All-time combined India-England ODI XI
The Indian team recently left for the 4-month long and grueling tour of England, consisting of 3 T20Is, 3 ODIs, and 5 Tests. It's going to be a mouth-watering prospect as the top 2 teams in ODI cricket lock horns against each other, in what could well be a dress-rehearsal for one of the key match-ups in next year's ICC Cricket World Cup.
Although India has been far superior in One-day cricket over the years, England has finally started paying more attention to limited overs cricket and currently boast of an exceptionally talented group of players in their squad.
They are currently ranked number one in the ICC ODI Rankings and recently completed a 5-0 whitewash against Australia. That is not a mean feat by any stretch of the imagination, despite Australia not being in the best of form.
England have never won a 50-over World Cup, but they have come close to winning it. They finished as runners-up in 1979, 1987 and 1992. On the other hand, India have won the World Cup twice and have finished as runners-up once.
Traditionally a powerhouse in ODI batting, they can boast of a long list of great batsman and spinners, especially in the ODI format. They also have played a lot more ODI cricket as compared to England, since the longest format of the game also remains the most popular format there. No wonder then that the all-time combined India-England ODI XI is dominated by Indians. Let's look at who made it to this list of ODI greats, shall we?
#1 Sachin Tendulkar (Opener)
No all-time ODI XI would be complete without the inclusion of the Master Blaster. The man who literally stopped the heartbeats of an entire nation is often considered to be the best batsman ever to have played the game. In his long and illustrious career, Sachin managed to break almost every single batting record.
The numbers speak for themselves, but the fact that he was able to score all those runs with the immense pressure of playing in a country of billion people, where cricket is a religion is nothing short of extraordinary. Sachin retired from ODI cricket in 2012 and continued to play Tests for a year thereafter.
Runs: 18426, Average: 44.83, SR: 86.23