Who is the Godfather of Cricket: Don Bradman to Virat Kohli

Sir Don Bradman is considered the Godfather of Cricket. He was the first player to create unmatched records and leave a huge impact on cricket fans. However, cricket has had different godfathers in different eras. After Bradman, legends like Sir Garfield Sobers and Sunil Gavaskar ruled their generations. They paved the way for modern cricket players such as Sachin Tendulkar, Brian Lara, Ricky Ponting, Virat Kohli, and MS Dhoni. Today, they are seen as the new godfathers of the game.

Godfather of Cricket in World: The Veterans

The godfather of cricket is not just a good batsman or a good bowler. Nor is he just a successful captain. Rather, the term Godfather is used for someone who has excelled in his department (batting or bowling), had a successful career, and, while doing that, has inspired millions of people across generations to love, follow, and play this sport.

Cricket is a very old sport. Its history goes back to the 16th century. Over hundreds of years! The sport has changed from a simple bat-and-ball game into a global phenomenon loved by millions. During this long journey, a few legendary players stood above everyone else. They are the ones who played years ago but still have a lasting impact. They are remembered as the godfathers of world cricket.

Sir Donland Bradman (Australia)

Sir Donald Bradman was one of the greatest cricketers in history. He played for Australia from 1928 to 1948 and was known as “The Don.” He is called the godfather of cricket because of his unmatched impact on the game. Sir Don played 52 Test matches for Australia and scored 6,996 runs. At retirement, he had a batting average of 99.94. This is still the highest in cricket history. Don Bradman still lives on as an idol for many modern day cricketing greats.

Sir Garfield Sobers (West Indies)

Sir Garfield Sobers is remembered as one of the greatest all-rounders in cricket history. He scored 8,032 Test runs and took 235 wickets. He had a highest score of 365 not out, which was a world record, and a best bowling figure of 6/73. He took 109 catches. He could do it all. He is a veteran player whose all-round skills changed the way cricket is played. Following him as the godfather, many all-rounders emerged, and today all-rounders are one of the most important parts of a successful cricket team.

Sunil Gavaskar (India)

Sunil Gavaskar is the godfather of cricket in India. While many argue if it is Sachin Tendulkar or Virat Kohli who is the GOAT, true fans of the game know that Virat started playing cricket watching Sachin, while Sachin idolized the Little Master, Sunil Gavaskar. So, we can say Sachin Tendulkar/Virat is the new godfather of cricket, but the all-time veteran, the first person to ever score 10,000 runs in the Test format, Mr. Sunil Gavaskar, is the real godfather of cricket.

Global Godfather of Modern Cricket

The title of Global Godfather of Modern Cricket does not belong to one individual alone. Like the golden era that produced cricket’s greatest “Don Bradman,” the modern age has given us many greats. They have inspired young cricketers across generations. Time to take a look at the top 8:

Sachin Tendulkar (India)

	Test	ODI
Matches	200	463
Runs Scored	15,921	18,426
Batting Average	53.78	44.83
100s / 50s	51 / 68	49 / 96
Top Score	248*	200*
Balls Bowled	4,240	8,054
Wickets	46	154
Bowling Average	54.17	44.48
5 Wickets in an Innings	0	2
Best Bowling	3/10	5/32
Catches	115	140

Brian Lara (West Indies)

	Test	ODI
Matches	131	299
Runs scored	11,953	10,405
Batting average	52.88	40.48
100s / 50s	34 / 48	19 / 63
Top score	400*	169
Catches	164	120

Virat Kohli (India)

	Test	ODI	T20I
Matches	123	311*	125
Runs scored	9,230	14,797*	4,188
Batting average	46.85	58.72	48.69
100s / 50s	30 / 31	54 / 77	1 / 38
Top score	254*	183	122*
Catches	121	167	54

Jacques Kallis (South Africa)

	Test	ODI
Matches	166	329
Runs scored	13,289	11,579
Batting average	55.37	44.36
100s / 50s	45 / 58	17 / 86
Top score	224	139
Balls bowled	20,232	10,750
Wickets	292	273
Bowling average	32.65	31.79
5 wickets in innings	5	2
10 wickets in match	0	0
Best bowling	6/54	5/30
Catched	200	131

Ricky Ponting (Australia)

	Test	ODI
Matches	168	375
Runs scored	13,378	13,704
Batting average	51.85	42.03
100s / 50s	41 / 62	30 / 82
Top score	257	164
Catches	196	160

Kumar Sangakkara (Sri Lanka)

	Test	ODI	T20I
Matches	134	404	56
Runs scored	12,400	14,234	1,382
Batting average	57.4	41.98	31.4
100s / 50s	38 / 52	25 / 93	0 / 8
Top score	319	169	78
Catches / stumpings	182 / 20	403 / 98	25 / 20

Wasim Akram (Pakistan)

