Donald Bradman - the unquestioned supreme deity of batting - said Sachin Tendulkar reminded him of himself more than anybody before or since. You might think Sachin can, thus, safely consider the No. 2 slot in a list of all-time greats his for the taking. But you would be wrong, or so says the ICC. Sachin isn’t even in the top 20 Test batsmen , according to new ICC "best ever" ratings.

The 'best-ever' ratings for batsmen by the ICC is nothing short of baffling. While the Test ratings defy logic, the list of the "best ever" ODI batsmen strains your credulity no less. Mercifully, Sachin does figure in the top 20 here, though only at No.12, but those who follow him in the list of top run getters in ODIs - Sanath Jayasuriya, Inzamam-ul-Haq, Sourav Ganguly and Ricky Ponting - are among the also-rans.

"To play Test cricket at the age of 16, he must be and is a genius. The kind of determination he has is something extraordinary. He has looked after himself well and his hunger for runs is still alive. And these are characteristics of an all-time great batsman," he added.

Former India skipper and chairman of selectors Dilip Vengsarkar agrees: "Those players who have been named in the Test list don’t even come near Sachin Tendulkar. I don’t know what kind of calculation is done here to shortlist the names. I am very, very surprised," he said.

TV commentator and former India opener Arun Lal summed up what’s likely to be the public mood when he said: "Like many, I am absolutely shocked. I would not take this list that seriously till it has Sachin Tendulkar’s name in it."