Former Indian spinner R Ashwin has revealed who he thinks is the greatest Indian cricketer of all time. His final choice may not surprise many fans. However, the way he reached that choice included some unexpected decisions involving India’s biggest cricket stars.
In a recent Cricinfo video, Ashwin was given an interesting challenge. He had to choose the best 16 Indian cricketers of all time and take them through a knockout-style competition.
The list included legends from different generations, such as Sachin Tendulkar, Virat Kohli, MS Dhoni, Kapil Dev, Sunil Gavaskar, Rahul Dravid, Virender Sehwag and Jasprit Bumrah.
But who did Ashwin finally choose as India’s greatest-ever cricketer?
He reached his answer after four rounds of tough choices.
R Ashwin makes some surprise choices in the first round
The first round itself had some interesting results.
When Ashwin had to choose between Sachin Tendulkar and Vijay Hazare, he picked Tendulkar.
He also picked Virat Kohli over Rohit Sharma. Kapil Dev went ahead of Harbhajan Singh, while Virender Sehwag beat Sunil Gavaskar.
This meant several great Indian players were knocked out in the first round.
Another big choice came in the other part of the draw.
Ashwin had to choose between MS Dhoni and Ravindra Jadeja.
He picked Dhoni.
Ashwin said he was tempted to pick Jadeja because they had played together for India for many years. However, he finally chose the former Indian captain.
Ashwin also picked Rahul Dravid over Vinoo Mankad, Jasprit Bumrah over Anil Kumble, and Sourav Ganguly over himself.
Yes, Ashwin’s own name was also in the competition. But he did not choose himself.
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Tendulkar beats Ganguly, while Kapil beats Dravid
Who is the greatest-ever Indian men’s cricketer? 👀 pic.twitter.com/ixTWgwEaYj
— Cricinfo (@cricinfo) August 29, 2026
The quarterfinals brought even tougher choices.
Ashwin had to choose between Sachin Tendulkar and Sourav Ganguly.
He picked Tendulkar.
He then had to choose between Kapil Dev and Rahul Dravid. Ashwin picked Kapil Dev, the captain who led India to their first ODI World Cup title in 1983.
But the biggest surprise came when Virender Sehwag faced MS Dhoni.
Ashwin picked Sehwag.
This was one of the most unexpected choices because Dhoni had a brilliant career. He scored more than 17,000 international runs and became the only Indian captain to win all three major ICC limited-overs trophies.
He also led India to the No. 1 spot in Test cricket.
So, why did Ashwin choose Sehwag?
The video does not give a detailed reason for every choice. Ashwin was making his own picks in a hypothetical competition. He was not simply choosing the player with the biggest career record.
R Ashwin picks Bumrah over Virat Kohli
The other quarterfinal also had a huge surprise.
Ashwin had to choose between Virat Kohli and Jasprit Bumrah.
He picked Jasprit Bumrah.
Kohli going out at this stage was a big talking point. The former India captain has scored more than 28,000 international runs and has 85 international centuries.
He has also played a major role in India’s success over the years.
But Ashwin still chose Bumrah.
As a result, Bumrah joined Tendulkar, Kapil Dev and Sehwag in the semifinals.
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Tendulkar beats Sehwag in the semifinal
The first semifinal featured two of India’s most famous attacking batters.
Sachin Tendulkar faced Virender Sehwag.
Ashwin picked Tendulkar.
This sent the legendary batter into the final.
The other semifinal was between Kapil Dev and Jasprit Bumrah.
Ashwin again picked Bumrah.
That meant the final was set.
Sachin Tendulkar vs Jasprit Bumrah.
Who did Ashwin choose as India’s greatest cricketer?
The answer was Sachin Tendulkar.
After making several surprising choices involving Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, MS Dhoni, Virender Sehwag and even himself, Ashwin finally picked Tendulkar as his greatest Indian cricketer of all time.
Tendulkar’s numbers show why he is such a strong choice.
He finished his international career with 34,357 runs, the most by any player in cricket history.
He also played a record 200 Test matches. In Tests, he scored 15,921 runs and made 51 centuries.
Tendulkar also set incredible ODI records.
In 1998, he scored 1,894 ODI runs and nine centuries in one calendar year. Both are still records.
He became the fastest player to score 18,000 ODI runs, reaching the mark in 440 innings.
Tendulkar finished his ODI career with 18,426 runs and 49 centuries.
His career lasted for more than two decades. He played international cricket for over 24 years, while his ODI career lasted more than 22 years.
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Why Tendulkar is still an all-time great
Tendulkar’s numbers tell only part of the story.
For many years, he was India’s biggest batting star. He also carried huge expectations every time he walked out to bat.
His consistency in both Tests and ODIs, along with his long career, made him one of the biggest names in cricket history.
He also holds several major records, including the most international runs, the most Player of the Match awards across formats and the most fours.
For R Ashwin, the exercise was not only about statistics.
He had to decide which player he would pick over every other Indian legend.
After knocking out stars such as Kohli, Dhoni, Kapil Dev and Sehwag, Ashwin’s final choice was clear.
Sachin Tendulkar was his pick for India’s greatest cricketer of all time.
What do you think? According to you, who is the greatest cricketer of all time? Comment your answers in the comment section.
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