India's greatest all-time ODI playing XI 

The Bowlers - Anil Kumble, Javagal Srinath, Zaheer Khan, Ajit Agarkar

Kent v India

Anil 'Jumbo' Kumble - An unorthodox spinner, who didn't turn the ball much and perhaps India’s greatest ever spinner. He took 337 wickets which is #9 on the list of most ODI wickets, highest for an Indian. He also had the best bowling figure for an Indian player when he took 6 wickets for 12 runs at Eden Gardens against West Indies before Stuart Binny took 6/4 against Bangladesh in 2014.

Javagal Srinath - One of the fastest bowlers to have represented India at an international level. He could have achieved a lot more if it weren't for combating several injuries right through his playing days. He took 315 wickets in ODIs which is #11 in the list of most ODI wickets, second highest for an Indian after Kumble and highest for an Indian seamer. One of the quickest seamer of his time. At his best, he was scary - occasionally used to hit in excess of 150 kmph, something that was unheard of in those days.

Zaheer Khan - Arguably the best left-arm fast bowler to have emerged from the Indian soil. With his expertise in reverse swinging (even with the old white ball), Zaheer Khan was a master on subcontinent pitches. An absolute treat to watch in overseas conditions when he could get the new ball to talk. Without a doubt, he is one of the greatest assets of Indian cricket. He eventually ended up being one of the greatest new-ball bowlers of all time (particularly to left-handers). He was the spearhead of the Indian bowling unit in the 2011 WorldCup. He took 282 wickets in ODIs, third highest for any Indian seamer after Ajit Agarkar and Javagal Srinath. Also, who can forget the time when he clubbed Henry Olanga for four successive sixes in the last over of the inning

Ajit Agarkar - Took 288 wickets in just 191 matches at an average of 27.85. He was the fastest bowler ever to take 50 ODI wickets – in 23 matches. He broke the 26-year-old record of Dennis Lillee (Australia) who had done it in 24 matches which was eventually broken by Ajantha Mendis. Additionally, he is the fastest Indian to take 150, 200 and 250 ODI wickets. Not to forget he holds the record for the fastest half-century by an Indian in ODIs. He smashed a half-century in just 21 balls against Zimbabwe at Rajkot in December 2000. After 191 ODIs only 2 other bowlers had more wickets than Agarkar’s 288 – Brett Lee (334) and Waqar Younis (307).

The Captain - Ganguly

When you look at the XI you will find a lot of captains in it, two of them even lifted the world cup - Kapil Dev in 1983 and MS Dhoni in 2011. But I will resort to making DADA as the captain because of his ability to galvanise a side. He might not have the best stats as a captain but he changed the image of the Indian cricket when it was going through a difficult phase.

He forged a winning unit from a bunch of talented, but directionless individuals. Also, being a 90s kid I grew up watching a lot of cricket when he was the captain, so there might be a slight bias too. If you carefully analyse the XI, you'll find Sachin, Ganguly, Sehwag and Yuvraj who can also bowl and give you the right overs when needed. This will help in providing a right balance to the squad.

Honourable Mentions

There have been many great players who have played for India and are currently playing and have done India proud which couldn't make it to this XI. To name a few Rahul Dravid, Mohammad Azharuddin, Gautam Gambhir, Harbhajan Singh, K Srikkanth, Sunil Gavaskar, Ravi Shastri etc.