Sir Jaddu :hysterical:

[Small_town_boy]

Agree...he is absolutely passionate about the game...Sunny was saying yesterday that he was so enthusiastic that he even used to move the side screen while he was bowling ... One of the greatest all rounder ever .. :hatsoff:

[nevada]

Agreed, Kapil is the best. And as someone on the forums had mentioned, if he had been born in Newzealand or England he would have reaped a boatload more of wickets with much better average and strike rate. To bowl for so many years on the flat wickets of the subcontinent and not missing a single test match on account of injury - that alone deserves much respect. That aside, this looks like the match where Aussies made 292 and India lost this match by a huge margin. Gavaskar was close to getting a century but India was losing big time. He refused to go for his century and remained not out on 90 odd. I thought that was very classy.

[Holysmoke]

Kapil is an ATG. But the best Indian cricketer of all time? :hehe:

[Ultimate_Game]

Yup, Kapil is the best cricketer India has produced. Gavaskar & Tendulkar (probably Tendulkar edging Gavaskar slightly) are the next 2 in line.

[Austin 3:!6]

Sachin is the best cricketer ever in the world, then how come Kapi is best in India???:yikes:

[Lurker]

WOW! Thats a blast from the past thread. Fascinating how few years back we could all get along, write long posts, discuss/debate without getting mad/personal at the posters OR degrade the players in question. That is kind of plain sad that we lost all of that in a matter of few years. And yes Kapil is the best Indian cricketer. :)

[Sarkar]

Sachin

[Raghav_12]

If I have to select one player whom I would like to re-debut for India, it would be Kapil Dev. But greatest Indian cricketer ever is Sachin. There is nobody who comes anywhere close as replacement of Kapil but for Sachin there are close replacements.

[JaFanatic]

Sachin is the best cricketer ever in the world' date=' then how come Kapi is best in India???:yikes:[/quote'] This

[Ultimate_Game]

Kapil for me. Tendulkar & Gavaskar come next.

[Trichromatic]

Agreed, Kapil is the best. And as someone on the forums had mentioned, if he had been born in Newzealand or England he would have reaped a boatload more of wickets with much better average and strike rate. To bowl for so many years on the flat wickets of the subcontinent and not missing a single test match on account of injury - that alone deserves much respect. That aside, this looks like the match where Aussies made 292 and India lost this match by a huge margin. Gavaskar was close to getting a century but India was losing big time. He refused to go for his century and remained not out on 90 odd. I thought that was very classy.

Is there anything to suggest that he would have taken boatload of wickets if he was born in NZ or England?

[ganeshran]

If I have to select one player whom I would like to re-debut for India, it would be Kapil Dev. But greatest Indian cricketer ever is Sachin. There is nobody who comes anywhere close as replacement of Kapil but for Sachin there are close replacements.

This. Kapil would be much more valuable to the side today than Sachin given our fast bowling woes and the need for an allrounder. We will still be able to produce decent batsmen even though not to the calibre of Sachin. However to be rated as the greatest Indian cricketer, one would have to compare the cricketer with this contemporaries at the world level. SRT's contemporaries are Lara and Ricky Ponting whom he has been rated ahead of by many cricketing experts (many, not all). Among the all rounders of his era (Kapil, Imran, Botham, Botham), Kapil is at best rated par to Botham and behind Imran. Benaud picked Imran and Sobers in his world XI.

[The Outsider]

Is there anything to suggest that he would have taken boatload of wickets if he was born in NZ or England?

Yeah, a certain thing called beyond looking at statsguru. But for statsguru fans he would have taken a boatload if he was born in Australia or WI.

[Lurker]

Is there anything to suggest that he would have taken boatload of wickets if he was born in NZ or England?

Well at the very least he would be pairing up with Bob Willis, Mike Hendrick, Chris Old for England...and Chattfield and Cairns for NZ. Admittedly the latter duo would hardly make anyone shake in the boots but still would be more potent than what was fielded alongside Kapil. That said it is merely conjecture. NZ and England were traditionally countries where Kapil did not perform terrificly. Even in county cricket he left a lot to be desired. Which was perhaps true for most Indian cricketers (barring Farukh Engineer and Bedi) till Azhar donned up for Derbyshire.

[Trichromatic]

Yeah' date=' a certain thing called beyond looking at statsguru. But for statsguru fans he would have taken a boatload if he was born in Australia or WI.[/quote'] That reminds me of this question which I always wanted to ask on forum. Why pacers like Kapil, Srinath and even Pakistani bowlers were more successful in home conditions than away. I guess Pakistan did try to create pacer friendly conditions at home during 90s or late 80s, but was that the main reason for better performance at home? What about Indian bowlers?

[Lurker]

That reminds me of this question which I always wanted to ask on forum. Why pacers like Kapil' date=' Srinath and even Pakistani bowlers were more successful in home conditions that away. I guess Pakistan did try to create pacer friendly conditions at home during 90s or late 80s, but was that the main reason for better performance at home. What about Indian bowlers?[/quote'] Different entities really. Indian and Pakistani bowlers have had different repertoire. Pakistani bowlers have been imaginative, and inventive. Reverse swing and doosra was developed in Pakistan. How and why is a seperate question altogether. Pakistani bowlers were more successful with old balls. Indian bowlers have (traditionally) utilized new ball better. The reliance on swing was lot more. Hence as the ball became older so died the potency. Maybe one reason why tailenders have succeeded against India. This is not to say Pakistanis dont swing the new ball, or Indians the old ball, just who was better at it. Kapil vs Imran would be a good case in point. Kapil was deadly early on, Imran perhaps not so much. Imran was deadly as the ball worn out, Kapil not so much.

[Number]

That reminds me of this question which I always wanted to ask on forum. Why pacers like Kapil' date=' Srinath and even Pakistani bowlers were more successful in home conditions than away. I guess Pakistan did try to create pacer friendly conditions at home during 90s or late 80s, but was that the main reason for better performance at home? What about Indian bowlers?[/quote'] I think at home Srinath had better support from spinners like Kumble. Overseas he had no one to support him. In my opinion support from the other end is more vital than support from pitch or conditions for a bowler.