Sportskeeda's Top 50 Indian Test cricketers of all-time (40-31)

#35 Ravi Shastri

Ravi Shastri was India's premier spin all-rounder right throughout the 80s and early 90s

When he made his Test debut against New Zealand in the 1981 Wellington Test, Ravi Shastri batted at the number ten position. Not many would have envisaged the left-arm spinner finishing his career as an opening batsman. The steep transition from specialist bowler to batting all-rounder should serve as a summary of his eventful journey in the international arena.

While he would later make his name as an obdurate batsman who could blunt the new-ball and set the foundation for the middle-order, Shastri spent the vast majority of his career floating through different positions in the batting lineup. His height and unrelenting accuracy lent a different dimension to the Indian bowling attack. Even though his cricket was not as loud as his subsequent commentary stint, the all-rounder was a utility player in his heydays.

Career Span: 1981-1992

Statistics: 3830 runs from 80 matches at an average of 35.79 with 11 centuries and 12 fifties; 151 wickets at an average of 40.96 and strike-rate of 104.3 with 2 five-wicket hauls