8 Indian Batsmen Who Became Number 1 In ICC Test Rankings

To become the Number 1 in ICC Test Rankings is not easy by any means and it is very special if you could hold on to the position in the rankings for a long time. Not many have had the luxury of getting to the top of the ICC rankings and these batsmen have outclassed the other batsmen to achieve the feat.

It requires different levels of hard work and consistency is the key to holding on to the position for a considerable period of time. With a note on that, here are 8 Indian batsmen to have become the number 1 in ICC Test rankings so far in history.

8 Indian Batsmen Who Became Number 1 In ICC Test Rankings:

Gundappa Viswanath:

Gundappa Viswanath was always known for his artistry with the bat and his elegance turned into performances led to becoming the number one position in the ICC test rankings. He was the first Indian batsman to get to the top of the ICC rankings and he was the best batsman in the 1975s until Sunil Gavaskar came into the limelight. Viswanath was one of the finest players to have played for the country.

Sunil Gavaskar:

Sunil Gavaskar became the second cricketer from India to have achieved the feat of becoming the number 1 batsmen in ICC Test rankings. He achieved the feat in 1979 with rating points of 916 and it came at a time when he was at the form of his life. He scored tons of runs in the West Indies with back-to-back centuries and his excellent form led to getting to the number 1 in ICC test rankings.

Dilip Vengsarkar:

Dilip Vengsarkar was an irresistible force after the 1983 Worldcup win and he kept on piling up runs in the next four-year period which led him to the top of the ICC test rankings in 1988 with a rating point of 837. He played a vital role in the Indian batting lineup for a long time and proved to be a great asset to Indian batting. Post-retirement, he was the national selector for a considerable period of time.

Sachin Tendulkar:

Sachin Tendulkar is regarded as the best batsman to have played the game and he holds most of the batting records in the book. He occupied the number one spot in the ICC test ranking a lot of times, and the latest of it came in 2011 when he was approaching the end of his career. Sachin holds the record for the most number of centuries in international cricket until now and he has been a stalwart in Indian batting.

Rahul Dravid:

Rahul Dravid was popularly called the “Wall of Indian cricket” for his defensive technique that is almost picture-perfect for an ideal batsman and he was one of the greatest to have played the game.

The right-hander got to the number 1 spot in ICC rankings a number of times and his highest rating points were 892. Dravid holds the record for the most number of catches in test cricket as a fielder.

Gautam Gambhir:

Gautam Gambhir was one of India’s best openers in test cricket at a time and alongside Sehwag, both players formed some great opening partnerships for India. Gambhir’s best year in test cricket was in 2009, where he rose to the top of the ICC Test ranking for batsmen with consistent 50 plus scores in consecutive innings.

He became formidable and won the test player of the award, but later after some inconsistent performances, he was dropped from the team.

Virender Sehwag:

Virender Sehwag was the first triple centurion from India in test cricket and he managed to do it on two occasions which are very special. His aggressive nature proved to be a great feature in test cricket too and he went to the top of the ICC Test rankings in 2010 after a memorable series against Sri Lanka where he kept hitting consecutive centuries. Sehwag had a career-best rating point of 866.

Virat Kohli:

The current Indian skipper Virat Kohli is one of the best batsmen in the present era and he has been remarkable with his consistency in all the formats.

Kohli went to the number one spot in ICC Test rankings last year after his consistent scores but was soon replaced by Australia’s Steve Smith. Kohli on attaining the number one rank in ICC Test rankings rose up to 934 rating points which is the highest ever by Indian batsmen.