India is a country where you can find a child or teenager who wants to play cricket in almost every street. As the competition to reach the highest level is so dense, the domestic league of any country stands forward. The Indian National Cricket Team can only field 11 players at a time, and those 11 should be the best. The domestic leagues of any country act as the perfect platform for the cricketers to showcase everything they have in their locker to break into the National Team. In this article, we’ll see about one such domestic league of India, Duleep Trophy. We’ll see the top 10 run-getters in the Duleep Trophy History.
1. Mohinder Amarnath
Mohinder Amarnath is known to be one of the best all-rounders in history, not just for India but in the World. The World Cup Winner played an essential role in the 1983 World Cup Winning Campaign, making him a national hero. Being an Indian Cricketing Star, Mohinder Amarnath also had an applaudable domestic career. In the Duleep Trophy, Mohinder Amarnath started from 1969 to 1988 and played 31 games for the North Zone. In those 31 games, he scored 1692 runs with an average of 43.38, scoring three centuries and eight half-centuries.
2. Lalchand Rajput
Lalchand Rajput was a veteran Indian Cricketer during the 1980s. Lalchand was selected in the Indian National Team for once for the opening batsman slot when Sunil Gavaskar showed the willingness to bat lower down the order. However, the performances on the international front didn’t come, so Lalchand was dropped. Despite not being a regular in the National team, Lalchand racked up runs in the Duleep Trophy, playing for the East Zone and the West Zone. He played 18 matches and scored 1705 runs at an average of 63.14, including five centuries and eight half-centuries.
3. Robin Singh
Robin Singh was a big part of the Indian Cricket Team during the late 80s and early 90s. He represented the Indian Colours in 1 Test and 136 ODIs. Robin was a great all-rounder who was effective with both bat and ball. His role was of a finisher as he was a great hitter of the ball, and sometimes, he would even be promoted up the order due to his elegant batting technique. Robin left his mark in the Duleep Trophy as well. In the 25 Duleep Trophy matches for South Zone, he scored 1721 runs with an average of 46.51, including six centuries and eight half-centuries.
4. Mohammad Kaif
Mohammad Kaif was a household name for the Indian Cricket Fans during the early 2000s. Kaif came to the scene when he captained the U-19 team in 2000 to the Youth World Cup Championship. He earned his first international cap at the age of 20. With the International success, Kaif also played 21 matches in the Duleep Trophy. He made 1827 runs with an average of 67.66, including six centuries and ten half-centuries.
5. Sunil Gavaskar
Sunil Gavaskar is said to be one of the best batsmen in cricket history. Sunil Gavaskar has had one of the most stellar careers, a player can wish for. He’s the idol of a whole generation of players who saw him play. Sunil Gavaskar was the best batsman on the international stage and also left his stamp on the Duleep Trophy. He played 22 games and scored 1859 runs at an average of 61.96, including six centuries and eight half-centuries.
6. Aakash Chopra
Aakash Chopra was a promising prospect for the Indian National Cricket Team in 2003. He was with the team on tours to New Zealand and Australia, where he showed some solid performances, but the advent of Yuvraj Singh as a middle-order batsman took his place out of the team. However, his Duleep Trophy record was impressive. He played 24 games and made 1918 runs at an average of 53.27, including six centuries and eight half-centuries.
7. Ajay Sharma
Ajay Sharma was known to be one of the most famous prospects for the Indian National Cricketing Team, as he was scoring runs left, right, and center in all the domestic trophies. However, his career was one of the biggest disappointments as he got a ban for life after being a part of a match-fixing scandal. In his Duleep Trophy Career, he played 26 matches and made 1961 runs at an average of 57.67, including seven centuries and nine half-centuries.
8. Anshuman Gaekwad
Anshuman Gaekwad was part of the Indian National Cricket Team in the early 1980s. He was never known for his perfect technique and elegance as a batsman but for his confidence and courage against the deadliest bowlers available at his time. He played around 40 tests and 15 ODIs for India. Anshuman has an impressive Duleep Trophy record, playing 26 games and scoring 2004 runs at an average of 52.73, including nine centuries and four half-centuries.
9. Vikram Rathour
Vikram Rathour was one of those players who performed very well in the domestic trophies but could not shine while playing for his country. He only got to play 6 test matches but could not perform in them like he would want to. However, his Duleep Trophy record was impressive as in the 25 matches he played, he scored 2265 runs, the second-highest in the competition’s history.
10. Wasim Jaffer
Wasim Jaffer is one of the most famous names in the Domestic Cricket zones of the country. The man from Mumbai was said to be the next big thing when he smashed a triple-century on his first-class debut, but he never completed those expectations internationally. In his Duleep Trophy career, Wasim played 30 matches and scored the highest amount of runs in the competition’s history. He scored 2545 runs at an average of 55.32, including eight centuries and 13 half-centuries.
