ODI All-rounders XI of the 21st century

One-day cricket has evolved over the years and played a lot different than it was 20 years ago. 21st century ODI cricket has become more intense, more entertaining, and produces a lot of runs. Also, rules have been changed to make it more exciting.

Quality all-rounders are a rare commodity in international cricket and can win games with both the bat and ball. Players like Kapil Dev, Garfield Sobers, Ian Botham, Imran Khan, Richard Hadlee, and Keith Miller are some of the greatest all-rounders of the 20th century.

Here in this fantasy XI, we have selected the best all-rounders who played the game during the 21st century. Though statistics remains the primary factor behind their selection, other elements such as trophies, ability to influence the game with both the bat and ball, success in most playing conditions, and many more are considered for this Dream XI of all-rounders.

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#1 Sanath Jayasuriya

One of the best all-rounders of all-time

The Sri Lankan legend revolutionized one-day international cricket with his explosive batting during the 1996 World Cup. He was the star of the show for Sri Lanka in the tournament and led them to their first ever World Cup win. He demolished some of the best bowlers in the world and stunned everyone with his blistering strokes.

A left-arm spinner in the early parts of his career, Jayasuriya transformed into one of the most feared opening batsmen of all-time in ODI cricket. He featured in 445 ODIs and scored 12430 runs, which included 28 hundreds. He also picked up 323 wickets in his ODI career.

#2 Shane Watson

Watson was one of Australia's finest all-rounders

Shane Watson has been one of Australia’s finest all-rounders in ODI and T20 cricket. The 37-year-old all-rounder from Queensland played 190 One Day Internationals for Australia in his career which spanned 14 years.

Watson scored 5757 runs and picked up 168 wickets. With a batting and bowling average of 40.54 and 31.79 respectively, Watson won many games for Australia both with the bat and ball. Watson retired from international cricket in 2016.

#3 Jacques Kallis

Kallis is arguably the greatest all-rounder of our generation

Arguably the greatest all-rounder of our generation, Jacques Kallis has been a role model for many of the modern-day all-rounders. Until now, he is the only cricketer to score 10000 runs in One Day Internationals and Test cricket, and also to pick up 250 wickets in both formats of the game.

In 328 ODIs, he scored 11579 runs and picked up 273 wickets. A technically gifted and consistent batsman, Kallis was phenomenal with the bat for South Africa and also played a huge role with the ball.

#4 Shakib Al Hasan

Shakib is arguably the best Bangladeshi cricketer till now

Shakib is arguably the greatest Bangladesh cricketer of all-time, he has been an outstanding performer for the sub-continent side in all formats of the game. Shakib has played 188 One Day Internationals for Bangladesh and scored 5433 runs, which includes seven hundreds and 39 fifties.

The left-arm spinner has also picked up 237 wickets at an average of 29.77. Shakib is 31 years of age now and has few more years to become one of the greatest all-rounders of the game.

#5 Yuvraj Singh

Yuvraj Singh helped India lift two World Cups

Man of the Tournament in India’s 2011 World Cup success, Yuvraj is one of the greatest limited-overs players to have ever played for India. With four Man of the Match performances, he was exceptional for Team India in the tournament.

A destructive middle-order batsman, Yuvraj Singh has single-handedly won games for India in ODIs. In 304 ODI games, Yuvraj has scored 8701 runs and picked up 111 wickets.

#6 MS Dhoni (Captain and Wicket-keeper)

MS Dhoni has been India's best limited overs cricketer

MS Dhoni is one of the greatest limited-overs cricketers of all-time and one of the legends of Indian Cricket. He has scored 10046 runs in his 321 ODI matches at a phenomenal average of 51.26.

He is arguably the greatest captain in Indian history and has led India to Twenty20 World Cup, ODI World Cup, and ICC Champions Trophy. One of the greatest wicket-keepers in the world, Dhoni has effected 407 dismissals behind the wicket in ODI cricket.

#7 Dwayne Bravo

Bravo is one of the most sought after T20 specialist

The Trinidadian is one of best modern-day all-rounders in world cricket at the moment. Dwayne Bravo is a perfect all-rounder who can do the job with the bat at no.6 or no.7 and can pick up important wickets. Bravo is a death overs expert because of his abilities to vary the pace and fire in excellent yorkers.

The 34-year-old has played 164 ODIs and scored 2968 runs. He has also picked up 199 wickets at an average of 29.51. He is currently not in the West Indies ODI squad because of contract issues with the West Indian board.

#8 Shahid Afridi

One of the most destructive all-rounders in cricket

Nicknamed ‘Boom Boom’, Shahid Afridi was one of the most explosive lower-order batsmen for Pakistan in ODI cricket. Having made his ODI debut at the age of 16, Afridi represented Pakistan for almost two decades.

He scored 8064 runs in 398 matches and also picked up 395 wickets. A clever leg-spinner, Afridi took nine five-fors in his career. He single-handedly won many matches for Pakistan in his career.

#9 Andrew Flintoff

Flintoff was one of the greatest all-rounders in cricket

Having made his ODI debut in 1999, Flintoff became one of the most feared all-rounders of the modern-era. Andrew Flintoff played 141 One Day Internationals for England and scored 3394 runs at an average of 32.01.

Capable of consistently clocking speeds of more than 140 Kmph, Flintoff picked up 169 wickets in ODIs at an average of 24.38.

He was named Cricketer of the Year in 2005 and ICC ODI Player of the Year in 2004.

#10 Daniel Vettori

One of the finest left-arm spinner of modern-era

The left-arm spinner from Auckland is the all-time leading wicket-taker for New Zealand in One Day Internationals. Vettori made his ODI debut in 2007 and went on to play 295 ODI games for his national side.

A finest left-arm spinner of his generation, Vettori picked up 305 wickets at a stunning economy rate of 4.12. Vettori also scored 2253 runs in ODI cricket at an average of 17.33.

He is only the second left-arm spinner in ODI cricket history to pick more than 300 wickets.

#11 Shaun Pollock

Pollock lead South African pace attack for 12 years

Shaun Pollock is one of the best fast bowling all-rounders of all-time in International cricket. Having made his ODI debut in 1996, Pollock went on to play 303 games in his illustrious career.

He scored 3519 runs at an average of 26.44 which included 14 fifties and a hundred. He also picked up 393 wickets at an average of 24.50, which included five 5-wicket haul. His career economy rate of 3.67 in ODIs is simply spectacular.

#12 Abdul Razzaq (12th man)

ICC Twenty20 World Cup Final

Abdul Razzaq is unlucky to miss out on a place in the eleven. He scored 5080 runs and picked up 269 wickets in his successful ODI career. Having made his debut in 1996, he played till 2011 before being left out of the ODI squad.

He was Pakistan's premier fast bowling all-rounder in the first decade of 21st century.

Players who missed out: Jacob Oram, Mohammad Hafeez, and Ravindra Jadeja.