India's all time best test XI

India has produced some of the best cricketing talents the world has seen, and this has been the case across eras. Great batsmen, accurate and lethal spinners and some really good seam bowlers, all of adorned the blue and white for India!

Fantasies always delight everyone, and for every true Indian, cricket is the biggest draw!

What if we could have a chance of compiling an Indian team across eras? Wouldn't that be absolutely amazing, given that we'd have the opportunity to team up some of the best batsmen with some of the best ever bowlers in Indian cricketing history!

This slideshow is an attempt towards the same - the best ever test XI to have played for India (plus a 12th man - who would be a specialist fielder!).

This article/slideshow will be followed up by similar ones for India's best ever ODI and T20 XI.

Here we go.

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Sunil Gavaskar and Virendra Sehwag

What a lethal opening combo this would be!

"Sunny" would wear out the bowlers with his immaculate technique, and the "Sultan of Multan" would then hammer them to all parts of the ground!

With more than 18000 test runs between them, this would be the perfect "Jai-Veeru" combination!

A partnership that would torment every bowling unit, barring none!

Rahul Dravid and Sachin Tendulkar

Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid

No introduction is needed for either of these stalwarts! A powerful combination, with tons of runs between them, and the pair with the most runs scored together in tests (6920 - courtesy espncricinfo.com).

Both these players were "all-rounders" in their own way, with Tendulkar chipping in with key wickets using his medium pace/leg breaks, and Dravid keeping wickets to help the team accommodate an extra batsman/bowler! Both were safe fielders too, forming a part of India's slip cordon for a long time!

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Gundappa Viswanath and Dilip Vengsarkar

Gundappa Viswanath of India

A classy and "wristy" batsman, and the best ever exponent of the "drive", Viswanath and Vengsarkar would slot into the middle order with aplomb!

If ever a bowling unit got through the top 4 of this team, they'd cry their hearts out to see Vishy and the Colonel walking in.

Kapil Dev (c) and Ravichandran Ashwin

Kapil Dev India v West Indies Nehru Cup Delhi 1989

India's best ever captain (or motivator) and the best off-spinner in any conditions!

Kapil Dev Nikhanj would add the finishing touches as a batsman, and would tear through the opposition line up as a bowler! One of the few proper allrounders in the world, he was a fighter!

Ashwin would not only stifle the opposition batsmen and bamboozle them with his bowling repertoire but also add a few crucial runs to his teams' score!

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Zaheer Khan and Anil Kumble

Zaheer Khan and Anil Kumble

India's best ever left-arm medium pacer and the world's best leg-spinner would easily hold their places in this fantasy line up!

True fighters, real gentlemen, and handy batsmen, these two would toil for the team under severe conditions!

The second most successful pacer in India's history (after the captain of this team) and the only bowler (other than Jim Laker) to dismiss the entire opposition in test innings are real gems in this XI!

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Ishant Sharma and 12th man - Eknath Solkar

England v India: Specsavers 5th Test - Day Two

One of the best Indian pacers, especially in foreign conditions would complete this lineup.

Possibly the fastest ever Indian (before Bumrah), he would be the perfect foil for Kapil Dev and Zaheer Khan. A good contender for the "night watchman" position as well!

"Eki" Eknath Solkar was easily the best ever close in fielder, latching on to impossible seeming catches at silly point or forward short leg!

This XI seems to have the best balance, with 6 specialist (and world-class) batsmen, an all-rounder captain and 4 specialist bowlers! It covers most of the "bases" if not all!

There may be loads of notable absences in this lineup, but that is only due to India's rich cricketing history!