Cricket Australia unveils “India’s Greatest Test XI”

MS Dhoni was a clear winner in his category of wicketkeeper-batsman, where he garnered 93 percent of votes, next best being Syed Kirmani with 6 percent.

Only three teams have now played more Tests than India. India gears up for their 500th Test when they take on the touring New Zealand side in the first Test at Kanpur. The three teams to have crossed this milestone are England, Australia and West Indies. Much before the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) came with a Dream Team initiative; many around the world had started jotting their best India Test XIs. Cricket Australia (CA), the Australian cricket board, who are pioneers in using the digital media to fans’ advantage, came up with their “India’s Greatest Test XI”.

Earlier this year, they ran a poll on the Greatest One-Day player of All-time. After weeks of contests through polls, the final battle came down between Sri Lankan stalwart Kumar Sangakkara and Indian batting maestro Sachin Tendulkar. It may come as a surprise but the Sri Lankan southpaw eclipsed Tendulkar to win the title. This time around, the surprises were rare. Once again, the cricket website ran a poll that determined the best India Test XI. The team comprises eight former India captains but CA have not named a captain for this illustrious side. However, out of the chosen cricketers, one can assume it will be either Sourav Ganguly or MS Dhoni marshalling the troops, the other contender being Anil Kumble.

From the over 50,000 votes cast, here is the India’s Greatest Test XI published by CA: Sunil Gavaskar, Virender Sehwag, Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar, VVS Laxman, Sourav Ganguly, MS Dhoni (wk), Kapil Dev, Anil Kumble, Harbhajan Singh, Zaheer Khan.

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Dhoni was a clear winner in his category of wicketkeeper-batsman, where he garnered 93 percent of votes, next best being Syed Kirmani with 6 percent. However, the toughest competition was for the No.6 slot but Ganguly managed to edge out current skipper Virat Kohli in this category. Keeping the balance of the side in mind, it is fair because Ganguly is the only left-handed batsman in the side and he is inarguably the best left-hander to emerge from India.

Anil Kumble and Kapil Dev were clear favourites in their categories of first spinner and first fast bowler. The team comprising of mostly modern cricketers, bats deep. Harbhajan Singh, who is slated to come at no.10 has two Test hundreds and Zaheer Khan was quite able with the willow. In fact, Kapil, India’s finest all-rounder till date bats at no.8.

Though it may come across as a contemporary XI, the side does wear a dominant look and will give best of teams a tough run.

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