All-time Indian Cricket World Cup XI

For a country that has excelled in the history of the ICC Cricket World Cup, triumphing twice (1983 and 2011) and being the runners-up once (2003), in addition to reaching the semifinals twice (1987 and 1996), it is a Herculean job to handpick the best XI among a horde of celebrated names.What, however, makes my effort slightly easier is the fact that a surprisingly large number of Indian cricket legends have not played at the highest echelon of One Day Internationals enough to come into consideration. Among those who have, I’ve taken into account only World Cup matches played for India and the criterion that I’ve resorted to is that the concerned cricketer must have featured in a minimum of 15 World Cup innings.The implications of this criterion are that quite a few cricketers, especially those playing in the 1970s who didn’t feature in more than a single edition of the tournament, have to miss out. Also, the following XI comprises of only the best performers in World Cups for India and not necessarily the best combination to field. Changes, of course, can and should be implemented according to playing conditions.Any improvisation or change in the line-up as the reader may deem fit, is invited in the comments section below.

#1 Virender Sehwag

Matches: 22

Runs: 843

Average: 38.31

As a quintessential top-order batsman, Virender Sehwag is considered one of the most destructive openers to have wielded the willow. Relying solely on hand-eye coordination, he blunted attacks with nonchalant strokeplay and intimidated opponents into submission. Despite his lack of feet movement and defensive challenges, Sehwag has been tremendously successful in all formats of the game.

The belligerence that oozed from his expansive drives on the up and his fondness for chipping short-pitched deliveries over the third man for sixes were enough to demoralize the opposition skipper and nullify any threat that bowlers may possess. It was because of former India captain Sourav Ganguly’s mastermind that Sehwag was moved up the order where he ultimately ended up as one of the most feared batsmen in modern day cricket.

The impulsive aggression and lack of copybook technique, however, made Sehwag inconsistent quite often. His nonchalant wielding of the willow which materialized into sheer entertainment for Indians and agony for Bangladesh during his 175 at Dhaka in 2011 World Cup appeared logically ridiculous at times when he threw away his wicket at crisis situations.