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[Saba Sports News] England all-rounder Moeen Ali has chosen his top five Indian cricketers, with MS Dhoni, his captain at Chennai Super Kings, leading the list. Ali appreciates Dhoni not just for his skills as a player but also for his significant achievements as India’s captain, including three ICC trophy wins. Following Dhoni, Ali places Virat Kohli, recognized as one of the greatest modern-day batters with the second-highest number of international centuries.
“For me No. 1 is Dhoni. He was a great player but people forget how good he was. It is everything he won as a captain for India. “Virat (Kohli) No.2 because he is great and one of the best players,” Ali shared.
In the third spot, Ali selects Sachin Tendulkar, the most prolific run-scorer in international cricket history, known for his 100 international centuries. Moeen admires Tendulkar for revolutionizing batting, considering him to stand out even among greats like Sunil Gavaskar.
“It pains me to say this but he (Sachin) is No.3 because of him being Sachin and I think he started the (art) of proper batting. There was Sunil Gavaskar as well but he was before my era so I didn’t see a lot of him. But Sachin was just different level,” he added.
The fourth position is held by Virender Sehwag, whom Ali regards as his favorite batter. Sehwag, known for his aggressive batting style, left an indelible mark on the game, particularly for his impressive strike rate and achievement of scoring two triple hundreds in Tests. “My favourite batter is Virender Sehwag because he was something different. The way he batted in Test matches, ODIs and T20s, he scored massive and he absolutely destroyed bowlers.”
Rounding out the list at number five is Yuvraj Singh, the legendary all-rounder instrumental in India’s 2011 ODI World Cup victory. Yuvraj’s performance in the tournament, both with the bat and ball, earned him the Player of the Tournament award. Ali resonates with Yuvraj’s style, acknowledging the similarities in their batting and the influence Yuvraj has had on him.
“The guy I looked up to as a batter…in terms of…of course I would try to copy up to a certain extent and people have compared me to him a little bit so it’s Yuvraj Singh. The bat swing, the way he played and his bat swing was amazing to watch. When in form, he was the best player to watch,” he concluded.