The tough task of selecting the best five Indian cricketers of all time fell to England’s all-rounder Moeen Ali. Moeen Ali ranks MS Dhoni as the best.
He selected MS Dhoni, the captain of the Chennai Super Kings (CSK), as his top choice. Virat Kohli and Sachin Tendulkar came in second and third, respectively.
In the IPL, Ali has shared a dressing room with Dhoni and Kohli, despite never having played for the same side as Tendulkar.
Ali joined the CSK team in 2021. He has been a key player in their two championship victories in 2021 and 2023. From 2018 to 2020, Ali and Kohli were teammates at the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB).
Moeen Ali ranks MS Dhoni as the best
In a Samp Group interview that was posted on their Instagram account, Ali stated: “Dhoni is my number one.” People tend to forget how excellent of a player he was. It is all that he achieved while leading India as captain. “Virat No. 2 because he is outstanding and among the best players.”
Along with praising Tendulkar, Ali acknowledged that selecting the great hitter as his third option was not easy.
“I hate to say it, but Sachin is ranked third simply because he is Sachin, and I believe he established the correct batting technique. I didn’t see much of Sunil Gavaskar since he was a lot older than I was. However, Sachin was simply on another level,” said Ali.
Tendulkar still holds the record for most runs scored in Tests and ODI history with over 34,000 runs, including a century.
Recently, during the 2023 ODI World Cup semi-final match against New Zealand, Kohli scored his 50th century, surpassing Tendulkar’s record of 49 ODI centuries.
Moeen Ali included Yuvraj Singh and Virender Sehwag to complete his top five.
In the 2000s, Yuvraj and Sehwag combined to produce a potent opening and middle-order combination for India.
To complete his ranking of the greatest Indian cricketers, Moeen Ali chose former hitters Yuvraj Singh and Virender Sehwag at Nos. 4 and 5, respectively.
The pair helped India win the 2007 T20 World Cup and the 2011 ODI World Cup, ranking among the nation’s greatest match-winners in the 2000s and early 2010s.
Sehwag was said to be his favorite batsman by the England off-spinner.
“Virender Sehwag is my favorite batter because he was unique. He praised his batting performance in Tests, ODIs, and T20s, saying that he “utterly destroyed bowlers” and scored enormous runs.