Former Team India head coach Ravi Shastri chose his combined India-England all-time ODI XI after the end of the three-match series. Speaking on Sky Sports Cricket YouTube channel, Shastri made several tough selection calls, including leaving out former India captain Sourav Ganguly from his all-time XI.
Both the cricket rivals recently played a three-match ODI series, which England won by a margin of 2-1. India have won two ODI World Cups and finished runner-up twice, while England won their first 50-over World Cup title in 2019. Both the teams have produced many legendary ODI players over the years.
Ravi Shastri leaves out Sourav Ganguly and Eoin Morgan from his all-time ODI XI
Shastri chose Sachin Tendulkar and former India captain Rohit Sharma as his opening pair in a combined India-England all-time ODI XI. Sachin is the highest run-scorer in ODI history with 18,426 runs, while Rohit has scored 11,895 runs in this format.
Shastri chose England wicketkeeper-batsman Jos Buttler at number 3. Virat Kohli was included at number 4, who has scored 14,941 runs and 54 centuries in 314 ODIs.
He named former India all-rounder Yuvraj Singh in his top five after his memorable performances, which included winning the Player of the Tournament award at the 2011 ODI World Cup.
Former India captain Sourav Ganguly, who scored more than 11,000 ODI runs, did not find a place in the XI. Virender Sehwag, Mohinder Amarnath, England’s World Cup-winning captain Eoin Morgan and star batsman Joe Root were also left out.
MS Dhoni leads Ravi Shastri’s all-time India-England ODI XI
Ravi Shastri chose two fast bowling all-rounders in his team, with 1983 World Cup-winning captain Kapil Dev at No. 6 and former England star Ben Stokes at No. 7. Both players played important roles in their teams’ ODI World Cup victory.
Kapil led India to its first ODI World Cup title in 1983. Stokes starred in England’s historic 2019 World Cup win and won the Player of the Match award in the final against New Zealand at Lord’s.
Former India captain MS Dhoni was appointed captain and wicketkeeper of the team at number eight. Dhoni guided the Indian team in the 2011 ODI World Cup and 2013 Champions Trophy. Despite batting in the lower middle order, he also scored 10,599 ODI runs.
Adil Rashid and Jasprit Bumrah included in Ravi Shastri’s bowling attack
Ravi Shastri chose England leg spinner Adil Rashid as his first specialist spinner ahead of Anil Kumble. Rashid is England’s second-highest wicket-taker in ODI history with 243 wickets in 164 matches. Shastri chose Harbhajan Singh, who took 265 wickets in 234 ODIs, as the second spinner.
Jasprit Bumrah completed the playing eleven as the only specialist fast bowler. The Indian fast bowler has taken 151 wickets in 91 ODIs at an average of less than 24. Former India left-arm fast bowler Zaheer Khan was named as the 12th player after taking 269 wickets in 194 ODIs.
Ravi Shastri’s all-time India-England ODI XI:
Sachin Tendulkar, Rohit Sharma, Jos Buttler, Virat Kohli, Yuvraj Singh, Kapil Dev, Ben Stokes, MS Dhoni (captain), Adil Rashid, Harbhajan Singh, Jasprit Bumrah
12th man: Zaheer Khan
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