Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid Missing; Ex-English Captain Alastair Cook Picks His All-Time XI

London: Regarded as one of the greats of Test cricket, ex-English captain Alastair Cook revealed his all-time XI. What would surprise fans is the fact that no Indian makes it to Cook’s XI. Cook has also not picked any cricketer who is still playing. That could be one of the reasons why Kohli and Dhoni do not find a place in his XI despite being greats. But if that is the case, why are Rahul Dravid and Sachin Tendulkar missing?

Cook named ex-English stalwart Graham Gooch as the captain of the side. His side features ex-Australian opener, Matthew Hayden. Cook picked a starry middle-order featuring Jacques Kallis, Ricky Ponting, Brian Lara, AB de Villiers, and Kumar Sangakkara. “I’d pay a lot of money to watch that middle-order bat,” Cook said.

While Anil Kumble did not make it to Cook’s list, the two spinners he opted for are Muttiah Muralitharan and Shane Warne. James Anderson, Glenn McGrath is the two pacers he picked in his side. Kallis would obviously chip in as the third seamer.

“None of them need explaining, really, absolute guns of players,” Cook opined about that dreamy bowling attack.

One has to admit that this is quite a strong team.

Alastair Cook’s All-Time XI: Graham Gooch (C), Matthew Hayden, Brian Lara, Ricky Ponting, AB de Villiers (wk), Kumar Sangakkara, Jacques Kallis, Muttiah Muralitharan, Shane Warne, James Anderson, Glenn McGrath