Top five Team India players and why are they famous?

India is a cricket-crazy nation where the players are amongst the most popular figures in the country. Ever since India won the ODI World Cup in 1983, fans began following the game rather religiously. Following Pakistan and Sri Lanka’s World Cup wins in 1992 and 1996, respectively, cricket has emerged as the single most popular sport in the subcontinent.

However, cricket in India is different from any other part of the world. Being part of a major tournament win, delivering a great performance in an IPL season, captaining the Indian team or an IPL franchise, and being a proven individual performer – all of these turn players into household names. They are popular for a reason and can be regarded as the top cricketers in the country.

Here are Team India’s top 5 active players, and the reason behind their popularity:

5. Shubman Gill

Shubman Gill is popular for his 2023 season. That year, he was the highest run-scorer in ODIs and had one of the greatest campaigns for a batter in the history of the IPL. In ODIs, Gill established himself during the 2022–23 period. In 2023, the star batter scored 1,584 runs in 29 innings at an impressive average of 63.36. In 2024, Gill became the skipper of the Gujarat Titans.

In IPL 2023, Gill amassed a whopping 890 runs in 17 innings at an average of 59.33 and a strike rate of 157.80, including three hundreds and four fifties. He was also named the Most Valuable Player of the season. Recently, Gill was appointed as India’s Test captain, following the retirement of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli, which has further contributed to his popularity.

4. Hardik Pandya

Hardik Pandya has been part of the Indian team since 2016. A major reason behind his popularity is his success with the Mumbai Indians. From 2015 to 2020, he won four IPL titles with them, including key performances in the 2019 and 2020 seasons. Even at the international level, Hardik was one of the players who could be relied upon to deliver. He is regarded as India’s best pace-bowling all-rounder since Kapil Dev.

Pandya performed well in major tournaments like the T20 World Cup 2016, the Champions Trophy 2017, along with the ODI World Cup 2019, T20 World Cup 2022, ODI World Cup 2023, T20 World Cup 2024, and the Champions Trophy 2025, respectively. He provided great stability for the Indian team as an all-rounder in many of those tournaments and played a key role in India’s wins in the T20 WC 2024 and CT 2025.

3. Jasprit Bumrah

Jasprit Bumrah is easily the greatest bowler India has ever produced. The star pacer is also arguably the greatest all-format bowler of all time, and potentially makes a case for being the greatest all-format cricketer of all time. He can both control the flow of runs and take wickets from his end. Be it Tests, ODIs, T20Is, or the IPL, Bumrah has aced everything in his career so far.

Since 2016, he has consistently been among the best bowlers in the world. He delivered exceptional performances in major ODI tournaments like the 2019 and 2023 ODI World Cups. His most memorable outing came in the T20 World Cup 2024, where he was named Player of the Tournament during India’s title-winning campaign. He is arguably the greatest bowler in IPL history and has gained immense popularity in recent times.

2. Rohit Sharma

Rohit Sharma is among the greatest Indian cricketers of all time. At the age of 21, Sharma played a key role in India’s T20 World Cup win. However, his popularity truly soared after 2013 when he became a regular opener in limited-overs cricket and took over as Mumbai Indians’ captain. Along with MS Dhoni, Sharma has the most IPL titles as a captain.

Rohit delivered outstanding performances in major tournaments like the Champions Trophy 2017, ODI World Cup 2019, ODI World Cup 2023, and T20 World Cup 2024. He led India to title wins in the T20 WC 2024 and the Champions Trophy 2025. With age, Sharma has matured into a more consistent batter, which has been immensely beneficial for the Indian team.

1. Virat Kohli

Virat Kohli is one of the greatest cricketers of all time and is possibly the greatest all-format cricketer. The star batter rose to fame at a young age when he led India to victory in the Under-19 World Cup in 2008. He became hugely popular for his chasing abilities in ODIs, especially after his knocks in the 2012 Asia Cup against Pakistan and in the Commonwealth Bank Series against Sri Lanka that same year.

In the years that followed, Kohli produced stellar performances in the T20 World Cups of 2012, 2014, and 2016. His peak form from 2016 to 2019 is among the greatest in cricket history and is certainly the best for any batter – a period during which he became the most popular cricketer globally. Kohli holds numerous records and has won the Player of the Tournament award in multiple ICC events, cementing his place as the most celebrated Indian cricketer.