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The evolution of cricket dates back to the 18th century. Cricket began in England in 1719, then it slowly shifted to other parts of the world. It grew rapidly and the popularity increased with time, and as cricket moved to the Indian subcontinent, its popularity and growth increased even further.
Currently, the Asia Cup is being played in the United Arab Emirates where six teams are fighting it out to show their supremacy in Asia. Pakistan, Sri Lanka, India and Bangladesh have produced some wonderful cricketers in the past. Some of these were termed as 'legends' where some have also been termed as 'god'.
In India and Pakistan, almost every kid dreams to be a cricketer in his childhood. Only a bunch of them get to live their dream of representing their country in the international arena. Over the years, we've grown up idolizing a lot of Asian players, some of them make the cut in "My favourite Asian ODI XI".
Disclaimer: These are the writer's views. The players picked in the XI are the writer's favourites from Asia and the XI only consists of players who have been watched by the writer.
OPENERS
Sanath Jayasuriya (Sri Lanka)
With his on-field exploits, Sri Lankan opener Sanath Jayasuriya automatically selects himself in this Asian XI. Jayasuriya was one of the most attacking batsmen produced by Sri Lanka. His ability to take on the opposition was immaculate. He would go after the opposition bowlers from ball one.
Apart from his batting ability, his bowling was another plus point of his game. He acted as the fifth bowler for Sri Lanka in many games. He is the only player to score over 12,000 runs and capture more than 300 wickets in one-day international cricket. The southpaw is regarded as one of the finest all-rounders of the game.
Jayasuriya scored 13430 runs at an average of 32.13 with a strike rate of 91.22. Along with it he also scalped 323 wickets with an economy rate of 4.79. He makes this XI without any hesitation.
Sachin Tendulkar (India)
Sachin Tendulkar, widely regarded as the "God of Cricket", the first man to score a double century in one-day international cricket. Tendulkar represented India for 24 long years, he played with the same commitment and passion for all these years. With 463 one-day caps to his name, Tendulkar is on top of the list of most one-day appearances.
Tendulkar's statistics seem unreal, with 18426 ODI runs to his name, he leads the chart. He scored these runs at an average of 44.83 with a strike rate of 86.24. The strike rate is impressive, Tendulkar was a witness to all kinds of changes in the cricketing world, from the change in bat size to the change in playing conditions, he witnessed it all.
He also picked up 154 wickets in one-day internationals, his best performance of 5 for 32 came against Australia in a crunch game. Tendulkar is one of the most valuable players for this team. He will open the batting alongside his Sri Lankan counterpart Sanath Jayasuriya.
MIDDLE ORDER
Virat Kohli (India)
Virat Kohli, the current Indian skipper, the master of run-chases and the best batsman in the world, as regarded by many. Kohli began his career in 2008, a decade later, he is regarded as a legend of the game. Kohli has developed these world-class abilities with his hard work and perseverance.
Kohli's fitness routines are incredible and his batting is one step above all. Kohli has featured in 211 ODIs in which he has scored 9779 runs with a stellar average of 58.21. Kohli's strike rate of 92.12 is above par for a number three batsman. In his 203 ODI innings, Kohli has already scored 35 centuries and 48-half centuries.
Kohli's fielding is another positive aspect of his game. He gives his 100% effort on the field and doesn't shy away from putting the opposition under pressure with his words. Kohli will take his usual number three spot in this XI.
Kumar Sangakkara (Sri Lanka)
Kumar Sangakkara is unarguably Sri Lanka's best batsman till date. Sangakkara led the Sri Lankan team for a long time, during this phase Sri Lankan cricket was at it's best. Under the leadership of Sanga, the Sri Lankan team reached the final of the 2011 World Cup where they went down to India in the final.
Sangakkara's batting and wicketkeeping ability made him a special player, one that shook the cricketing world. Even after retiring from international cricket, Sangakkara scored heavily while playing county cricket in England. The Southpaw has scored 14234 runs at an average of 41.98.
He has also taken 402 catches in ODIs, most of which came as a wicketkeeper. Sangakkara will take the number four spot in this line-up. With his strike rate of 78.86, he can control the innings as other attacking batsmen can play around him.
Shakib Al Hasan (Bangladesh)
Shakib Al Hasan has been Bangladesh's backbone for a long time. Shakib is Bangladesh's best all-rounder. Over the years, Shakib has been a consistent performer for his country in all the three formats. He was the number one ranked all-rounder in ICC's rankings due to his consistent performance for Bangladesh.
Shakib has scored 6706 ODI runs at an average of 35.28. He has also picked 238 wickets in 186 innings. The 31-year-old all-rounder usually bats in the middle order for Bangladesh. His ability to bat against spin makes him a genuine choice for the number five spot. With two attacking batsmen in the top four, Shakib would be the perfect choice to bat at five.
