India's strongest ODI eleven under Virat Kohli

India has been a formidable side in one-day international cricket over the last decade. India had been consistently ranked among the top three ODI teams and under MS Dhoni’s captaincy, the team went on to win the 2011 World Cup and then lift the 2013 Champions Trophy.

Virat Kohli took over the ODI captaincy from Dhoni and has taken the 'Men in Blue' to loftier heights. The Kohli led Indian team has been superbly consistent in ODI cricket, winning over 75 percent of their games so far. They have been simply unbeatable at home and been quite impressive while traveling abroad.

The team has all the ingredients of a champion side and looks well balanced in all the departments. The ‘Men in Blue’ have a dependable opening combination followed by a compact middle order. Skipper Virat Kohli is certainly the best ODI player with his superlative run-scoring pedigree.

The pace battery with a lot of variety has looked the strongest in the last few years and the spin duo of Chahal and Yadav have been the masters of their trait. The fitness levels of the players have gone up places and the team looks to be leaner and meaner.

There are some promising youngsters like KL Rahul, Hardik Pandya, Manish Pandey and Rishabh Pant who can be quite successful in the future. Going into the 2019 World Cup in England, India will certainly go in as one of the pre-tournament favourites.

So let us look at the best possible ODI eleven led by Virat Kohli which has been a force to reckon with in ODI cricket.

For my list, I have taken only those players who have been a regular part of the Indian ODI set up under Virat Kohli's captaincy and contributed consistently with either bat or ball.

Shikhar Dhawan

India v Sri Lanka - ICC Champions Trophy

Shikhar Dhawan has been India’s frontline opener in one-day international cricket for the last five odd seasons. The aggressive lefthander has been extremely prolific in the shorter format for the ‘Men in Blue’. Dhawan has forged a lethal opening pair with Rohit Sharma, getting the team off to flying starts.

Dhawan is an attacking batsman who likes to dominate the bowlers in the power plays. He likes the ball coming onto the bat and pulls and cuts with utter disdain. Dhawan has a penchant to score hundreds and generally goes onto convert his starts into big knocks. 'Gabbar' is a handy fielder in the deep and possesses one of the strongest throwing arms.

ODI record under Virat Kohli's captaincy

Matches 42 Runs 2027 Avg 50.67 100s 5

Rohit Sharma

Rohit Sharma

Rohit Sharma is rightfully labeled as the ‘Hitman’ of Indian cricket. The talismanic opener is an outright match winner when he is in full flow. Rohit has the ability to make the best of bowling attacks look ordinary with his scintillating shot making. Once he is set, the Mumbaikar has a penchant to score massive tons.

Ever since opening the innings, Sharma has struck a purple patch and scored heaps of runs. He has improved on his consistency and looks to provide the team with a solid platform. Besides his enthralling stroke play, Sharma is an exceptional fielder in the slips and point region.

Rohit Sharma's ODI record under Virat Kohli's captaincy

Matches 40 Runs 1979 Avg 58.20 100s 8 50s 7

Virat Kohli

Virat Kohli

Virat Kohli has been the batting mainstay of the Indian team. The skipper leads from the front with his superlative batting efforts. Virat is a run-scoring machine who has gone onto break record after record courtesy his amazing consistency with the willow.

What really sets Kohli apart from the rest is his ability to score massive hundreds at will. A tenacious character, Virat brings out his best when he chases down herculean targets and takes the team across the line. 'King Kohli' is the trump card of the Indian batting lineup and destined to achieve greater heights.

Virat is supremely fit and sets an example for others with his unmatchable agility on the green turf. Taking over the captaincy mantle from MS Dhoni, Virat has proved to be an able leader who has commanded the respect of his teammates.

Virat Kohli record as ODI captain

Matches 52 Runs 3059 Avg 82.67 100s 13 50s 13

Ajinkya Rahane

Ajinkya Rahane

Ajinkya Rahane is perhaps the most technically accomplished batsman in the Indian team. An elegant stroke maker, Rahane looks to mix aggression with caution. He is the workhorse of the team who accumulates runs in the middle overs and keep the scoreboard ticking. Rahane’s real worth comes in overseas conditions where he is equipped to combat swing and pace with his sound technique and solid defence.

With a cool head on his shoulders, Rahane provides stability to the middle order by playing the sheet anchor’s role to perfection. Rahane also has the game to accelerate if the situation demands it. He has a safe pair of hands and is one of the best slip fielders in the world.

Ajinkya Rahane ODI record under Kohli's captaincy

Matches 28 Runs 1130 Avg 43.46 100s 2 50s 11

MS Dhoni

MS Dhoni

Mahendra Singh Dhoni brings invaluable experience to the Indian ODI set up. The seasoned wicket-keeper batsman still remains India’s most deadly power hitter who can change the course of a game with his belligerent hitting. Dhoni’s unique ability to soak up pressure and finish off games is a trait still unmatched.

‘Mahi’ has the arsenal in his batting armoury to produce match-winning knocks. He is electric behind the stumps and effects breathtaking stumpings with his razor sharp reflexes. Above all, he is an astute thinker and can bring about cutting-edge tactics to help skipper Virat Kohli devise match winning strategies.

