With great batting, bowling, or all-rounder skills, players are not titled as legends of cricket. Cricket is more than a sport to fans all around the world. What makes a cricket match interesting are the players. For ages, fans have come together for this legendary sport and their legendary players.
Also, there are iconic players who have lasted their impression by inspiring young players. Also, by dominating the games, and embodying great sportsmanship and leadership. The way they have played and showed their power on and off the field is the reason fans have titled them as legends of cricket. Let’s read about these incredible players of cricket.
Let’s look at some of the greatest legends of cricket of all time.
1. Virat Kohli
Virat Kohli, or King Kohli, as he is called by his fans, is one of the most successful Indian Test match captains. He has a total of 40 wins out of 68 Tests to his name in this format. He holds the record for the highest double centuries in Test cricket. When it comes to scoring runs, Kohli holds the record for the fastest 13,000 runs in 267 innings and the fastest 4,000 runs in 107 innings. He also has broken Sachin Tendulkar’s 1,000-run ODI World Cup record.
King made a world record of hitting fifty runs in his first-ever T20 World Cup. He is the first player to score 20,000 runs in a decade. Also, in the ODI World Cup he made a century on his debut. Kohli holds the award of most players of the series and the second most player of the match award in all three formats combined. He is the first player to score 20,000 runs in a decade.
Kohli announced his retirement from T20, after winning the 2024 World Cup and the player of the match in the finals.
2. Sachin Tendulkar
With 34,357 runs to his name and the honor of being the first player to score a double century in the white-ball format, the “God of Indian Cricket” has set a record. He has left behind a legacy that is truly amazing. After all, only Sachin Tendulkar, the cricket legend, is capable of earning a “Century of Centuries” in this game.
With 51 hundreds in Test matches and 49 in one-day internationals, Tendulkar became the first cricket player to score 100 international hundreds. Because of his outstanding career-long performance and his ability to remain cool under pressure, he was known as India’s most reliable batter. He became the second-youngest test centurion in history with 673 runs, breaking the record for most runs in a single tournament.
3. Sir Garfield Sobers
Garry Sobers is considered as the best all-round player in post-war cricket. He was a world class bowler, as he was capable of in all positions and was an excellent fielder too. Sobers played 93 Tests for the West Indies, where he scored 8,032 runs and took 235 wickets.
In the list of cricketers, with more than 5,000 runs he has the fifty highest batting average. In his total of 383 matches, he scored over 28,000 runs and took over 1,000 wickets. He also led the English county team for Nottinghamshire from 1968 until 1974.
4. Sir Vivian Richards
When considering the greatest batsmen in the legends of cricket, Sir Vivian Richards is frequently overlooked. Before Virat Kohli, he was the cricket king. Richards’ historic year of 1976, when he collected an incredible 1,710 runs in Test matches—seven hundreds—was one of his career’s peaks.
During his time leading the West Indies as captain from 1984 to 1991, Sir Viv Richards never lost a Test series because of his strong will to win. Because of his unparalleled attacking approach, he was known as “possibly the most destructive batsman the sport has ever seen.” Richards scored 8,540 runs at an average of 50.23 in 121 Test matches, and he retired as the West Indies’ highest run scorer, overtaking Garfield Sobers.
He approached the game with courage, never backing down from a challenge. Despite the risks, Richards faced bowlers head-on for the entirety of his 17-year career without wearing a helmet.
5. Brian Lara
Brian Lara, a brilliant old cricket player and one of the game’s greatest batsmen, was born in Trinidad on May 2, 1969. Often referred to as the “Prince of Port of Spain,” Lara’s name is linked to amazing achievements on the playing field.
Brian Lara broke multiple world records for the highest scores during his career. In both first-class and Test cricket, he holds the records for the greatest individual score (501 not out and 400 not out, respectively). Before Sachin Tendulkar broke it, he also held the record for the most runs scored in a Test career.
