With all our focus solely on international cricket, we miss the cradle where the greats of the game raise their children to success. From the prestigious Sheffield Shield to cricket, the birth of illustrious cricketers who later left an indelible mark on the rise of the game from these domestic leagues.
India is also famous for its home matches which include Duleep Trophy and Ranji Trophy.
With the Ranji Cup being the most important, the main focus of the selectors is to select talents to represent the country in the future.
However, those who have become kings in these internal affairs also do not need to become champions of the game on the international arena. We are going to take a look at the five cricketers who had the highest average in the Ranji Cup.
1. Vijay Merchant
Although only 10 Test matches were made in the international format, Merchant's success in domestic cricket remains unparalleled.
Don Bradman is the only cricketer ahead of the dealer in domestic cricket. He played for Bombay in first-class cricket and had a staggering first-class average of 71.64.
Merchant played an impressive 3,639 rounds of Ranji and had an average of 98.35.
Merchant played 150 matches and collected 13,470 runs, setting an as-yet-unsurpassed milestone in Indian top-flight cricket, and ideally, no cricketer has shown such promise in terms of domestic affairs.
2. Sachin Tendulkar
Another great draw from the ranks of Bombay, present-day Mumbai, Tendulkar was victorious in every form of game he played.
First selected in 1987, he couldn't make it to eleven players. However, after making his debut the following year, he scored a hot century in his first match.
A star was born and then continued his amazing hit.
He managed to score 4,281 runs for the Ranji Trophy with an impressive average of 85.62.
3. Vivis Laxman
A mainstay of Indian cricket, known for his elegance and classic batting that pulled India out of the quagmire of a thousand, Laxman's debut in the Ranji Cup wasn't as spectacular as you might think. After being sent off by Ranji for nothing in his first half after being sent off for 17 in the second, Laxman was dropped from the team.
He quickly revived himself as his Duleep Trophy prowess made him a strong contender for next year's Ranji Cup.
After his performance in the Duleep Trophy, he never had to look back because his performance in the Ranji Trophy had changed and his performance was better than before.
When he finally shot the day in his state, he scored 5,764 points with an impressive 80.61 average.
4- Ajay Sharma
A superstar name from the ranks of Delhi, Ajay Sharma played a major role in the Ranji Cup.
Sharma averaged 78.29 with 31 centuries and 7,438 runs.
Despite being a hero in his own right in internal affairs, Ajay Sharma's career came to a tragic end after he was caught up in a match-fixing scandal.
5. Ashok Mankadu
This guy initially made a good name for himself playing for his country. However, after tough competitions in which Chetan Chauhan remained a prolific opening partner of Sunil Gavaskar, Mankad had to be content with domestic cricket.
Mancad was a prominent name in Bombay, with an average score of 76.81. He was the heavy state defender due to his impressive stroke play. His records also include those of Vijay Harari.
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