Aakash Chopra picks Sehwag and Gavaskar as openers in his all-time India-Pakistan Test XI
Former India player Aakash Chopra, in a recent video, picked his all-time India-Pakistan Test XI, which included legendary batsmen Sunil Gavaskar and Virender Sehwag as openers.
While choosing his combined XI, Chopra went with six batsmen, a wicketkeeper and four frontline bowlers. His side featured seven Indian and four Pakistani cricketers, with the 1992 World Cup-winning captain Imran Khan leading this star-studded Indo-Pak line-up.
With Sehwag and Gavaskar opening the batting, Chopra went with stability down the order and selected the likes of Sachin Tendulkar, Javed Miandad and Inzamam-ul-Haq in a formidable middle order. The opening duo played a combined total of 229 Tests for India and scored over 18,000 runs in their Test career.
MS Dhoni was selected as the wicket-keeper batsman, while Kapil Dev and Imran Khan made up a lethal-looking all-rounders' duo. India's Anil Kumble, with a total of 619 wickets to his name in 132 Tests, made it as the lone specialist spinner in the side.
Although Chopra succeeded in naming a pretty balanced team, his choice of captaincy may be questioned by some. With three World Cup-winning captains at his disposal, Chopra went with Khan to skipper the combined XI. Khan, who played 88 Tests, was renowned for his player-management skills; maybe this attribute made him Chopra's pick as the leader of this dream team.
Aakash Chopra’s combined India-Pakistan Test XI-
Virender Sehwag, Sunil Gavaskar, Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar, Javed Miandad, Inzamam-ul-Haq, MS Dhoni (wicketkeeper), Kapil Dev, Imran Khan (captain), Wasim Akram, Anil Kumble