Shane Warne picks his greatest Indian Test XI
Former spin-whiz Shane Warne has recently named his version of Indian test cricket’s greatest XI. The leg-spinner has continued his series of naming the best XI from countries he has played against and has now turned the spotlight on India with some surprising selections.
The Australian has already named his greatest Test XIs for Pakistan, England, South Africa, New Zealand and Australia. After taking a break Warne has returned to name perhaps his most eagerly anticipated side yet.
The spin legend unsurprisingly named Test cricket’s overall greatest run scorer, Sachin Tendulkar, at No.4 in his side.Tendulkar played a staggering 200 Tests, scored 15,921 runs in his remarkable career, with 51 hundreds.
Warne said selecting his India XI was his toughest team to date, with the biggest decision the choice between VVS Laxman and Mohammad Azharuddin at number six.
Warne wrote on his Facebook page “This was the hardest team to select as I played against a few legends at the end of their careers like Vengsarkar, Sanjay Manjreker, Ravi Shastri, Manoj Prabhakar as well as current players like Zaheer Khan too. The Indian side I've selected is a very strong one & would be tough to play against. The hardest position to select for me was the number 6 spot between my great friend VVS or Azharuddin."
Finally Warne named Azharuddin in his team and opted to have Laxman carrying the drinks.
He also wrote “Hence I named 12 & would choose the 12th man on the day!”
Warne’s greatest Indian Test XI features Virender Sehwag and Navjot Singh Sidhu at the top of the order, followed by Rahul Dravid at first down.Tendulkar would be followed by captain Sourav Ganguly. Azharuddin at number six would be followed by all-rounder Kapil Dev.
Leg-spinner Anil Kumble, off-spinner Harbhajan Singh and fast bowler Javagal Srinath round out Warne’s bowling attack.
Warne’s greatest Indian Test XI
Virender Sehwag, Navjot Singh Sidhu, Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly (Captain), Mohammad Azharuddin, Kapil Dev, MS Dhoni (Wicket keeper), Anil Kumble, Harbhajan Singh and Javagal Srinath (VVS Laxman 12th man).