	Test	ODI
Matches	104	356
Balls bowled	22,627	18,186
Wickets	414	502
Bowling average	23.62	23.52
5 wickets in innings	25	6
10 wickets in match	5	0
Best bowling	7/119	5/15
Runs scored	2,898	3,717
Batting average	22.64	16.52
100s / 50s	3 / 7	0 / 6
Top score	257*	86
Catches	44	88

James Anderson (England)

	Test	ODI
Matches	188	194
Balls bowled	40,037	9,584
Wickets	704	269
Bowling average	26.45	29.22
5 wickets in innings	32	2
10 wickets in match	3	0
Best bowling	7/42	5/23
Runs scored	1,353	273
Batting average	8.96	7.58
100s / 50s	0 / 1	0 / 0
Top score	81	28
Catches / stumpings	107	53

Godfather of Cricket in India: Across Formats

Indian cricket has produced some of the greatest players the game has ever seen. They are legends who didn’t just score runs or take wickets, but shaped the very identity of Indian cricket. When we talk about the godfather of India cricket, there is no single name. In fact, there are multiple legends across Test and ODI formats who deserve this title. Let us take a closer look at the true godfathers of Indian cricket.

Godfather of Test Cricket—Team India

Test cricket is the toughest format of the game. There are some legends of Indian Test cricket who stood tall against the best bowlers in the world. With their batting or bowling, they saved matches and won games, both in India and in SENA nations. So, who is the godfather of Indian cricket in the test format? Here are the top names:

Sunil Gavaskar

Span	1971–1987
Matches	125
Batting Inns	214
Not Outs	16
Runs	10,122
Highest Score	236*
Batting Average	51.12
100s	34
50s	45
Fielding Inns	216
Dismissals	108
Catches	108

Sachin Tendulkar

Span	1989–2013
Matches	200
Batting Inns	329
Not Outs	33
Runs	15,921
Highest Score	248*
Batting Average	53.78
100s	51
50s	68
Fielding Inns	366
Dismissals	115
Catches	115

Rahul Dravid

Span	1996–2012
Matches	164
Batting Inns	286
Not Outs	32
Runs	13,288
Highest Score	270
Batting Average	52.31
Balls Faced	31,258
Strike Rate	42.51
100s	36
50s	63
Fours (4s)	1,654
Sixes (6s)	21
Fielding Inns	301
Dismissals	210
Catches	210

 Anil Kumbe

Span	1990–2008
Matches	132
Innings	236
Overs	6,808.20
Maidens	1,576
Runs Conceded	18,355
Wickets	619
Best Bowling in Innings (BBI)	10/74
Best Bowling in Match (BBM)	14/149
Bowling Average	29.65
Economy Rate	2.69
Strike Rate	65.9
5-Wicket Hauls	35
10-Wicket Hauls	8

Godfather of ODI Cricket—Team India

One Day Internationals are very different from Test cricket. While Tests demand patience, ODIs require a proper balance between caution and aggression. India has been blessed with legendary cricketers who understood this balance better than anyone else and dominated the ODI format for years. Fans idolized them as the godfather of the cricket game and began playing and following ODIs.

Sachin Tendulkar

Span	1989–2012
Matches	463
Batting Inns	452
Not Outs	41
Runs	18,426
Highest Score	200*
Batting Average	44.8
Balls Faced	21,367
Strike Rate	86.2
Hundreds (100s)	49
Fifties (50s)	96
Fours (4s)	2,016
Sixes (6s)	195
Bowling Inns	270
Balls Bowled	8,054
Maidens	24
Runs Conceded	6,850
Wickets	154
Best Bowling	5/32
Bowling Average	44.5
Economy Rate	5.1
Bowling Strike Rate	52.3
4-Wicket Hauls	4
5-Wicket Hauls	2

Virat Kohli

Span	2008–Present
Matches	311
Innings	299
Not Outs	47
Runs	14,797
Highest Score	183
Batting Average	58.7
Balls Faced	15,771
Strike Rate	93.8
Hundreds (100s)	54
Fifties (50s)	77
Fours (4s)	1,376
Sixes (6s)	168

Rohit Sharma

Span	2007–Present
Matches	282
Innings	274
Not Outs	37
Runs	11,577
Highest Score	264
Batting Average	48.9
Balls Faced	12,482
Strike Rate	92.8
Hundreds (100s)	33
Fifties (50s)	61
Fours (4s)	1,090
Sixes (6s)	357

Sourav Ganguly

Span	1992–2007
Matches	311
Batting Inns	300
Not Outs	23
Runs	11,363
Highest Score	183
Batting Average	41
Balls Faced	15,416
Strike Rate (Batting)	73.7
Hundreds (100s)	22
Fifties (50s)	72
Fours (4s)	1,122
Sixes (6s)	190
Bowling Inns	171
Balls Bowled	4,561
Maidens	30
Runs Conceded	3,849
Wickets	100
Best Bowling	5/16
Bowling Average	38.5
Economy Rate	5.06
Strike Rate (Bowling)	45.6
4-Wicket Hauls	1
5-Wicket Hauls	2

