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India-Pakistan combined ODI XI featuring the active players

India is a cricket loving nation where cricket is often considered as important as a religion! India started playing cricket in 1932 at Lord's but had not been a force to reckon until the 1970s when eminent players such as Sunil Gavaskar, Gundappa Viswanath, Kapil Dev, Erapalli Prasanna and Bishen Singh Bedi emerged. That was when the cricketing world started taking India seriously, and in 1983, under the captaincy of the legendary Kapil Dev, India won it's first ever Cricket World Cup.

Indian cricket lost a few of its good players after the partition of the country in 1947, when some players migrated to the newly formed country, Pakistan. Players such as Gul Mohammad, Abdul Hafeez Kardar, and Amir Elahi played for India before and for Pakistan after partition.

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The legendary Imran Khan(Pakistan) and Sunil Gavaskar(India)

What if this partition never took place? Let us consider a hypothetical situation and look at what could be the Indian cricket team, a unified or undivided Indian cricket team of 2018...


#1 Rohit Sharma

Australia v India: Carlton Mid ODI Tri Series - Game 2
Rohit after scoring a Hundred against Australia

With the stellar reputation this man has built for himself, having scored 3 double centuries in ODI cricket, and the fear his name instils in the minds of the bowlers, he is a modern-day batting maestro. Since the time he has turned into an opener for India in limited overs Cricket, Rohit Sharma has redefined his own batting style.

He had been known as a stylish middle-order batsman who, once settled, could hit the big shots, but now, he has become this elegant opening batsman who can smash the ball outside the park at will. If not dismissed early in his innings, he can make the opposition pay throughout the innings.

#2 Shikhar Dhawan

South Africa v India - 2015 ICC Cricket World Cup
Shikhar 'Gabbar' Dhawan is a great example for aspiring cricketers

This may be slightly debatable, but Dhawan makes the cut ahead of Pakistan's Fakhar Zaman due to his experience and the fact that he has scored runs all across the globe. No matter how poor his overseas Test record might have been, Shikhar Dhawan is someone who has done well for India in the ODI format, be in at home or abroad.

He was the fifth-highest run scorer in the 2015 Cricket World Cup, that took place in Australia and New Zealand, with 412 runs at an average of 51.50 and strike rate of 91.75. Having been around since 2004, when he won the ICC U-19 World Cup, Dhawan has seen plenty of ups and downs.

There were times when he and his well-wishers expected him to get national call-ups, but he didn't. Nonetheless, the fact that he has maintained a strong resolve and exhibited the great quality of bouncing back is commendable.

The comeback that he made into the Champions Trophy 2013 squad was the turning point of his career, where he scored 363 runs in 5 matches at an average of 90.75 and a strike rate of over 100. He also won the Golden Bat award for scoring the most runs in the tournament and was also named the player of the tournament.

The resilient spirit he has shown over the years has made him a very strong minded and determined player, thus making it to this side over the relatively less-experienced Fakhar Zaman.

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