Top Five Legendary Players Who Changed Cricket  

In the sixteenth century, cricket first became popular. The game was invented in southern England and is now played widely throughout Australasia, England, the West Indies, southern Africa, and the Indian subcontinent. The sport of cricket has produced some of the top players ever since it began. 

1. Babar Azam 

Babar Azam, one of the best batters in the world, frequently alternates first place in the ICC ODI best batsman rankings with Virat Kohli. For more than ten years, Pakistan’s all-format skipper has been the nation’s top scorer. Azam reclaimed his position as the best T20 batsman at the 2021 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup by shattering the records for the most half-centuries and total runs in a T20 World Cup. He also holds records for the fastest batter to reach 2,000 runs in T20 and the highest runs scored in a three-match ODI series.

2. M.S Dhoni 

Mahendra Singh Dhoni is presently one of the most accomplished IPL skippers in the world despite having retired from international cricket. He has earned two ICC ODI Player of the Year awards and has been included in both the ICC ODI and T20 Teams of the Decade. Dhoni led the Indian squad to three ICC limited-overs tournament victories before concentrating on T20 IPL cricket. He has won India’s top sporting honor, as well as the third and fourth-highest civilian honors, like Kholi. He is one of the five legendary players who changed cricket at all.

Also Read: Top 5 Famous Players Who Never Smashed a Century in ODI Cricket

3. Shakib Al Hasan 

Shakib Al Hasan, who holds several international records, is arguably the best all-around cricket player in the world. He has taken the most wickets for Bangladesh across all international formats, becoming the fastest player to reach 5,000 runs and 250 ODI wickets. The first player to accumulate 100 wickets and 1,000 runs in T20 is Al Hasan. He has taken the most wickets in T20 history and in T20 World Cup games combined. Under his leadership, Bangladesh played 50 matches, winning 23 of them. He is the first player to hold the top spot in each of the three ICC player rankings (ODI, Test, and T20).

4. Quentin de Kock

The quickest South African to 1,000 ODI runs is Quentin de Kock. He is the only wicketkeeper-opener to ever score a century in an ODI while leading his team, and he holds the record for reaching 150 test dismissals in the quickest time. De Kock had five hundred by the time of his 20th ODI game. De Kock, who was named Cricketer of the Year at Cricket South Africa’s 2017 and 2020 Annual Awards, broke Hashim Amla’s previous record for the quickest completion of 12 ODI centuries by seven games. In a two-match Test series for the 2019–2021 ICC World Test Championship, he captained South Africa against Sri Lanka in December 2020. He is one of the five legendary players who changed cricket.

5. Virat Kohli 

Virat Kohli is one of the most distinguished cricketers in the sport’s history, boasting a long record of honors. He is second only to the great Sachin Tendulkar in terms of total ODI centuries attained and the quickest player to 10,000 ODI runs. At the T20 World Cup, the Indian skipper is the only player to receive Player of the Tournament honors twice. His most significant athletic achievements include five Polly Umrigar Awards for International Cricketer of the Year, the Sir Garfield Sobers Cricketer of the Decade Trophy, and other ICC honors. Time magazine named Kohli one of the 100 most influential persons in the world, and ESPN and Forbes both rank him among the top athletes in the world. He is counted as one of the five legendary players who changed cricket.