He captained the West Indies multiple times from 1998 to 1999 and again in 2006. The West Indies won the 2004 ICC Champions Trophy under his leadership—the first trophy to be won since the 1979 Cricket World Cup. Lara dominated at the crease, scoring 11,953 runs at an amazing average of 52.88 in 131 matches, with a peak score of 400 not out. Also, he is among the players with the most centuries in red ball cricket history, achieving 34 centuries and 48 half-centuries.
6. Kapil Dev
Kapil Dev Nikhanj, an iconic figure and an old cricket player, was happy and proud to lead India to its first World Cup win in 1983. During his 131 Test matches, Kapil took 434 wickets and scored 5,248 runs, including 8 hundreds. He scored 3,783 runs and took 253 wickets in 225 ODIs. The former Indian captain set and broke many records.
Kapil Dev also holds the record for the fastest Test century scored by an Indian batsman. In Kanpur, he hit a century off 74 balls against Sri Lanka in 1986. At the age of 24 years, Kapil led the ICC World Cup team to win. He remains the youngest captain to win a World Cup. For aspiring cricketers today, he is a great motivation.
7. Jacques Kallis
The only player in cricket history to have scored over 10,000 runs and taken over 200 wickets in Test matches is none other than “Superman” Kallis. He was the greatest, most long-lasting, and traditional all-round player of his generation, if not of all time.
After playing in his 166th and last Test match in 2013, Jacques Kallis finished his career with 292 wickets at 32.65 and 13,289 runs at 55.37, including 45 centuries. He has 200 catches to his name as well. In 2014, he played his last ODI. His unmatched combination of skills has left opponents and spectators alike in awe, leaving a lasting impact on the game.
8. Sanath Jayasuriya
This aggressive batting style of Sri Lanka’s opener scared opponents. He was also well-known for his bowling skills, often taking center stage with his outstanding leg-side blows. According to a remarkable statistic, Jayasuriya, the legend of cricket, never finished a calendar year with a strike rate of fewer than 83 starting in 1996 and routinely achieved rates of 100+.
With his smart fielding at any position, he offered a complete package to the ODI format. His 1996 World Cup performance earned him the title of the Most Valuable Player of the tournament. He became the second player in ODI history to score more than 13,000 runs, and he did so at a strike rate of more than 90. He is ninth on the list of all-time ODI wicket-takers with 322 wickets, including four 5-wicket hauls. With those types of numbers, he is unquestionably Sri Lanka’s best one-day cricket player.
9. Allan Border
A.B. displayed excellent left-handed batting skills, ball-handling ability, and outstanding fielding skills. When Border scored an undefeated 150 and 153 against Pakistan in Lahore, he became the first and only player to reach 150 in both innings.
In addition to playing in the most Tests (156), he scored the most runs (11,174), featured in the most Tests in a row (153), and held the record for most Test matches as captain (93). Australia now has a strong basis for long-term success, thanks to Allan Border.
After playing his last Test match against South Africa, he was appointed as a selector. His name is synonymous with excellence in Australian cricket and the legend of cricket; such has been his legacy. The Allan Border medal is awarded to the top players each year.
10. Sir Donald Bradman
“Don” was THE batsman in Test cricket, with a batting average of 99.94. In 80 innings, Bradman scored 6,996 runs. He reached the 50-run mark in 42 of his 80 innings, which translates to nearly every other inning he played, scoring a half-century. Imagine a batsman so exceptional that, despite the passing of time, no one has been able to match his record. That’s Sir Donald Bradman, the legend of cricket, for you.
Despite not being able to finish his career with a Test average of 100 or above, Bradman achieved an average of 101.51 in the games he captained for Australia. In the longest format of cricket, no other captain has achieved a higher average. Bradman led Australia to 15 victories, 3 defeats, and 6 draws in his 24 Test matches as captain.
In Closing
These cricket legends inspire and shape the game’s future even after retirement. Young cricketers take Sachin Tendulkar, Vivian Richards, and many more as their inspiration and understand their hard work and determination. So, these legends play an important role in creating a cricket culture in their countries.
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