5 irreplaceable cricketers from top cricketing nations
The world of cricket is filled with various big names that have etched a mark in the gentlemen’s game. There are players big enough in stature who have gone on to create brilliant records for their country. Every time, a great cricketer steps out on the field, the records books get ready to register something big. In the same light, let’s look at cricketers from top playing nations that became irreplaceable over a period of time.
5. Ricky Ponting- Australia
Ricky Ponting was too influential as a batsman during his days. He is considered as the most successful skipper in world cricket with a win percentage of 67.91. He is the only player to ply his trade as a captain in the maximum number of matches he played. After taking captaincy charge from Steve Waugh, he just became unstoppable and led Australia to straight World Cup victories in 2003 and 2007. The term of his captaincy is referred to as the golden period of Australia.
4. Jacques Kallis- South Africa
Former South Africa cricketer Jacques Kallis is deemed as one of the greatest all-rounders of all time. Apart from being an impeccable all-rounder, he is seen as South Africa’s most celebrated batsman of all time. As of now, he is the only cricketer who has more than 10,000 runs and 250 plus wickets in both formats of the game. With his aggressive batting tactics, he moved past Ricky Ponting to smash the second highest no. of Test centuries and finished only behind Tendulkar’s 51.
3. Brian Lara- West Indies
Trinidadian legend Lara is another top-class batsman without whom the list couldn’t have been concluded. He is considered one of the greatest of all time from the Caribbean nation and topped Test batting rankings on several occasions. He holds the record of the highest individual score in Test innings when he smashed an unbeaten 400 against England in 2004. He also has the credit of scoring maximum runs in an over in Tests when he hammered Robin Peterson (SA) for 28 runs.
2. MS Dhoni- India
The prestigious list couldn’t have seen its conclusion without including one of the greatest skippers of all time, MS Dhoni. The cricket world came to a standstill when the legendary finisher and skipper walked off the international arena in August 2020. He led the Indian team to various honours and stands to be the only captain in the world to have clinched all the ICC trophies. His classy role as a finisher and lightning-fast gloves work will be remembered forever.
1. Sachin Tendulkar- India
One of the greatest batsmen in the history of cricket, an esteemed list can never ever be completed without mentioning his name. The only player to amass more than 30,000 international runs, Sachin’s name stands too tall in this list. He still has the most ODI and Test runs by any batsman around the world, in his account. His record of 100 international centuries is a golden streak and will be cherished forever by cricketers around the world.
