Former Australia skipper Michael Clarke has revealed his all time India Test Playing XI. Clarke named a strong star-studded lineup full of legendary players from past and present. Given India’s rich history in the game, it is never an easy task to pick just 11 players. As a result, Clarke made it clear that he would only pick the players he has seen playing.
He started his side by naming Sunil Gavaskar and Virender Sehwag as the openers. Gavaskar is regarded as the most successful opener of all time. He held the record for most runs and centuries in Tests when he announced his retirement from the game. Sehwag, on the other hand, is also one of the greatest openers in Test cricket. The former India opener is the first Indian to score a triple century in Tests. He is also the only Indian to score two triple tons in Tests.
“I have to start with Sunil Gavaskar. I think he is India’s all time best opening batsman,” said Clarke while speaking on PlayersVoice.“Partnering him will be Virender Sehwag, one of my favourite batsmen of all time, extremely aggressive.”
Gavaskar (L) and Sehwag will open the innings for Michael Clarke’s side (Credits: AFP)
Clarke picked Rahul Dravid and Sachin Tendulkar for the number three and four spots respectively.
“Rahul Dravid, the wall, will be at number three. So hard to get out. Number four, the great Sachin Tendulkar, speaks for himself,” he said.
Both Dravid and Tendulkar need no introduction. Two of the greatest batsmen of all time, both the players scored over 10,000 Test runs. Tendulkar is the most decorated batsman in the history of the game. He is the leading run scorer and centurion in both Tests as well as ODIs.
Tendulkar (L) and Dravid are also part of Michael Clarke’s star-studded side (Credits: BCCI)
For the number five slot, Clarke went for Virat Kohli, calling the current India skipper a superstar. He then raised quite a lot of eyebrows by picking Rohit Sharma in the side.
Speaking about the decision, Clarke said:
“Rohit is as talented a player as I have seen through my career,” said Clarke before picking MS Dhoni as the wicketkeeper-batsman.
For the pace bowling department, Clarke went for Kapil Dev and Zaheer Khan. Anil Kumble, India’s leading wicket-taker in Tests, and Harbhajan Singh made it to Clarke’s side as spinners.
Here is the clip showing Clarke revealing his All Time Indian Test XI:
"As talented a player as I've seen".
This is @MClarke23's all-time Indian Test XI. Who would make yours? @Hublot #PlayersVoice #AUSvIND pic.twitter.com/AnqAYk6EKq
— PlayersVoice (@playersvoice) January 9, 2019
Michael Clarke’s All Time Indian Test XI:
Sunil Gavaskar, Virender Sehwag, Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar, Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, MS Dhoni, Kapil Dev, Anil Kumble, Harbhajan Singh, Zaheer Khan.
