RESOLVING THE LEDGER
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R Ashwin names his top 3 Indian Test batters of all time: Virat Kohli makes the cut, India legend ignored originally appeared on Cricket News .
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KEY TAKEAWAYS:
Former India and CSK legend R Ashwin named his top three Indian Test batters of all time.
Virat Kohli made the cut alongside Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid.
Sunil Gavaskar was the notable omission from Ashwin's final three.
R Ashwin names his top 3 Indian Test batters of all time
Former India off-spinner R Ashwin has stirred debate by naming his top three Indian Test batters of all time, and his final list contained one glaring omission, while speaking to Cricinfo.
The retired all-rounder included former teammates and captain Virat Kohli in his selection while leaving out an undisputed India legend.
Ashwin, who claimed 537 Test wickets before retiring during the 2024-25 Border-Gavaskar Trophy, was pressed on the topic during an appearance on Cricinfo's Quick Singles. He was gradually asked to narrow down his list, beginning with whether Kohli featured among his top 20 Indian Test batters.
Having confirmed Kohli's place with ease, Ashwin was then challenged to place him in progressively more exclusive brackets, eventually working his way down to a top three that was always likely to divide opinion.
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R Ashwin backs Virat Kohli in his top three Indian Test batters
As the questioning intensified, Ashwin acknowledged that including Kohli in his top three would prove controversial, but he stood firmly by the choice. He was candid about the difficulty of the decision. "Yeah, I think I just made it easy. I know I am going to make it a little hard for a lot of people, but yeah, I think he makes it to my top three," Ashwin said of Kohli.
Before settling on his final answer, Ashwin ran through a longer list of names he rated among his top 10, reflecting the depth of India's batting history.
Will Virat Kohli make it to Ashwin's Top 3 India Test batters of all time? 👀 pic.twitter.com/QllqB3qtzO
— Cricinfo (@cricinfo) August 15, 2026 He named Sachin Tendulkar, Sunil Gavaskar, Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman as the first names that came to his mind before humorously asking the host to suggest some names in case he missed some stars.
He then followed with the likes of Gundappa Viswanath, who became India's second batsman to ever reach the 6000-run mark, before naming 1983 World Cup hero Mohinder Amarnath.
He also named Dilip Vengsarkar, who has the privilege of being the only overseas batter with three centuries at Lord's, and former Indian skipper Sourav Ganguly, under whose captaincy India became a powerhouse.
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Why Sunil Gavaskar missed out on Ashwin's top three
When it came to the final cut, Ashwin initially offered a top five before trimming it further. His deliberation showed just how many contenders he had to leave out.
"Hard work. I am going to go top five. I'll give you the top five first: Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, Virat Kohli, Sunil Gavaskar and VVS Laxman," Ashwin said . He then paused to add another name, remarking, "Actually Virender Sehwag – that's an interesting name I forgot. But V. Sehwag was, what a fabulous player."
Ultimately, Ashwin settled on his final three, which controversially excluded the great Sunil Gavaskar. "Okay, I'll go with this: Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar and Virat Kohli," he concluded.
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Why Ashwin's snub of Gavaskar is a bold and debatable call
Leaving out Sunil Gavaskar, the man who was the first batter in history to reach 10,000 Test runs and who forged his legend against fearsome pace attacks without a helmet, is a genuinely provocative choice.
Gavaskar's numbers and the era in which he compiled them make him, for many, an automatic pick in any all-time India top three.
The selection of Kohli over him will spark particular debate, given the disparity in their Test records and the conditions they mastered. Ashwin's logic likely leans on Kohli's transformative impact and his overseas dominance in a modern context, but it is a call that prioritises influence and aura as much as raw statistics.
Lists like these are designed to provoke, and by omitting Gavaskar, Ashwin has ensured this one will be argued over for a long time to come.
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