The Indian Dream XI

With the world cup fever reaching a frenzy and Australians coming out with their all time ODI XI, i decided to do the same for India. Here it goes :

1. Sachin Tendulkar-
The man is a genius. He can tinker with the opposition at his will, bowl very well , fields brilliantly, is so committed and focussed. And on top of that the leading run scorer in ODI's and a host of other things. You cannot imagine a team without him. i do not have words to describe the genius. And for people who think hes not good enough, watch him at the world cup 2007.

2. Sourav Ganguly
Well i have written a lot about him in my previous post, his attitude is fantastic, his leadership skills are just brilliant and he is aa lucky guy to have in the team. And as a small matter, he has scored 10000 runs wid 22 centuries. He did form the most successful opening partnership with Tendulkar, so keeping that in mind I chose him ahead of sehwag.

3. Rahul Dravid
No Indian batting line up can be complete without Dravid. This man can accelerate when you want him to, soak up the pressure when you want thim to, stabilize the inning s when you want him to. He basically is the backbone of the team. Committed, focussed, a complete team man plus all those fantastic ODI records. Gawd, has he been a gift to Indian cricket or what.

4. Mohammed Azharuddin
Well he is the most controversial choice, but people who know me would tell you I absolutely adore Azhars batting. Well that was before all the match fixing. But seriously you cannot ignore his record, his fielding skills, his wizardry with the bat. At his peak , he was unstoppable and could do things with the bat nobody could imagine. His partnerships with Sachin were the stuff of legends (Cape Town anyone).I sometimes pity this man, who had everything he wanted and threw it away.

5. Mohinder Amarnath
We have wizards in this team (tendulkar, azza and to some extent ganguly), but what we need is a character. A gutsy person who could never give up, never wanted to give up. Mohinder Amarnath was one such batsman. Who can forget his duel with Malcolm Marshall, where he was hit repeatedly, but did not flinch. Kudos to his character. On top of that he was a useful bowler and a wholehearted cricketer. And it wasnt only guts that he had but talent too. At one point of time he was hailed by no less than the West indians and pakistanis to be the best player of fast bowling they have seen.

6. MS Dhoni
We've had better keepers, but nobody quite has the explosive talent that this man has. He is a genuine wkeeper batsman whose hitting talents we are well aware of. Hoever, what impresses me most is his attitude. When he wants to he completely shuts down and plays in gear1 and plays as the situation demands. This, for me, is the hallmark of a very good cricketer. Plus he does well in pressure situations, and is never shy of a good fight. A real gem.

7. Kapil Dev
The Indian cricketer of the millenium, World cup winning captain, India's only genuine all rounder and dedication personified. Like Sachin, no Indian team can be complete without Kapil Dev.Moreover, you need his hitting prowess down the order. Though he was never consitent, but he could hit a cricket ball as clean as they come and you need that at number 7. Bowling wise, he moved the ball at pace (though at his peak) and is by the far the best fast bowler India has produced. Though he was an inspirational captain, but being a Ganguly fan I chose him captain.

8. Ajit Agarkar
I have never been a big Agarkar fan but then i looked at his record and wud u believe he is nearing 300 wkts !!!.So he must be doing something right. He is erratic, inconsistent but we do not have much of a choice. I prefer Zaheer, but I am still amazed Agarkar has 272 wkts at 27.55 a piece. Hence he gets the nod.

9. Anil Kumble
Hes a fighter, dedicated and committed. On top of that not too long ago he was the best one day bowler India had. He could also bowl at he death, or in the first 15 overs, or in the middle overs. This man can do anythin for the team.Plus he gives a variety to the bowling attack as a genuine spin option. no. 9 for him.

10. Harbhajan Singh
Bajji boy had to be in the team because of the following. He gives the team a fighter, a quality off spinner and some sort of a handy bat. He is one of the two genuine world class bowlers we have, and has enough experience and ability to bowl to anyone and on any surface.

11. Javagal Srinath
The only genuine fast bowler weve had (after kapil). Though i am not a big fan but i cant really ignore the nos. 313 wkts at 28 a piece with an ag for 4.4. More importantly, he could be devastating specially to left handers (Jayasuriya, a case in point).

12th man : Yuvraj Singh
He is a real good prospect , who has proved his hitting and finishing abilities. Just a bit more of polish and he wud definitely be in the XI. And wow what a fielder!

So here is my complete list. However i shud make a few points clear. This team has not been chosen keeping in my mind the way ODI's are played today cause that would be unfair on Amarnath. What i have given weightage to are aspects like fighting qualities, performance under pressure and to some extent their records.

Anyway you guys are welcome to post any comments.

Cheers