Gautam Gambhir, former India opener and current head coach, has unveiled his all-time World XI featuring the players he has played against during his career.
Gautam Gambhir had a fruitful career for India from 2003-2016. He played 58 Tests, 147 ODIs, and 37 T20I matches for the Men in Blue side. He scored 4154, 5238, and 932 runs respectively with 9 Test centuries and 11 ODI hundreds to his name.
Gautam Gambhir also captained India in six ODIs, winning all of them, including a 5-0 whitewash of New Zealand at home.
In an interview with Sportskeeda, Gautam Gambhir selected a formidable lineup featuring a blend of legendary cricketers from various cricketing nations. Gambhir picked three Australian and Pakistan players each, while no New Zealander found a place in his XI.
The openers of his World XI are the Australian duo of Adam Gilchrist and Matthew Hayden. Both left-handers were one of the most dominant openers of their time, ruling the roost in the 2000s. Hayden and Gilchrist won the ICC ODI World Cups in 2003 and 2007, with Gilchrist even winning in 1999.
Gambhir then picked South Africa’s AB de Villiers, West Indies legend Brian Lara, and Pakistan’s Inzamam ul Haq to complete his batting unit. AB de Villiers is considered to be one of the greatest South African batters of all time with an excellent record across formats with 8765 runs in 114 Tests, 9577 runs in 228 ODIs, and 1672 runs in 78 T20Is.
Brian Lara is considered an all-time great with 11953 runs in 131 Tests and 10405 runs in 299 ODIs. He holds the record for the highest individual score in Tests- 400*. Inzamam Ul Haq is considered to be the greatest batter Pakistan has produced. He scored 8830 runs in 120 Tests and 11739 runs in 378 ODIs with a total of 35 centuries to his name and was part of the 1992 World Cup winning team.
Gautam Gambhir snubs Glenn McGrath, Shane Warne and Brett Lee in his World XI
Gambhir picked a well-balanced side, choosing three all-rounders for his XI. He picked Australia’s Andrew Symonds, Pakistan’s Abdul Razzaq, and England’s Andrew Flintoff. Muttiah Muralitharan was the only spinner Gambhir picked in his XI.
Murali, as he’s lovingly known, holds the record for most wickets in Tests (800) and ODIs (534) in his career in 133 Tests and 350 ODIs.
As for the fast bowlers, Gambhir picked the express pace of Shoaib Akhtar and the guile of Morne Morkel.
Gambhir’s World XI: Adam Gilchrist, Matthew Hayden, AB de Villiers, Brian Lara, Inzamam-ul-Haq, Andrew Symonds, Abdul Razzaq, Andrew Flintoff, Muttiah Muralitharan, Shoaib Akhtar, Morne Morkel
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