The Most Popular Cricket Stars in India
The game of cricket has been in existence for quite a long time. Its origin dates back as early as the 16th century before it eventually gained global popularity in the 19th century. The sport has always been a significant subject in India – having established itself as an essential element of Indian culture. Since India won the cricket World Cup in 1983, the country has progressively grown to become one of the top cricketing nations globally, with a significant degree of accomplishments over the years. This makes the Indian national cricket team one of the most successful cricket teams worldwide.
Cricket in India goes way beyond just being an ordinary sport. Indians are very passionate about it, and it is, in fact, more of a religion in the country. The sport has a massive fan base throughout the country. In fact, the India Premier League (IPL-Cricket league) was ranked among the top six sports leagues in average attendance worldwide, only behind the NFL, English Premier League, MLB, La Liga, and NBA.
Although hockey is India’s national sport, cricket buzz in the country, especially during the IPL, is more intense. Cricket fans are enthusiastic about IPL games; they always talk a lot about it and spend hours watching them. Also, a massive percentage of the country’s population bet on the league on online IPL betting sites.
Overall, cricket is a sport that unites Indians. The fact that it contributes to the largest part of India’s sports economy gives us a clear idea of the popularity of this game in the country. The sport’s dominance is also evident in how Indians have always treated their favorite cricket stars as demi-gods.
In this article, we will talk about some of the most popular cricket stars in India.
Mahendra Singh Dhoni
Although quite a number of names have dominated the modern cricket era over the years, M.S. Dhoni is undoubtedly one of India’s most popular and loved players. As a former national team captain, he succeeded in leading the Indian national cricket team to three International Cricket Council (ICC) triumphs. He was also a captain of the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in the IPL, and he led the team to four-time league successes, earning several individual awards, accolades, and records to his name.
Virat Kohli
In 2018, Virat Kohli, a former national team captain, was ranked one of the world’s most renowned athletes. He became one of the most successful test match capta ins in the history of the Indian national cricket team – recording a win in 40 matches out of the 68 test matches in his time as captain. He also captained the Royal Challengers Bangalore for a total of eight seasons.
Although his term as a league team captain did not yield any trophy, his impressive records and accomplishments speak volumes about his prowess. He was regarded as one of the finest batsmen of his period, holding the global record for being the fastest to 23,000 international runs. He is also the second player after Suresh Raina to surpass 5000 IPL runs.
Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar
As far as cricket is concerned in India, Sachin Ramesh is a legend. He was an important icon for the Mumbai Indians, and as a tribute to him, his famous number 10 jersey was also retried when he retired. Sachin represented India internationally for about 24 years and captained the national team for a while. Although his tenure as a captain of the Indian cricket team was not very eventful, he has had quite a fair share of success with the national cricket team – being part of the 2011 cricket world cup winning team.
Rohit Sharma
Rohit Sharma is one of the active top-class cricketers in this era. The current captain of the Indian national team and the IPL Mumbai Indians has a whooping 5 IPL league championships under his belt – making him the most successful captain in the IPL since 2013. He is also currently one of very few players who have scored a total of 5,000 plus career runs in the history of the IPL – earning him the spot of the third-highest scorer only after Virat Kohli and Shikhar Dhawan.
Kapil Dev Ramlal Nikhanj
In his days, Kapil Dev was a fan favorite. He made Indians fall in love with the game of cricket. He is the youngest captain to win a world cup for any team – a feat he accomplished at the age of 24 when he led the Indian national side to victory in the 1983 Cricket World Cup. He eventually retired from professional cricket in 1994 before coming back to take up the role of the national cricket team coach in 1999.
Conclusion
Cricket transcends being just a mere sport in India, Indians are very passionate about it, and they put their emotions into the game. The list above shows some of the greatest stars that Indians revere for their talents and skills in the sport today. You can visit Parimatch for the best odds and markets on IPL games.
