Nick Compton Reveals All-Time XI, Includes One Indian In The Team

Nick Compton is not a very popular man in India and the reasons for the same are very obvious. The Indian fans just love their cricketers and do not like any overseas cricketer to comment anything about them. However, Nick Compton has always found a way to get under the skin of the cricket-obsessed Indian fans.

His most prominent target has been none other than Virat Kohli. Time and again, Nick Compton has criticised Virat Kohli for no reason whatsoever and has faced the heat almost every time. Well, it looks like Compton does not dislike every Indian cricketer. The former England international included one Indian in his all time best XI of red-ball cricketers.

Speaking to ESPNCricinfo, Compton compiled his all-time XI. The criteria to compile the team was that Compton had to pick eleven players he had played alongside. Well, only Indian found a mention in the list and he is former India spinner Murali Kartik. Both Kartik and Compton played alongside in county cricket and the latter was impressed by the left-arm spinner.

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Five England players found a place in Compton’s XI. Alastair Cook, Kevin Pietersen, Ben Stokes, Jonny Bairstow and Stuart Broad were the players picked by Compton. Compton picked former Australia opener Phil Hughes to open the innings alongside Cook. At number three, he picked former South Africa batsman Hashim Amla.

He went for Kevin Pietersen and Ireland’s Ed Joyce for the number four and five spots respectively.  Stokes was the allrounder of the team while Jonny Bairstow was the wicketkeeper-batsman. In the pace department, Compton picked South Africa’s Vernon Philander, Australia’s Mitchell Starc and his compatriot Stuart Broad. Surprisingly, he left out James Anderson who is England’s all-time highest wicket-taker in Tests.

The only spinner in the side was Murali Kartik. Talking about Kartik, who represented India in 8 Tests, 37 ODIs and 1 Tests, Compton said:

“For me, one of the best fingerspinners of modern times and very unlucky not to have played 70 or 80 Test matches. Beautiful bowler. Guile, flight, confidence – arrogance at times – very good cricket brain, and a street-fighter. He was someone I played a lot of cricket with at Somerset, and I thought he was a phenomenal bowler.”

Here is Nick Compton’s all-time XI:

Alastair Cook, Phil Hughes, Hashim Amla, Kevin Pietersen, Ed Joyce, Ben Stokes, Jonny Bairstow, Vernon Philander, Mitchell Starc, Stuart Broad, Murali Kartik.