All-time Indian cricket team ODI XI

On Sunday, the Indian cricket team became the first nation to play 1000 ODIs. The Men In Blue, who played the game against the West Indies, emerged victorious comfortably and added another feather to what has become a burgeoning cap.

The Indian cricket team, whose debut ODI was against England in 1974 (three years after the first-ever ODI), have only grown from strength to strength, with the support of billions adorning the journey.

During their sojourn, the Indian cricket team has tasted success in ICC Cricket World Cups twice – 1983 and 2011. They have reached the final on one further occasion (2003) and have been regular fixtures in the knock-out stages.

The Indian cricket team has also laid its hands on the ICC Champions Trophy twice. While they shared it with Sri Lanka in 2002, they won it in outright fashion in 2013 under MS Dhoni’s leadership.

Apart from that, some of ODI cricket’s finest players have come from these shores, meaning that whoever is to pick the best Indian cricket team ODI XI of all time will have a tough task on their hands. That, though, is exactly what we are going to indulge in.

As a bit of a spoiler, there might be a couple of remarkable omissions and a couple of inclusions that might leave you scratching your heads. But when considering what each brings to the fore and how each complements the side, it becomes easy to understand why this particular team has been selected.

Note: The article is defined by the writer's opinion and does not necessarily reflects the views of Sportskeeda.

---

Indian cricket team's greatest ODI XI

Openers – Rohit Sharma and Virender Sehwag

Rohit walks into this eleven comfortably

We know what all of you are thinking. How can an Indian cricket team all-time ODI XI be assembled without Sachin Tendulkar as its opener? But with Rohit and Sehwag in the mix, this XI will do just fine.

Sehwag, throughout his career, tore bowling attack to shreds. He didn’t average as much as he did in the longest format but played several knocks that set the foundation for the Indian cricket team’s watershed victories. The batter also had an unmatchable aura and the mere sight of him striding out to the centre made many bowlers and captains endure sleepless nights.

Rohit, meanwhile, is one of the greatest modern-day openers in the world. He began his career patchily and wasn’t a permanent fixture until he was pushed to open in 2013. That move rejuvenated what had become a narrative of unfulfilled potential and he has, since then, taken the Indian cricket team to unprecedented heights.

The current Indian white-ball captain also has three double centuries to his name in ODI cricket – a tally that no one has come close to rivalling, let alone better. He also takes a bit of time to settle down at the start, which complements Sehwag’s devil-may-care philosophy perfectly.

It was very tough to omit Sachin from the side. But with a few anchors to follow, it made more sense to have Rohit and Sehwag at the top.

---

Middle order – Gautam Gambhir and Virat Kohli

Kohli is one of the greatest ODI batters to have existed

Speaking of anchors, none has been as influential as Kohli in the past decade. The former Indian cricket team captain has plundered runs for fun and has taken apart almost every bowling attack he has encountered.

He boasts the uncanny knock of scoring runs even when he isn’t at his best and that, considering the stroke-makers above him, makes him an indispensable commodity. That he averages 75.85 when India wins and averages 58.53 overall, makes his inclusion a no-brainer.

Gambhir, on the other hand, is the more questionable selection, considering he pipped the likes of Rahul Dravid, Sourav Ganguly and Tendulkar to this spot. Gambhir only averages a tick under 40 (39.68) in ODI cricket and his strike rate of 85.25 doesn’t set pulses racing either.

What he does bring to the fore, though, is tenacity and the ability to stand up when his team needs him the most. Remember the 2011 World Cup final and the Dhoni flourish to seal the deal? Well, it was only possible because Gambhir had steadied the ship after some of his more illustrious peers departed.

He may not have accumulated as many runs or racked up as many hundreds as some of the others. Yet somehow he always found a way to dig India out of trouble. That, coupled with his ability to dominate spin in the middle overs, means that he adds more value and adaptability to this eleven.

Lower middle order – Yuvraj Singh, MS Dhoni (C) and Kapil Dev

Dhoni (L) and Yuvraj (R) formed an irresistible pair

Perhaps the easiest lot to select because, well, each of them effectively select themselves. For a while, the Dhoni-Yuvraj partnership was the most irresistible batting pair on the planet. They walked into hopeless situations and carved victories out of nothing for the Indian cricket team. They were also the pioneers of the aggressive philosophy the side deploys now, meaning that they won’t really be out of place in today’s ODI landscape.

Apart from that, Dhoni and Yuvraj had a proclivity to rise to the biggest of occasions. Dhoni’s knock at the Wankhede Stadium is the stuff of legend, whereas Yuvraj was instrumental throughout that particular tournament (as an all-rounder), quietly scooping up the Player of the Series award in the process.

Also, this eleven is not being selected on how both of their international careers wound down. Instead, it has been complied based on how they were in their prime. And, boy, weren’t Dhoni and Yuvraj a sight to behold in the late 2000s and early 2010s.

Kapil Dev’s inclusion was, well, a given. That alone tells you his calbier. He could win matches with the ball, he could hare around the park and snaffle up tough chances, and as he showed against Zimbabwe in the 1983 World Cup, he could single-handedly win games of cricket with the willow.

Funnily enough, no one has ever seen that extraordinary knock. But almost everyone vividly remembers it and the far-reaching effects it had for the Indian cricket team. Truly a generational cricketer.

---

Bowlers – Anil Kumble, Zaheer Khan, Jasprit Bumrah and Javagal Srinath

No Indian has more ODI wickets than Kumble

This got quite interesting, considering the array of bowlers the Indian cricket team has produced since 1974. And, prima facie, it seems a bit paradoxical that India, long considered the land of spinners, has only a solitary front-line spinner in its all-time eleven. But here is the catch.

Harbhajan Singh and Ravichandran Ashwin might count themselves unlucky to be excluded. But neither has a record that really stands out in the 50-over format. If the team was selected on pure talent, Laxman Sivaramakrishnan would have waltzed into the side. Longevity, though, was a slight issue.

The likes of Bishan Singh Bedi, BS Chandrasekhar and Srinivas Venkataraghavan spun countless webs in red-ball cricket. However, none of the troika enjoyed success in limited-overs cricket.

Thus, the alternative was to select India’s four best bowlers (excluding Kapil, of course), which comprises of three pacers and one spinner. Anil Kumble’s ODI exploits aren’t appreciated enough because of the heights he scaled in Tests. But he, as things stand, remains the Indian cricket team’s highest wicket-taker in the format.

Similarly, Srinath and Zaheer were excellent in their pomp. Both were as skillful as any pacer on the planet and were adept at performing different roles. Zaheer, in particular, was the cornerstone of the Indian cricket team’s World Cup triumph in 2011.

As for Bumrah, well, he hasn’t played as much as some of the others in this eleven. But if his career so far is an indicator, he looks primed to surpass all records that his predecessors had set. He is at the peak of his powers and seems a cut above each of his contemporaries. Oh, by the way, he also happens to be the best end-overs bowler India has ever produced. He isn’t shabby with the new ball either.

There was a temptation to go with one of Harbhajan or Ashwin. But when considering what the pacers bring to the plate, it became an untenable option. Plus, batters of the ilk of Sehwag and Yuvraj were more than useful with the ball, meaning that if this Indian cricket team needed more spinners, they only had to look within.

Phew! This is some team, isn’t it?