Sachin is the best, Bumrah beats Kohli: Ashwin picks his Indian cricketer of all time
Former India spinner Ravichandran Ashwin has singled out batting legend Sachin Tendulkar as the greatest Indian cricketer in his history, but not before making some bold decisions.
Ashwin picked pacer Jasprit Bumrah over batting great Virat Kohli and Virender Sehwag over World Cup-winning skipper MS Dhoni before Tendulkar eventually beat India’s first World Cup-winning captain, Kapil Dev, in the final.
Ashwin was asked to work his way through a group with some of the greatest cricketers India has produced, with players from different generations and across formats coming up against each other.
His biggest challenge came in the quarter-finals when Kohli was paired with Bumrah. Ashwin admitted he had to think hard before going with the fast bowler given Kohli’s remarkable Test career and success across formats.
“God, have mercy on me. Test cricket. Virat is an absolute legend. He’s done so well. It’s one tournament. I’ll go with Jasprit Bumrah, man,” Ashwin said during his interaction with ESPNcricinfo.
The former India spinner then admitted that his decision might have been influenced by his own experience as a bowler.
“Maybe there is a bit of bias in it. I will pick Jasprit Bumrah.”
Bumrah has established himself as the leader of India’s Test attack and one of the leading fast bowlers in white-ball cricket. Kohli, meanwhile, has built one of India’s finest batting careers across formats.
ASHWIN PICKS DHONI OVER JADEJA
Ashwin faced another tough choice when MS Dhoni came on against Ravindra Jadeja.
“Oh my god. Dhoni vs Ravindra Jadeja. Very tempting to go to Jadeja,” Ashwin said.
He ended up backing Dhoni, pointing to the former Indian captain’s record across formats and his leadership.
“But Captaincy, ODI, Test cricket. He’s got his credentials. He’s led the team to, I think, the number one ranking and so on. So I’ll stick with the WC. Very close for me. I was very tempted to go for Ravindra Jadeja for a while.”
However, Dhoni’s run did not last much longer. Facing Sehwag in the quarter-finals, Ashwin had to reconsider his options.
“My goodness. Virender Sehwag.”
Sehwag has already survived a tough first round match against Sunil Gavaskar. Ashwin admitted that he was uncomfortable with the decision to skip the legendary opener.
“Oh my god, across formats. Virender Sehwag. That’s unfair. That’s unfair to Sunil Gavaskar.”
In the first round, Ashwin also picked Tendulkar over Vijay Hazare, Kohli over Rohit Sharma, Rahul Dravid over Vinoo Mankad and Bumrah over Anil Kumble.
When Ashwin’s own name was paired with Sourav Ganguly, he chose the former Indian captain instead.
“Oh my god. I’ll pick Sourav Ganguly. Let me be completely safe.”
KAPIL ENDS BUMRAH’S RUN
As it progressed, Tendulkar defeated Ganguly, Kapil Dev defeated Dravid, Sehwag dismissed Dhoni and Bumrah dismissed Kohli. This set up a semi-final where Tendulkar faced Sehwag and Kapil faced Bumrah.
Tendulkar proved too strong for Sehwag in Ashwin’s estimation, while Kapil ended Bumrah’s run.
“All-round ability is so tempting, isn’t it? Winning the World Cup in 1983. Kapil Dev. Kapil Dev,” Ashwin said while picking the 1983 World Cup-winning captain ahead of Bumrah.
The result was a final between Tendulkar and Kapil, two players from different eras who had a huge impact on Indian cricket.
Ashwin’s final decision was perhaps the easiest of all, although he admitted that personal preference played a role.
“Personal bias should count at some stage. I’ll go with Sachin Tendulkar.”
And so, after comparing some of India’s greatest players across generations, Ashwin’s group ended up with Tendulkar on top.
– The end
Issued by:
Saurabh Kumar
Published on:
August 29, 2026 12:59 PM IST