Who Is the New God of Cricket? Top 5 Contenders Ranked

Cricket is more than just a game in India, where the fans worship their cricket heroes and have a personal kind of bond with them, which is inseparable. The craze of cricket is booming around the globe at the next level, where many are taking up the sport and even supporting it to the fullest. Sachin Tendulkar is referred to as the “God of Cricket", which is an honor to him for his exceptional contribution to the game of cricket and the number of records created and broken by him. The question that remained with every cricket fan was about who is the New God of Cricket after Sachin Tendulkar. There are some cricketers who have been in contention to take this title to become the next god of cricket for their extraordinary performances in cricket. In this article, we will discuss who will be the god of cricket after Sachin Tendulkar.

New God of Cricket - Top 5 contenders

The title of the new god of cricket is not an easy one to get, as there are many players who have given their best to the game of cricket, but they have not yet been considered for this title. Here is the list of the top 5 contenders who can be the next god of cricket, which includes the names Virat Kohli and Kane Williamson.

Who is the New God of Cricket?

The game of cricket has seen many cricketers in the world who have ruled the world of cricket, but still failed to get the title of god of cricket, which is given to Sachin Tendulkar. Nowadays, there are many cricketers who could be the answer to the question of who is the new god of cricket. Here are the top 5 cricketers who can be the new god of cricket.

5. Kane Williamson | New Zealand

New Zealand batsman Kane Williamson is in the 5th position in the list to become the new god of cricket. He began his cricket career in the year 2010 by debuting against Indian in an ODI match. Since then, he has never looked back and has been performing well for every team he plays for. He has scored the most runs in international cricket for New Zealand, where he also became the first New Zealand batsman to cross the mark of 19,000 runs in international cricket. He is a part of the FAB 4 of world cricket. He has also done well as a captain of the New Zealand team, where he led the team successfully for many years. In his international career, he has played 371 international matches across the three formats of the game, where he has scored more than 19,000+ runs and scored a total of 48 centuries. He is a good contender to become the new god of cricket.

4. Steve Smith | Australia

Former Australian Captain Steve Smith ranks in the 4th position in the list to become the new god of cricket. He began his cricketing journey as a spinner but became one of the best batsmen in the world over time by performing well and scoring plenty of runs in international cricket. He has a record of the fastest to 8,000 runs in test cricket under his name. He is a very classic batsman who can bat for a very long time and score runs. He is also a part of the FAB 4 because of his level of game. He did well as a leader of the Australian cricket team till he got banned from cricket for some time after the ball-tampering scandal. In his international career, he has played 356 international matches across the three formats of the game, where he has scored more than 17,000+ runs and scored a total of 48 centuries, which can make him the next god of cricket.

3. Rohit Sharma | India

Indian Opener Rohit Sharma ranks in the 3rd position to become the god of cricket after Sachin Tendulkar. He began his cricket career by batting at the lower order for many years and was a good finisher, until he was given the opening slot in the Indian cricket team. He is known for his power hitting and famous pull shot. He is the leading run scorer of the highest T20 runs in Men's cricket, scoring 4231 runs, even after he retired from the format, where he has played this format for more than 16 years of his career, making him one of the best T20 Batsman in the world. He has smashed a double-century in ODIs three times in his career, which highest overall in ODI history. In his international career, he has played 499 international matches across the three formats of the game, where he has scored more than 19,700 runs and scored a total of 49 centuries.

2. Joe Root | England

Former England Captain Joe Root stands in the 2nd position to become the new god of cricket for his outstanding display of cricket at the international level. He built his cricket career as a middle-order batsman and excelled in that batting position by scoring a lot of runs, and that too consistently. He is the best test batsman in the world who has scored more than 13,000 runs with an average above 50 and smashed 37 centuries in test cricket. He is also a part of FAB 4 and leading centurion among them. He has been one of the best batsmen for the England cricket team for many years, and he has also led the team well. In his international career, he has played 368 international matches across the three formats of the game, where he has scored more than 21,000+ runs and scored a total of 55 centuries. He has been doing well in the longest format of cricket, which makes him a good option to be the next god of cricket.

1. Virat Kohli | India

Virat Kohli ranks first to be the new God of cricket for his exceptional game of cricket for many years. He has scored the most centuries in ODI cricket, surpassing Sachin Tendulkar. He is the second player to play 100 matches in all three formats of the game and has done by far best performance in all three formats. Indian star batsman Virat Kohli has almost filled his trophy cabinet of cricket, winning all major trophies, including the ICC U-19 World Cup, the ICC ODI World Cup, the ICC T20 World Cup, the ICC Champions Trophy, the ICC Test Mace, and even the IPL trophy for RCB. In his international career, he has played 550 international matches across the three formats of the game, where he has scored more than 27,000+ runs and scored a total of 82 centuries, which is the second most by any player in international cricket. He is most likely to break the record of 100 centuries and become the new god of cricket.

Ranking Factors

The title of “God of Cricket” is not easy to earn at the level where competition in cricket is very high, and the players have to play cricket at the next level to reach this spot and earn applause for their game and skillset. There are many factors involved in analyzing the new God of cricket, which include the following:

• Consistent High-Level Performance: Consistent High-Level Performance helps in understanding the run-scoring abilities of the player, where how well the player can score runs per wicket across the three formats of the game. This also involves matching winning performances and peak performance of the player across the years, which shows the consistency level of the player in scoring runs and dominating the game for years.
• All-Format Dominance: All-Format Dominance tells the ability of the player to excel in all three formats of the game, i.e., Tests, ODIs, and T20Is. This helps in understanding the adaptability and how well the player can change his style of playing according to the format, as well as pitch conditions. The playing conditions of the game are also an important factor, and a good player has to change the game accordingly, like adjusting the game in the bouncy wickets of Australia and South Africa, pacer-friendly wickets of England, and spinning tracks of Asian countries.
• Records & Milestones Achieved: Records and milestones achieved in the career of a player distinguish the player from others and make them one of the best in the game. This involves the fastest to key records like fastest centuries or even fastest to runs milestone, which allows players to set a benchmark in the game. This also includes the unique achievements and global recognition of the player, which makes a player stand out from the other players.
• Popularity & Global Fan Base: Popularity and global fan base of a player show the media presence of the player and how much the player is loved the fans around the globe. This includes the social media following and crowd pull, which shows the impact of players on the fans through the medium of media. This also tells the players to be the brand themselves and have a good brand value, with the amount and level of brand endorsements and marketability.
• Leadership & Influence: This helps in understanding the leadership qualities of the player and how well the players lead the team and keep the team's atmosphere light and interactive, which will impact the success of the team and boost morale. This tells us about the influence of the players on the fans or public, with the sportsmanship shown by them in the game with following the rules of the game and keeping the standards of the game high.
• Legacy in the Making: This tells about the players' performance in the game, and leaves a legacy behind them with the exceptional level of game they play. This involves how well the player shapes the future of cricket with excellent skills in the game and shows class to future cricketers. The players with top-class performances influence the next generation to play the game and come forward with new talent and skill towards the game of cricket.