Why Rahul Dravid should have found a place in Kapil Dev’s all-time best ODI XI

Kapil Dev picked an all-time great Indian One-Day International team which should find most people in agreement. The exclusion of Rahul Dravid, however, is contentious, feels H Natarajan.

Rahul Dravid (above) was left out of Kapil Dev’s all-time best Indian ODI eleven © Getty Images

Kapil Dev picked an all-time great Indian One-Day International team which should find most people in agreement. The exclusion of Rahul Dravid, however, is contentious, feels H Natarajan.

When someone of the stature of Kapil Dev picks his all-time best Indian team, then it has lot of weightage. Kapil was one of the finest all-rounders in the game at a time when cricket had the likes of Ian Botham, Imran Khan, Clive Rice and Richard Hadlee. Kapil was a dexterous destroyer with the bat, brilliant with the ball and an outstanding fielder. He led by inspiration — the high point of which was 1983 World Cup which he led to victory against all odds.

Team selections — especially in India — can raise much heartburn. But on Thursday, Kapil came very close to naming a team which should satisfy most connoisseurs of the game in the country.

Kapil’s All-time ODI XI:

1. Sachin Tendulkar
2. Sourav Ganguly
3. Virender Sehwag
4. Virat Kohli
5. Mohammad Azharuddin
6. Yuvraj Singh
7. MS Dhoni (captain)
8. Anil Kumble
9. Harbhajan Singh
10. Javagal Srinath
11. Zaheer Khan

12th Man: Ravindra Jadeja

Kapil did not consider himself for selection because he picked the team. That makes sense. But an all-time best India One-Day International (ODI) side minus Kapil is unthinkable. For me — and I guess for most people — he should take the place of Harbhajan Singh. A side needs three fast bowlers and the XI picked by Kapil falls short in that respect. With Kapil in the side, Zaheer Khan and Javagal Srinath will have quality back-up to swing the new ball and the old. Anil Kumble may be the one specialist spinner, but there are several other spinners in the XI who have been match-winning bowlers like Yuvraj Singh (especially in the 2011 World Cup), Virender Sehwag (94 wickets) and Sachin Tendulkar (154 wickets with two five-fors). Besides, the team has a Sourav Ganguly, who can chip in when needed. The options are aplenty for Mahendra Singh Dhoni, who remains captain despite Kapil’s presence in the XI.

Dravid for Azharuddin

If there is one critical shortcoming in the side, it has no batsman who can drop anchor and play the waiting game in a crisis. Ideally a team needs at least one such player. And in that respect, the world has not seen a better batsman than Rahul Dravid. It’s a very tough call, but I think he should come in place of Mohammad Azharuddin.

As one can see from the above stats, there is very little to choose between the two in terms of their ODI numbers. Azhar averages 36.92, while Dravid averages 39.16. Azhar’s strike-rate is 74.02, while Dravid’s is 71.24. Both batsmen have a highest of 153, though Dravid has scored five more centuries while playing just 10 more innings than Azhar. Dravid also leaves Azhar far behind in terms of half-centuries scored: 83 against Azhar’s 58. Both players have been assets on the field. Where Dravid scores over Azhar is that he can keep wickets and bat anywhere in the order. Despite the fact that Azhar once held the fastest hundred in ODI history, Dravid has to come in the XI to bring balance to the side.

The opening combine

Though Kapil has not spoken about the batting order and though the Sachin Tendulkar-Sourav Ganguly  opening pair was comparatively more successful  (see table below) and bring in value as a left-right combine than the all-right pair of Tendulkar-Sehwag, it still makes better sense to go with the latter. For two reasons: Firstly, it’s a no-brainer to give Sehwag as many overs as possible, which means he has to come right up the order. Sehwag is a destroyer who is feared by all opposition. Secondly, Ganguly is a much better player of spin — left-arm in particular — and can come later in the order to sort out the slow bowlers. Ganguly can adjust to the middle order far better than Sehwag, who was predominantly been an opener for the greater part of his career.

With Dravid coming in for Azharuddin and Kapil stepping in for Harbhajan, here is the slightly modified XI in batting order:

1. Sachin Tendulkar
2. Virender Sehwag
3. Rahul Dravid
4. Virat Kohli
5. Sourav Ganguly
6. Yuvraj Singh
7. MS Dhoni (captain)
8. Kapil Dev
9. Anil Kumble
10. Javagal Srinath
11. Zaheer Khan

12th Man: Ravindra Jadeja

Batting records:

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