Alex Carey Picks His Combined India-Australia T20 XI, No Place For Rohit Sharma And MS Dhoni In The Squad

Australian wicketkeeper-batsman Alex Carey has picked his combined India-Australia T20 XI. To the shock of many cricket fans, Alex Carey hasn’t picked Indian opener Rohit Sharma and former Indian skipper, MS Dhoni in his illustrious squad.

Rohit, the batsman with four tons in T20Is, is currently the second-highest run-scorer (2773 runs) in the shortest format. On the other hand, Dhoni is a World Cup-winning captain and is unarguably the greatest wicketkeeper-batsman in the present era.

The exclusion of these two legends of world cricket has taken everyone aback. However, Alex Carey has picked a strong team as his combined T20 XI.

Alex Carey Picks His Combined India-Australia T20 XI

In a chat with his IPL franchise Delhi Capitals, Alex Carey picked Shikhar Dhawan and David Warner as two openers. Warner, a veteran of 79 T20Is, has 2207 runs in the shortest format. Carey named Steve Smith to bat at number three although the Australian Test great doesn’t have impressive numbers in the shortest format, he has 681 runs in 39 T20Is.

India skipper Virat Kohli was inevitable mention on Alex Carey’s list as he is the highest run-scorer in the shortest format (2794 runs). Surprisingly, Alex Carey picked Rishabh Pant to bat at number 5 and positioned himself to bat at number 5 in his combined T20 XI. Ravindra Jadeja proves to be the sole all-rounder in Carey’s team.

Alex Carey picked a serious bowling unit as he went ahead with three pacers and one spinner. Carey picked Mitchell Starc, Pat Cummins, and Jasprit Bumrah as his pace battery. Adam Zampa found the number 11 spot in the squad, being the only specialist spinner.

"You need a team of 22, I reckon! Then I can squeeze them all in." – Alex Carey on how difficult it is to pick a combined India-Australia T20I XI consisting of current players ?

What would your XI look like? ?#YehHaiNayiDilli pic.twitter.com/BKcH8wLFMp

— Delhi Capitals (@DelhiCapitals) May 8, 2020

Alex Carey Desired To Be Half As Good As MS Dhoni

In an Instagram chat with the Delhi Capitals, Carey heaped praise on Dhoni and expressed his wish of becoming like the 38-year-old veteran. Carey has acknowledged Dhoni’s greatness and has expressed his desire of having a reputation half as good as the legendary Indian captain.

MS Dhoni has been a legend on the field so far. A great batsman, a handy wicketkeeper and a legendary captain, all these elements go along with MS Dhoni whenever he is mentioned. What adds to his repertoire is his calmness and his composure in the clutches of situations that have helped India come out of difficult times more often than not in the last 10-12 years.

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