On the occasion of India’s 500th Test, we witnessed a lot of India’s all-time Test XI. The likes of Sachin Tendulkar, Sunil Gavaskar, Virender Sehwag and Kapil Dev were featuring in almost all the XIs.
However, shifting the focus from Test for a moment, India are scheduled to play their 900th ODI when they take on New Zealand in the first ODI at Dharamsala on October 16. In the 899 matches played so far, India has won 454 matches and ended up on the losing side on 399 occasions. 39 matches failed to yield a result while the remaining seven matches ended in a tie.
Also Read: Sportskeeda's All-Time Test XI: From the realms of immortality
As many as 214 cricketers have represented the country and among those 214, few went to become the best in the World. With India’s 900th ODI match round the corner, we have decided to come up with our own ODI all-time XI.
Openers
It is a very tough task to pick only two men as openers for the all-time Indian XI in ODIs. Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly, Virender Sehwag, Kris Srikanth, Gautam Gambhir etc. have done a lot for Indian cricket in the past and picking just two from these men won’t do justice to the rest.
There can be only two openers in a team and as a result, we have to come to the following conclusion.
Sachin Tendulkar is by far the best ODI batsman in the history of the sport and he will be the first name in any ODI XI and the case is no different with our all-time XI too.
The Little Master has scored 18426 runs in 452 innings at an average of over 44 and a strike-rate of 86.23. Virender Sehwag and Sourav Ganguly are the ones in contention to open the innings alongside Sachin.
Both these batsmen opened the innings with Sachin in ODIs. While the Sachin-Sehwag duo has scored 4387 runs in 114 innings at a decent average of 39.16 with 13 hundred-run stands, Sachin and Sourav are the best pair when it comes to batting together in ODIs. They have scored 8227 runs in 176 innings together at an average of 47.55 and 26-century stands.
Taking these things into consideration, Ganguly will open the batting with Sachin in ODIs. Ganguly has scored 11363 runs from 300 innings at an average of over 41 and a strike-rate of 72.
Middle-order:
Just like the openers’ slot, India’s middle-order in the all-time ODI XI is very difficult to choose from as there is a big pool of players who deserve to get into the team. Rahul Dravid has scored over 10000 runs in this format but still failed to make it to the team.
India’s Test skipper, Virat Kohli is on his way to greatness in this format as he is the best batsman at the moment in this format. He has already scored 7212 runs in just 171 matches at an extraordinary average of 51.51 and a strike-rate of over 89.
With age on his side and the fitness he possesses, Kohli might go on to score over 15000 ODI runs by the time he decides to hang his boots. He will be taking care of the crucial number 3 role in India's all-time ODI XI.
Following Kohli will be India's former skipper and one of the stylish batsmen the sport has ever seen, Mohammad Azharuddin. Azhar was India’s mainstay in the middle order for over a decade and has won a lot of matches for the team. He has scored 9378 runs in 308 innings at an average of 37.
Player of the series in the 2011 World Cup, Yuvraj Singh also makes it to India’s all-time ODI XI. Yuvi is someone whose contribution to the team cannot be written off very easily. He made his way to the International scene with a timely knock of 84 against Australia in the 2000 ICC knockout tournament.
Since then, there was no turning back for him as he went on to become a proven match-winner for Team India in ODIs. His match-winning knock in the 2002 Natwest series finals and his all-round performance throughout the 2011 World Cup are some of the examples of his contribution to Indian cricket.
He has scored 8329 runs and has taken 111 wickets in the 268 matches he has played for the county. Rounding off the middle-order of India’s all-time ODI XI will be one of India’s greatest ODI batsmen and one of the best finishers of all-time, MS Dhoni.
Wicketkeeper-batsman Dhoni was India’s saviour with the bat on several occasions and his presence in the middle while chasing a target is enough to give the fans some hope. In the 241 innings he played so far, Dhoni has accumulated 8919 runs at a superb average of 51.25 and a strike-rate of 90.
He is also India’s most successful captain and without a doubt, he is chosen as the captain of India’s all-time ODI XI.
All-rounder
How often have we heard this statement – “Since Kapil Dev’s retirement, India are struggling to find an all-rounder who can match at least 50% of his skills?." That was the impact Kapil Dev had during his playing days as an all-rounder.
The ‘Haryana Hurricane’ has scored 3783 runs in 225 matches and has taken 253 wickets at an impressive average of 27. He also led India to their first World Cup win in 1983, the moment which changed Indian cricket forever.
He is India’s best pacer and all-rounder till date and without a second thought, he has been included in our all-time Indian ODI XI as the only all-rounder.
Spinners
Spinners in India have always been available in abundance ever since India started to play cricket. From the likes of BS Bedi, EAS Prasanna, BS Chandrasekhar and Srinivas Venkataraghavan to India’s spin twins R Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja, India has always produced world-class spinners.
It is very difficult to pick only two from a galaxy of good spinners. When it comes to the two best bowlers in ODI’s, Anil Kumble and Harbhajan Singh should not be overlooked. Anil Kumble has taken 337 wickets in 265 matches at an average of 30 and an economy of 4.3. Kumble was India’s go-to bowler in this format for over a decade and has won a lot of matches on his own.
Just like Kumble, Harbhajan is also a proven match winner and has contributed a lot to the Indian team. Harbhajan has scalped 269 ODI wickets in 227 matches at an average of 33. Therefore, Harbhajan and Kumble make it to our team as the two spinners.
Pacers
Zaheer Khan, Ajit Agarkar, Mohammad Shami and Javagal Srinath are the names that come into our minds when we talk about India’s best pacers in the ODIs. It’s very early to have Shami alongside these players but the way he has bowled so far, he can only get better with age on his side.
With just two spots available for the pacers, Srinath and Zaheer make it as they took India’s pace bowling to a completely different level and thus they both complete India’s all-time ODI XI. The duo has done a lot for the Men in Blue in the past and it will be unfair if one among these two bowlers miss out from the team.
Srinath has taken 315 wickets in 227 matches while Zaheer has accounted for 282 wickets in 197 matches.
The final XI:
It was very difficult to pick only 11 players for India’s all-time ODI XI. The likes of Rahul Dravid, Virender Sehwag, Ravi Shastri, Ajit Agarkar and Mohammad Shami are very unlucky to miss out from the XI. Dravid, for his accomplishments, is picked as the 12th man of India’s all-time ODI XI.
India’s all-time ODI XI: Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly, Virat Kohli, Mohammad Azharuddin, Yuvraj Singh, MS Dhoni, Kapil Dev, Anil Kumble, Harbhajan Singh, Zaheer Khan, Javagal Srinath
Reserves: Rahul Dravid (12th man), Virender Sehwag, Ravi Shastri and Ajit Agarkar.
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