No Virat Kohli, MS Dhoni As Harbhajan Singh Names His Best XI Of Red-Ball Players

Veteran spinner Harbhajan Singh has named the best eleven of Test players he has played against. The off-spinner, who has not played for India since 2016, is one of the modern-day greats and is one of the most decorated spinners in the history of Test cricket.

Harbhajan Singh represented India in 103 Tests and picked up a staggering 417 wickets including a hat-trick against  the all-conquering Australian team during the historic 2001 series. He played an integral role in India’s rise in Test cricket in the 2000s.

But towards the start of the last decade, his form dipped and he was soon dropped from the Test side after the rise of Ravichandran Ashwin. Harbhajan Singh’s last Test appearance came in 2015 during the Galle Test against Sri Lanka.

Harbhajan Singh’s Best Test XI:

Talking to ESPNCricinfo, Harbhajan Singh named the eleven best red-ball players he played against. The likes of MS Dhoni and Virat Kohli missed out in the star-studded side as Harbhajan Singh named a team full of legends. He picked Virender Sehwag and Matthew Hayden as openers.

At number three, he went for the dependable Rahul Dravid, saying: “He is the most dependable batsman that I’ve ever played against or bowled to. In any conditions, whether you talk about playing fast bowling, seam bowling or spin, he had the technique to cope with it.”

At number four, Harbhajan picked the legendary Sachin Tendulkar who is the most decorated batsman in the history of cricket. He then picked South Africa’s Jacques Kallis, widely regarded as the best allrounder in the history of the game. The spinner picked Australia’s Ricky Ponting as the captain of his side.

Harbhajan said that “Virat Kohli, Brian Lara and maybe Kevin Pietersen were close for this spot” but he went for Ponting. He also said that if he choose Kohli, Shane Warne would be his captain.

For the wicketkeeper’s role, Harbhajan Singh picked Sri Lankan great Kumar Sangakkara, saying: “Obviously Adam Gilchrist was a great player but Sangakkara’s record speaks for itself. He averaged 57 in Tests and it would have been a lot more had he not also been a wicketkeeper in the first part of his career.”

In the bowling department, he went for Shaun Pollock, Wasim Akram and Glenn McGrath as the pacers while Warne was the only spinner.

Harbhajan Singh’s All Time best red-ball players XI:

Virender Sehwag, Matthew Hayden, Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar, Jacques Kallis, Ricky Ponting, Kumar Sangakkara, Shaun Pollock, Shane Warna, Wasim Akram, Glenn McGrath

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