MS Dhoni

Span	2004–2019
Matches	350
Innings	297
Not Outs	84
Runs	10,773
Highest Score	183*
Batting Average	50.6
Balls Faced	12,303
Strike Rate	87.6
Hundreds (100s)	10
Fifties (50s)	73
Fours (4s)	826
Sixes (6s)	229

Godfather of Cricket in IPL

The Indian Premier League is one of the most competitive and toughest cricket leagues in the world. When we say “godfather of cricket IPL,” we refer to the legendary players who have dominated the tournament with bat or ball. Plus, they have influenced teams with their experience and set high standards for IPL cricket over the years.

Virat Kohli

Span	2008–2025
Matches	267
Innings	259
Not Outs	40
Runs	8,661
Highest Score	113*
Batting Average	39.54
Balls Faced	6,519
Strike Rate	132.85
Hundreds (100s)	8
Fifties (50s)	63
Ducks (0s)	10
Fours (4s)	771
Sixes (6s)	291

Rohit Sharma

Span	2008–2025
Matches	272
Innings	267
Not Outs	30
Runs	7,046
Highest Score	109*
Batting Average	29.73
Balls Faced	5,334
Strike Rate	132.09
Hundreds (100s)	2
Fifties (50s)	47
Ducks (0s)	18
Fours (4s)	640
Sixes (6s)	302

Suresh Raina

Span	2008–2021
Matches	205
Innings	200
Not Outs	30
Runs	5,528
Highest Score	100*
Batting Average	32.51
Balls Faced	4,043
Strike Rate	136.73
Hundreds (100s)	1
Fifties (50s)	39
Ducks (0s)	8
Fours (4s)	506
Sixes (6s)	203

Fun Fact: The godfather of cricket MS Dhoni is also a legendary IPL player. Despite batting down the order, he has scored more than 5,000 runs in the tournament. In addition, he has led CSK to five IPL titles. Currently, MS Dhoni is the most successful IPL captain, alongside Rohit Sharma.

Top Overseas Players Considered Godfathers in India

If you ask an Indian, “Godfather of cricket kaun hai?” don’t be surprised if you hear the name of an overseas player in reply. Cricket fans in India are the real fans. They deeply respect global legends who changed the game, regardless of nationality. Some of the most popular cricketers in this regard are:

• Chris Gayle
• AB De Villiers
• David Warner
• Kane Williamson

Final Words

So now you know about the Godfather of Cricket. Sir Don Bradman, Sir Garfield Sobers, and Sir Sunil Gavaskar are the true veteran godfathers of the game. In the modern era, the godfathers of cricket are Sachin Tendulkar, Virat Kohli, Brian Lara, Ricky Ponting, and many more.

The godfather of the Indian cricket team includes many legendary players. They are Rahul Dravid, Sourav Ganguly, Anil Kumble, and Rohit Sharma. We must not forget Mahendra Singh Dhoni. MS Dhoni godfather of cricket, is not only the greatest finisher of all time, but also India’s most successful captain. He has won the IPL, the ICC ODI World Cup, the T20 World Cup, and the Champions Trophy.

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FAQs

Who is godfather of cricket?

The godfather of cricket is Sir Don Bradman. He scored the most runs in his era, when cricket was still new to the world. At his retirement, Sir Bradman had a batting average of 99.94. This is something no other player has achieved yet in cricket history.

Who is the godfather of cricket India?

Sachin Tendulkar is the all-time godfather of Indian cricket. Sunil Gavaskar is also considered the godfather of cricket in India in the Test format. However, in modern cricket, millions of Indian fans consider Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, and MS Dhoni as their cricketing godfathers.

Who is the godfather of cricket in world?

Globally, Sir Don Bradman is considered the godfather of cricket. He has inspired millions around the world to play this sport.

Who is the godfather of Indian cricket?

Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar is the godfather of cricket India. He is also known as the God of cricket. Currently, he holds the record for the most runs in Test and ODI cricket. He is also the highest run-scorer for India and globally across all formats.

Who is godfather of cricket in India?

Sachin Tendulkar and Sunil Gavaskar are the all-time godfathers of Indian cricket. Virat Kohli is the new godfather of cricket in India.

Who is the godfather of cricket in IPL?

According to the fans, MS Dhoni is the godfather of cricket IPL. Batting down the order, he has scored 5000+ runs. He has also led CKS to 5 IPL trophies.

Who is the godfather of Indian cricket team?

The godfather of the Indian cricket team is Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar. He scored many runs, broke many records, and inspired millions of people to love cricket.