An Asian ODI XI comprising fan favourites
The evolution of cricket dates back to the 18th century. Cricket began in England in 1719, then it slowly shifted to other parts of the world. It grew rapidly and the popularity increased with time, and as cricket moved to the Indian subcontinent, its popularity and growth increased even further.
Currently, the Asia Cup is being played in the United Arab Emirates where six teams are fighting it out to show their supremacy in Asia. Pakistan, Sri Lanka, India and Bangladesh have produced some wonderful cricketers in the past. Some of these were termed as 'legends' where some have also been termed as 'god'.
In India and Pakistan, almost every kid dreams to be a cricketer in his childhood. Only a bunch of them get to live their dream of representing their country in the international arena. Over the years, we've grown up idolizing a lot of Asian players, some of them make the cut in "My favourite Asian ODI XI".
Disclaimer: These are the writer's views. The players picked in the XI are the writer's favourites from Asia and the XI only consists of players who have been watched by the writer.
OPENERS
Sanath Jayasuriya (Sri Lanka)
With his on-field exploits, Sri Lankan opener Sanath Jayasuriya automatically selects himself in this Asian XI. Jayasuriya was one of the most attacking batsmen produced by Sri Lanka. His ability to take on the opposition was immaculate. He would go after the opposition bowlers from ball one.
Apart from his batting ability, his bowling was another plus point of his game. He acted as the fifth bowler for Sri Lanka in many games. He is the only player to score over 12,000 runs and capture more than 300 wickets in one-day international cricket. The southpaw is regarded as one of the finest all-rounders of the game.
Jayasuriya scored 13430 runs at an average of 32.13 with a strike rate of 91.22. Along with it he also scalped 323 wickets with an economy rate of 4.79. He makes this XI without any hesitation.
Sachin Tendulkar (India)
Sachin Tendulkar, widely regarded as the "God of Cricket", the first man to score a double century in one-day international cricket. Tendulkar represented India for 24 long years, he played with the same commitment and passion for all these years. With 463 one-day caps to his name, Tendulkar is on top of the list of most one-day appearances.
Tendulkar's statistics seem unreal, with 18426 ODI runs to his name, he leads the chart. He scored these runs at an average of 44.83 with a strike rate of 86.24. The strike rate is impressive, Tendulkar was a witness to all kinds of changes in the cricketing world, from the change in bat size to the change in playing conditions, he witnessed it all.
He also picked up 154 wickets in one-day internationals, his best performance of 5 for 32 came against Australia in a crunch game. Tendulkar is one of the most valuable players for this team. He will open the batting alongside his Sri Lankan counterpart Sanath Jayasuriya.