A playing XI of modern day cricketers that would have beaten Australia's greatest ODI XI
The cricketing community has been witness to many a great player scaling unfathomable heights in their career. From an otherworldly stroke-maker in Don Bradman to an intelligent, free-flowing batsman like Virat Kohli, from a fiery, pace-relying Lillee to the greatest exponent of reverse swing in Wasim Akram, from conventional wrist spinners to the evolution of mystery spinners, from Rhodes's flying throw to Jadeja's sling arms, cricket, it seems, has seen them all. All those special players who have, in popular opinion, transmogrified the game in their heydays continue to occupy a special place in the hearts of people and have been extolled to immortality by the bards working at cricket journals. And they perhaps deserve it.
But, while individual brilliance often takes the centre stage, let us not forget that cricket is, after all, a team sport. An individual may lead his side to a win or two but, for a team to conquer territory after territory it is the collective effort that becomes the need. A great team is often the one with just the right combination of individuals who can complement one another. Having said that, the history of cricket doesn't boast of a sizeable number of great teams which went on to establish their reign over the cricketing world for many years. The West Indian teams of the 1970s and early 1980s, and the Aussies in the late 1990s and almost the whole of the first decade of the 21st century come to mind as the greatest squads ever.
The Aussies of the previous decade were altogether a different team and were perhaps more complete than the pace-heavy West Indies squads of the 70s and 80s. Their dominance over a large part of the previous decade was such that an ICC Super Series played between the World XI squad and Australia was organised in the year 2005. The series comprised of 3 ODIs and a Test, all of which Australia won comprehensively.
Clearly, even the star-studded lineup of the then World XI failed to overcome the Australian roadblock. But, what if that Australian lineup were to be pitted against the best modern day players? The consequence might not have been the same.
In this slideshow, we form our own World XI out of the current bunch of cricketers that would have high chances of winning against the Australian XI that won against World XI of 2005.
Openers (Shikhar Dhawan & Rohit Sharma)
Going by the current form there is no opening pair that looks as ominous as this Indian pair. Apart from some sporadic failures, they have been fairly consistent. Their significance to the Indian setup stems from the fact that they have accumulated 3382 runs between them in 76 innings at an admirable average of 45.
Both of them have been the batting mainstays of the Indian ODI squad for the past few years. Their individual stats are a testament to this fact. As far as Rohit is concerned, his ODI stats have gone better with time. His ODI average in the year 2017 crossed 70, and was a significant jump from 63 that he had in 2016.
Although Dhawan does not boast of such lofty numbers he is only second to Rohit when it comes to opening. His average has consistently hovered around the 50 runs per innings marks. Moreover, he has been instrumental to Indian hopes in major ICC tournaments. With such numbers and the ability to stitch up important partnerships at the top by their side, it is no surprise that they form the opening pair of our World XI team.