Coming in at number five, Shakib can take the attack to the spinners. He can also nudge the ball around for ones and twos. The Bangladeshi all-rounder is the ideal player to play according to the situation.
MS Dhoni (India) (C & WK)
MS Dhoni, one of the biggest names in world cricket, In 2007, Dhoni led the Indian side to the World T20 title and he hasn't looked back since. With a World T20 title, Champions Trophy and a World Cup to his name, MS Dhoni is regarded as one of the finest captains in the world.
His leadership skills are the core of his abilities but his batting is no less than extraordinary, he has scored 10046 runs at an average of 51.25. Dhoni has inflicted 107 stumpings and has taken 300 catches in ODIs. His finishing abilities in one-day international cricket are well known to the cricket pundits.
The 37-year-old will lead this Asian XI. He will bat at his usual number six position and will do his job behind the stumps. Dhoni is the perfect pick to lead this star-studded line-up.
SPINNERS
Shahid Afridi (Pakistan)
It's a delight to watch Shahid Afridi play when he is unsung. On his day, Afridi can rip apart any opposition in the world. This was evident right from the beginning when he smashed a 37 ball century to announce his arrival on the grand stage. Since then, Afridi has had a lot of ups and downs, despite this, his career has been a fabulous one.
Afridi has featured in 398 one-day internationals. He has scored 8064 runs with a strike rate of 117.01. He has also picked up 395 wickets with his best bowling figures coming against West Indies, he put them on the backfoot as he scalped 7 wickets by giving away only 12 runs in his 9 over spell.
Afridi will bat at number seven. At the dying stages of the innings, he'll take the attack to the opposition and he'll look for wickets in the middle overs while bowling.
Muttiah Muralidharan (Sri Lanka)
800 Test wickets, 534 ODI wickets, Muttiah Muralidharan's statistics are out of the world. Muralidharan's action was brought to controversy many times but the Sri Lankan off-spinner always found a way out of the controversies. Muralidharan's exploits in bowling are similar to Tendulkar's exploits in the batting department.
Murali picked up 534 wickets in 341 ODI innings, his economy rate of 3.93, his average of 23.08 is incredible. Muttiah spun a web around some of the finest batting line-ups in the world, on certain days, he would be unplayable. Murali has picked up 154 wickets at home and 380 wickets away from home.
He'll bowl in the middle overs for this team. He'll be unplayable along with Shahid Afridi and Shakib Al Hasan in the spin department.
PACERS
Wasim Akram (Pakistan)
The master of swing, Akram took the cricket world by storm when he arrived in international cricket. He was a master of swing bowling and reverse swing bowling, his reverse swinging yorker was the perfect recipe to dish out most batsmen. Akram played a huge role in Pakistan's triumph in the 1992 World Cup.
In the 1999 World Cup, he formed a duo with his counterpart, Waqar Younis. The duo created havoc in the tournament. Akram became the first man on the planet to record 500 wickets in the 50-over format. He finished his career as Pakistan's top wicket-taker in both Tests and ODIs.
Akram has picked up 502 wickets in 356 ODIs. He'll take the new ball for this Asian XI.
Zaheer Khan (India)
Zaheer Khan, India's master of swing bowling. Zaheer was India's new ball bowler for a long time. Khan played an integral role in the 2011 World Cup, he was the leading wicket-taker of the tournament as he tied with Shahid Afridi on 21 wickets. During this tournament, Zak developed the knuckleball which is commonly used now.
Zaheer represented India in 200 ODIs in which he picked up 282 wickets. The pacer could also swing his bat when needed. For the most part of his career, Zaheer played in the subcontinent where he swung the ball on flat pitches. He was India's go-to bowler in ODIs when they needed reverse swing bowling.
For this Asian XI, Zaheer will take the new ball alongside Wasim Akram
Lasith Malinga (Sri Lanka)
Deadly yorkers, change of pace, surprising the batsmen and getting wickets. This defines Sri Lankan great Lasith Malinga. Malinga is a lethal bowler, both in T20s and ODIs. He has a knack of picking up wickets with his slinging action. He handled the death bowling department for Sri Lanka for a long time.
Malinga has featured in 206 ODIs in which he has grabbed 306 wickets with a strike rate of 32.5. He once went through the South African batting line-up picking up four wickets on four balls. Malinga has picked up 7 five-wicket-hauls and 10 four-wicket-hauls in one-day internationals.
Malinga will handle the responsibility of death bowling in this team.
Other Players Considered :
Waqar Younis
Saqlain Mushtaq
Rashid Khan
Inzamam Ul Haq
Mahela Jayawardene
Virender Sehwag
Comment below your favourite players from Asia and let us know about your favourite Asian XI
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