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Over several decades, we have seen many great bowlers and batsmen grace the sport of cricket. But among them, some stand out for being legends of the sport.
The first name that comes to mind when thinking of a cricket legend is Sir Donald Bradman, whose greatness remains unmatched. But there are also several other cricketers who could be aptly called legends of the game. Check out a list of legends of cricket.
Top 10 Legends of Cricket Ever
1. Sir Don Bradman
Sir Don Bradman, an Australian cricketer, is often considered among the greatest cricket legends of all time. He achieved a remarkable Test batting average of 99.94, a record still unmatched. His 117 first-class centuries (including 37 double centuries) are also still a record for any Australian.
Bradman’s ability to consistently score big runs set him apart in the pre-modern era. He played between 1928 and 1948, leading Australia to numerous victories. Among other records held by him are most runs in a single Test series (974), which included a 309 at Headingley.
Bradman put curtains on his 20-year-lond career with 29 centuries and 6996 runs in 80 Tests. He was the first-ever batsman to score two triple centuries in Test cricket. Sir Don Bradman passed away on February 25, 2001, at the age of 92 in Adelaide, Australia. He had been suffering from pneumonia.
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2. Shane Warne
Shane Warne is considered one of the greatest spin bowlers in cricket history. The Australian leg-spinner took over 700 Test wickets, baffling batsmen with his exceptional control and turn. Warne’s famous “Ball of the Century” delivery in 1993 against Mike Gatting is still fondly discussed by fans and experts.
He played 145 Test matches, taking 708 wickets, and held the record for the most wickets taken by any bowler in Test cricket, until it was broken in 2007. Warne was no mug with the bat, he was a useful lower-order batsman who contributed over 3,000 Test runs, including a highest score of 99.
Warne played a vital role in Australia’s dominance in the 1990s and early 2000s before retiring from international cricket at the end of the 2006–07 Ashes series. He died at the age of 52 due to a heart attack while holidaying in Thailand in 2022.
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3. Sir Garfield Sobers
Sir Garfield Sobers is considered the greatest all-rounder in cricket history. The West Indian legend could bat, bowl, and field exceptionally well. Sobers played 93 Test matches for the West Indies, where he scored 8,032 runs with an impressive average of 57.78 and took 235 wickets with a bowling average of 34.03.
Among players who have scored more than 5,000 runs in Test cricket, his batting average is the fifth highest. In addition, Sobers played 383 first-class matches, scoring over 28,000 runs and taking more than 1,000 wickets. Sobers was the first batsman to hit six sixes in one first class over, achieving the feat in 1968 for Nottinghamshire against Glamorgan.
In 1958, Sobers scored his first Test century, against Pakistan, reaching 365 not out, which was then the highest individual score in a Test innings. This record stood until 1994, when Brian Lara broke it by scoring 375.
4. Brian Lara
Brian Lara, another West Indies great and a legend of cricket, holds the record for the highest individual score in Test cricket, which is an unbeaten 400 runs in Antigua against England in 2004. Not just that, he also holds the record for the highest individual score in first-class cricket, which is an unbeaten 501 for Warwickshire against Durham at Edgbaston in 1994.
For 18 years, Lara also held the record for the most runs in a single over of a Test match, scoring 28 runs off South Africa’s Robin Peterson in 2003. Jasprit Bumrah broke this record in 2022. As captain, Lara led the West Indies to victory in the 2004 ICC Champions Trophy, marking the team’s first ICC trophy since the 1979 Cricket World Cup.
Lara made his Test debut in December 1990 and retired from international cricket in 2006 after scoring a total of 11,953 runs in 131 Test matches. His batting average stood at 52.88.
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5. Sachin Tendulkar
Indian legend Sachin Tendulkar, known as the God of Cricket, is the highest run-scorer in the history of Test cricket, ODI cricket and also international cricket as a whole. He also holds the record for receiving the most player of the match awards in international cricket.
