Brendon McCullum's All-Time XI: Tendulkar, Gayle as openers, no Dhoni or Kohli

Former New Zealand skipper Brendon McCullum has come up with his own All-Time playing XI. His team was posted by Lord’s Cricket Ground on their official YouTube channel. The criteria which has been followed in the selection is that the players should have played with or against McCullum during his career.

Former West Indies legend Sir Vivian Richards has been chosen as the skipper. Sachin Tendulkar and Chris Gayle have been listed as the openers. The opening pair will be followed by former Australian captain Ricky Ponting at number 3. Brian Lara will walk in at number 4 followed by Vivian Richards at number 5. Jacques Kallis will be the all-rounder and is slated at number 6, followed by Adam Gilchrist at number 7.

The glaring exclusions from this team are Virat Kohli, AB de Villiers and MS Dhoni. Considered to be among the finest batsmen among the current crop of players, the exclusion of Kohli and de Villiers is certainly surprising.

The bowling contingent is led by Mitchell Johnson who will spearhead the bowling attack. Also, the flamboyant opener has included his Kiwi teammates Trent Boult and Tim Southee to share the seam-bowling duties. Shane Warne is the lone spinner in the side, which is according to expected lines.

This team comes after current England limited overs captain Eoin Morgan too picked his team. He surprised many as he excluded Sachin Tendulkar from his team even as he included Mahendra Singh Dhoni.

McCullum has been in the news recently after he delivered a memorable MCC spirit of cricket lecture where he lambasted the International Cricket Council for not having strict guidelines in place to curb corruption in the game.

Brendon McCullum’s All Time XI: Chris Gayle, Sachin Tendulkar, Ricky Ponting, Brian Lara, Vivian Richards (C), Jacques Kallis, Adam Gilchrist, Mitchell Johnson, Shane Warne, Tim Southee and Trent Boult.