What if it's India vs ICC World XI now?

How many of you remember the Super Series in 2005 when the ICC World XI were beaten comprehensively by Australia down under? It was a fascinating event for the fans all across the globe as they got to see many cricketing superstars play together against an Australian side that was considered to be unbeatable. In fact, Australia was so dominant that they managed to clean sweep the World XI both in ODI and Test series.

Unfortunately, after this series, the ICC haven’t organised any such event and since then, the fans haven’t got an opportunity to witness such a mouth-watering clash. Now, given the meteoric rise of the Indian cricket in the past decade and the game’s immense popularity in the country, organizing a series in India between India and the ICC World XI would be a treat for the fans.

Even though there would be few cricketing teams that could be compared to the class of the Australian team of the early 2000s, the current Indian cricket team has been performing quite consistently over the past decade and if each of its players play to their best, this match would be something that no cricketing fan would want to miss.

So let’s see what could be in store if at all this high voltage match does happen now in the 50 over format.

#5 Super Series after 12 years

In 2005, when the ICC had announced that there would be matches played between the World XI side and Australia, many were excited to see some high-quality cricket. But much to the astonishment and disappointment of many, the World XI could not even manage to put up a fight in any match and the series ended up being one-sided.

Over these past 12 years, Cricket has seen some drastic changes in the way it is played. Be it the introduction of free hits, revised field restrictions, the DRS, the power of the modern day bats, or the advent of T20 cricket, the game has undergone a tremendous makeover and is no longer similar to the way it was played in 2005.

The batsmen are fearless, the bowlers are street smart, the fielders are as athletic as ever and there has been an emergence of many new superstars in last decade or so. In the current scenario, any side could beat any opposition on a given day and hence, it would be tough to predict the winner between India and the World XI. But one thing that we all can be assured of is that the contests wouldn’t be as one-sided as they were back in 2005.

#4 Possible squads

Both sides would possess some quality players

Choosing the players for the ICC World XI team is certainly not an easy task. Each cricket playing nation has some seriously talented players who can be game-changers. Similarly, choosing the best Indian team to face an extremely strong opponent would also not be easy as the men in blue have got a huge pool of talented youngsters to choose from.

Not only is it important to pick the best eleven individuals to make the team, but it's also important to get the team combination right, depending on the conditions in which the match is going to be played.

So keeping in mind the performances over the last one year or so, let’s take a look at what could be the possible 15 member squads for both the teams.

Squad for the ICC World XI- David Warner (Aus), Quinton de Kock(wk) (SA), Kane Williamson (NZ), Steve Smith(c) (Aus), Joe Root (Eng), AB de Villiers (SA), Ben Stokes (Eng), Mitchell Starc (Aus), Josh Hazlewood (Aus), Hassan Ali (Pak), Imran Tahir (SA), Hashim Amla (SA), Kagiso Rabada (SA), Shakib Al Hasan (BAN), Rashid Khan (AFG).

Squad for team India- Shikhar Dhawan, Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli(c), Yuvraj Singh, MS Dhoni(wk), Kedar Jadhav, Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Umesh Yadav, Ajinkya Rahane, Mohammad Shami, Manish Pandey, Jasprit Bumrah.

#3 Experience for the Indian players

It would be a great experience for youngsters like Jasprit Bumrah

Bowling to the likes of Warner, Smith, Root, Williamson and de Villiers in the same innings would be a nightmare for any bowler. The current Indian pace battery is slowly finding its feet at the international level and playing against a quality World XI side would be a whole new challenge for them.

Right from handling the new ball to controlling the death overs, the fast bowlers will have to use every trick under their sleeves to provide breakthroughs whereas the spinners will need to play their part by controlling the run-flow in the middle overs. Even though the situation might seem tough, the Indian bowlers would have the opportunity to thrive under such situation and take their game to the next level.

Coming to the batsmen, they would be tested for each of their weaknesses by some serious fast bowling. Especially, given the general weakness of the Indian batsmen against the short ball, the World XI fast bowlers would look to target them with some hostile stuff. So even the batsmen would have to play out of their skins to tackle an extremely dangerous bowling attack of the World XI.

#2 Combinations to look out for in World XI

De Kock

The opening stand- The World XI would possess a deadly opening combination of Warner and de Kock. Both the left-handers are naturally attacking and won't let the bowlers settle into their rhythms. These two have been in great form over the past year and a half and can take the game away from India very quickly. Incidentally, both of them also have an impeccable record against India in the ODI format.

The middle order-The World XI would have some modern day batting greats in their middle order. But one particular combination to look out for in the middle order would be that of Steve Smith and Joe Root. Both Smith and Root have adapted brilliantly to all three formats of the game and can play in any situation. It would be really interesting to see how these two class batsmen would complement each other once they’re in the middle.

The Pace attack- In the bowling department, the most exciting combination to look out for would be the one of Mitchell Starc and Hasan Ali. One is an established superstar of the game whereas the other has just broken onto the international scene with his breath-taking spells in the recently concluded Champions Trophy.

Both Starc and Ali are quick and can get the ball to nip off the air and can also seriously trouble the batsmen with their in-swinging yorkers. It would be a treat to watch these two aggressive quicks bowling in tandem against a strong Indian batting line-up.

#1 Battle for supremacy

It would be yet another tussle between Kohli and Smith

One thing that India would be fighting hard for is to stamp their seal of supremacy in the modern day cricket. Under a new age captain, the Indian cricket team is playing some fearless and inspiring cricket all over the world. Defeating a quality World XI side would not only confirm India as a cricketing superpower but would also do a world of good to the confidence of the youngsters in the team.

On the other hand, the World XI would fight for everything from proving their mettle to saving their pride. When they lost to Australia back in 2005, they had faced quite an embarrassing situation and would not want that to repeat against India.

It would also be a tough challenge for the captains. Both Virat and Smith are doing a commendable job leading their respective national teams but leading their teams in this high-profile match would test their leadership skills.

Virat would have to inspire his team to face a daunting opposition and make them believe that they can come out victorious. Whereas Steve Smith would have to lead a group of unfamiliar individuals from different nations and make them play as one unit. He would have to lead the way from the front and make sure that each player gives his best.

As a true cricket fan, It would be really fascinating to see who would conquer these demons and come out on top in this cricketing spectacle.