Having made his international debut at the age of only 16, Tendulkar went on to become one of the greatest batsmen in the game’s history. Sachin Tendulkar retired from ODI cricket in 2012 and then retired from all forms of cricket in November 2013 after playing his 200th Test match.
In total, he played 664 international matches and scored 34,357 runs. Sachin Tendulkar has received several awards from the Indian government, including the Arjuna Award (1994), Khel Ratna Award (1997), Padma Shri (1998), and Padma Vibhushan (2008). After his last match in November 2013, the Prime Minister’s Office announced that he would be awarded the Bharat Ratna, India’s highest civilian honour.
6. Sir Vivian Richards
Sir Vivian Richards, a West Indies cricket legend, was one of the most feared batsmen of his time. Richards played a crucial role in West Indies’ World Cup wins in 1975 and 1979.
Richards scored 8,540 runs in 121 Test matches, with an average of 50.23, making him the West Indies’ leading run scorer at the time, surpassing Garfield Sobers. He also made 1,281 runs at an average of over 55 in World Series Cricket, considered one of the toughest tournaments of cricket in those years. As a captain, he won 27 out of 50 Test matches and lost only eight.
Even years after retiring, Richards’ legacy as one of the best batsmen and an inspiring captain remains strong.
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7. Jacques Kallis
Jacques Kallis is widely regarded as one of the best all-rounders in cricket. Jacques Kallis is the only cricketer ever to score over 10,000 runs and take more than 250 wickets in both Test and ODI formats.
In his Test career, he amassed 13,289 runs, including 45 centuries, making him the third-highest run-scorer in Test history. Kallis also took 292 wickets and held 200 catches in Test matches.
In ODIs, he added 131 catches to his record. Notably, he earned 23 Man-of-the-Match awards in Tests, the highest for any player in the format.
8. Muttiah Muralitharan
Muttiah Muralitharan is the highest wicket-taker in international cricket. His unique bowling action and ability to spin the ball sharply made him difficult to play against. He is the only bowler to take 800 Test wickets and more than 530 ODI wickets. Muttiah Muralitharan was the top-ranked Test bowler in the ICC rankings for a record 1,711 days, covering 214 Test matches.
He retired from Test cricket in 2010, achieving his 800th and last wicket during the last ball of his final Test match. Besides being the highest wicket-taker in both Tests and ODIs, Muralitharan holds the record for the most five-wicket hauls in an innings in Test cricket, with a total of 67. He also has the most ten-wicket hauls in a match, achieving this 22 times.
Additionally, he is the only player to have taken 10 wickets in a match against every Test-playing nation. After retirement from international cricket, he has worked in different capacities as a coach. Muralitharan is the bowling coach of Sunrisers Hyderabad in the IPL since 2015.
9. Ricky Ponting
Ricky Ponting, one of Australia’s most successful captains, led his team to two consecutive World Cup victories in 2003 and 2007. He is the most successful captain in international cricket history, with 220 wins in 324 matches and a winning rate of 67.91%.
He also holds the record for the most ICC tournament wins as a captain in men’s cricket, which includes leading his team to victory in the 2003 and 2007 Cricket World Cups, as well as the 2006 and 2009 Champions Trophies.
As a prolific batsman, he scored over 27,000 runs in international cricket. Ponting has scored the third most centuries in international cricket, following Sachin Tendulkar and Virat Kohli.
10. Virat Kohli
Virat Kohli is one of the greatest cricketers of the modern era. Kohli has consistently scored runs across all formats of the game—Tests, ODIs, and T20s. Kohli is the third highest run-scorer in T20Is, third highest run scorer in ODIs, highest run-scorer in the IPL, and India’s fourth highest run-scorer in Test cricket history.
Overall, he stands as the fourth-highest run-scorer in international cricket. Kohli also holds the record for the most centuries in ODIs and is second in total international centuries scored. Kohli is the most decorated player in international cricket, having won 10 ICC Awards, the highest for any player.
He has been named the ICC ODI Player of the Year four times, in 2012, 2017, 2018, and 2023.
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