Sportskeeda's Top 50 Indian Test cricketers of all-time (10-1)

#4 Kapil Dev

Kapil Dev remains one of the finest all-rounders to ever grace the game

In the middle of 2002, Sachin Tendulkar was at the peak of his powers and Sunil Gavaskar's exploits were still fresh in everyone's minds. Yet, it was Kapil Dev who took home Wisden's Indian Cricketer of the Century award. The moment not only emboldened the inimitable all-rounder's reputation in the game but also showed why India would never come close to replacing him. Far beyond plain numbers, Kapil changed the face of Indian cricket in every sense of the word.

Extra Cover: Kapil Dev - The irreplaceable warrior

At a time when India used part-timers to quickly take the shine off the new ball in order to bring their arsenal of spinners into the game, Kapil became a trend setter by venturing into unforeseen territory. Unlike most of his team mates, he did not emerge from a metropolis or traditional power center of cricket. However, that did not prevent him from reaching unprecedented heights in Indian history.

If sharp swing fetched him a whopping 434 wickets and left him at the pedestal of Test bowling by the time he retired, Kapil's aggressive batting as well as instinctive leadership metamorphosed him into an invaluable colossus of the game. Legendary writer John Woodcock declared, "India have never had another cricketer like him, and quite conceivably they never will." Truer words have never been written.

Career Span: 1978-1994

Statistics: 434 wickets from 131 matches at an average of 29.64 and strike-rate of 63.9 with 23 five-wicket hauls and 2 ten-wicket hauls; 5248 runs at an average of 31.05 with 8 centuries and 27 fifties