MS Dhoni ODI record under Virat Kohli

Matches 35 Runs 864 Avg 57.60 100s 1 50s 5

Hardik Pandya

Hardik Pandya

Hailed as the next big thing in Indian cricket, Hardik Pandya is an allrounder with immense potential. The Baroda lad has a West Indian-like swagger to his game. He has built quite a reputation of sorts as one of the cleanest ball strikers. His lusty hitting down the order has made him into an ideal finisher for the Indian team.

Pandya bowls his medium pace with fire and aggression and has settled down in his role as India’s third seamer. A livewire on the field, Pandya lifts the morale of the team with his sheer athleticism on the field.

Hardik Pandya ODI Record under Virat Kohli

Matches 34 Runs 607 Avg 31.94 100s 0 50s 4

Bhuvneshwar Kumar

Bhuvneshwar Kumar

Bhuvneshwar Kumar is one of the most lethal swing bowlers in world cricket. Bhuvneshwar is menacing with his banana like swing when he bowls in damp and seam-friendly bowling tracks. The lanky seamer bowls with a perfect wrist position and makes the ball swing both ways.

Bhuvneshwar has also mastered the art of bowling with the old ball and is miserly towards the death. He has been India’s frontline ODI seamer and is part of a fearsome pace battery comprising of Jasprit Bumrah, Umesh Yadav and Mohammad Shami. Kumar is a pretty handy lower order batsman who can chip in with some quick-fire runs down the order.

Bhuvneshwar Kumar ODI record under Kohli's captaincy

Matches 33 Wickets 37 Avg 34.75 Eco 5.08

Kuldeep Yadav

Kuldeep Yadav

Kuldeep Yadav has made a stellar start to his ODI career picking up a bagful of wickets for India. The left arm chinaman bowler has been lethal both in Indian and overseas conditions, casting a web around oppositions.

Yadav is not afraid of giving the ball air and foxes the batsmen with his deceptive googlies and wrong ones. The Yadav-Chahal spin duo have run through top-class batting line-ups and been Kohli’s strike weapon in the spin department.

Kuldeep Yadav ODI record under Kohli's captaincy

Matches 21 Wickets 45 Avg 19.71 Eco 4.85

Yuzvendra Chahal

Yuzvendra Chahal

Yuzvendra Chahal has great control over his leg spin and mixes up his deliveries with great deception. The leg-spinner is quite accurate and hard to score off. Chahal has replicated his IPL success into ODI cricket by becoming a wicket-taking spinner.

He more often than not picks up wickets in the middle to put a break on the opposition’s scoring. Chahal has forged a lethal spin duo with Kuldeep Yadav and the spin twins have done enough damage to be ranked as the deadliest tweakers in world cricket

Yuzvendra Chahal ODI Record under Kohli's captaincy

Matches 20 Wickets 33 Avg 27 Eco 33.3

Jasprit Bumrah

Jasprit Bumrah

Jasprit Bumrah has been India’s strike bowler with the new ball in ODI cricket. Bowling with an awkward action, he is pretty skiddy off the surface and hurries onto the batsman. Bumrah is equally effective both with the new ball and at the death overs.

He makes early breakthroughs putting the opposition onto the back foot. Bumrah has tremendous control with the old ball and bowls some economical spells to restrict the opposition.

Jasprit Bumrah ODI record under Kohli's captaincy

Matches 26 Wickets 43 Avg 25.04 Eco 4.97

Umesh Yadav

Umesh Yadav

Umesh Yadav has been India’s speed merchant in one-day international cricket. The stocky built Yadav has a strong action and bowls deliveries consistently in excess of 145 mph mark. Yadav is a lethal weapon on pitches that assist pace and bounce. The pace ace gives the cutting edge to the pace attack with his raw pace that goes through the defenses of top quality batsmen. A natural athlete, Yadav is quick across the outfield and patrols the boundary well.

Bench Strength

Ravindra Jadeja – Ravindra Jadeja has been India’s best spin bowling all rounder in the shorter format of the game. Jadeja adds depth to the Indian squad with his aggressive batting and handy left-arm spin. He is capable of scoring quick runs down the order with some whirlwind cameos. 'Jaddu' bowls his left arm spin with great precision and accuracy and is hard to score off. He is perhaps one of the finest all-round fielders in the Indian ODI set up.

Ravichandran Ashwin – Ravichandran Ashwin has been India’s frontline spinner on spin-friendly sub-continent tracks. The off-spinner has a bagful of tricks up his sleeve to run through batting lineups. Besides his conventional off-spin, Ashwin is a great exponent of the carrom ball and the 'Doosra'. Ashwin outfoxes batsmen with his subtle variations in flight. Ashwin is a handy lower order batsman with considerable ability with the willow. A thinking cricketer, Ashwin is a good student of the game with an analytical mind.

KL Rahul - KL Rahul is a pleasing stroke maker who is gifted with sublime timing, great balance and natural ball striking ability. The supremely talented Rahul is a delight to watch with his elegant and classy stroke play. Rahul looks to have all the strokes in his armory and executes them to perfection. He has shown flashes of brilliance and promises to be a star for Indian cricket in the limited overs format.

Notable Mentions

Ambati Rayadu, Dinesh Karthik, Kedhar Jadhav, Axar Patel, Manish Pandey and Mohammad Shami have impressed and made handy contributions whenever they have donned the Indian jersey.They haven't had a consistent run in the playing eleven and hence didn't make the cut.