Top 10 Cricketers in the World Right Now

The debate over who the best cricketers in the world right now are is a perpetual crusade, ever-changing as new players emerge and older stars drift away.

Here we’ve listed our top 10 as we see it at the moment, outlining their best achievements in the game so far.

Steve Smith

Smith replaced Michael Clarke as Australia captain in late 2015 and won a heap of individual awards for his batting displays.

By the end of 2017 he had reached a Test batting rating of 947, the second-highest of all time behind the legendary Don Bradman.

Banned for his role in the ball-tampering scandal a year later, he returned to form by playing a key role in helping his country retain the Ashes in England in 2019.

Joe Root

Holding the record for most Test victories as England captain and named in his country’s greatest all-time Test XI in 2018, Root was a part of the side that won the 2019 ODI World Cup and was their leading run-scorer at the tournament.

Currently the No 1 ranked Test batsman in the world, he is one of the main reasons England are among the favourites with to lift the T20 World Cup again next year.

Dwayne Bravo

During his prime Bravo was one of the best death bowlers in T20 cricket and he continues to star for the West Indies in that format of the game.

A former captain of his country and aggressive batter from the middle order, he has played domestic cricket in India, Pakistan, Australia, Bangladesh and England.

Jonny Bairstow

The only English wicket-keeper to twice claim nine dismissals in a Test match, Bairstow was a key member of the 2019 ODI World Cup-winning team.

Also a talented batsman, Bairstow set a record for most runs in Test matches by a wicket-keeper in a single year in 2016 with 1,470.

Andre Russell

Dominant all-rounder who has played in more than 300 T20 matches for a range of sides in leagues across the world as well as internationally for the West Indies and Jamaica in West Indian domestic cricket.

Scored a century from a record 40 balls in the 2018 Caribbean Premier League and took a hat-trick in the same match, becoming only the second player to do so in a T20 game.

Kane Williamson

Led New Zealand to the final of the 2019 ODI World Cup and 2021 T20 World Cup, losing to England and Australia respectively.

The only Kiwi to be named in the ICC Test Team of the Decade from 2011-2020, he was labelled “probably our greatest ever batsman” by fellow New Zealand batting royalty Martin Crowe.

Ben Stokes

Named Man of the Match in the 2019 ODI World Cup final England won for his stunning 84 runs from 98 balls not out, Stokes consistently bowls at around 87mph too.

Holding numerous batting records including England’s fastest-ever Test double-century, Stokes became the highest-paid overseas player in the history of the IPL in 2017 and proved it was money well spent by landing the Most Valuable Player award that season too.

M.S. Dhoni

He is considered the greatest-ever India captain for winning the triple ICC limited-overs tournaments in 2007, 2011 and 2013 and bringing his nation to the No 1 position in ICC Test rankings.

Dhoni has also won the IPL four times with the Chennai Super Kings, with the fourth title coming in 2021 at the age of 40.

David Warner

First Australian cricketer in 132 years to be selected for a national team in any format without first-class experience, Warner scored the second-highest total by any Aussie Test batsman with 335 not out against Pakistan in 2019.

His vast array of rewards cancel out any doubts about the batsman over his suspension for the ball tampering scandal.

Virat Kohli

Named Man of the Tournament twice at the T20 World Cups in 2014 and 2016, Kohli also holds the world record for being the fastest player to score 23,000 international runs.

Not only an award-winner for his attributes on the pitch, Kohli was included in 100 most influential people in the world list in 2018.