Which is Harsha's dream 11 cricket team of all time?
Before picking his dream 11, Harsha Bhogle confesses that he is not very good at doing this because of the fact that he hasn’t watched many players play or he has watched a little bit of many players. Therefore, he cannot do this with a certain degree of authority.But this is Harsha Bhogle’s( the voice of cricket) Dream 11 in test matches-Sunil GavaskarVirender SehwagRahul DravidSachin TendulkarMohammad AzharuddinVVS LaxmanMS Dhoni(WK)Kapil DevRavichandran AshwinAnil Kumble(C)Zaheer KhanHarsha says that he has grown up adoring Sunil Gavaskar and his numbers? Let us put them aside, they are staggering.He says- “ You cannot even raise a finger in protest against Virender Sehwag, India’s top 3 innings are all from Sehwag.”He says that no one can challenge Rahul Dravid and Sachin Tendulkar at 3 and 4.Now these are like the first moves in chess, everyone makes the same moves but the game starts after a while.Harsha says that while picking his 5 and 6 he has gone with beauty, artistry, eye-catching and match-winning attributes. He even laughs off and assures that there is no home city bias when picking these two gentlemen. So his 5 and 6 are Mohammad Azharuddin and VVS Laxman. So, that’s 6 players done with.His 7 and 8 are undoubtedly MS Dhoni and Kapil Dev.He has gone with Ashwin at No.9 because of his great numbers and his strike rate which just pips him above Harbhajan Singh.Harsha says- “ There is no greater match winner in Indian conditions than Anil Kumble.” So, Anil Kumble at 10.For No.11, he has gone with Zaheer Khan in his side. Harsha says that Javagal Srinath has absolutely bowled his heart out, there was nothing left behind when Javagal came off the pitch. Yet the left handed Zaheer Khan, his reverse swings which sneaked past the left handers, his bowling with the old ball all such stuffs made him draft a place over Javagal Srinath, in Harsha’s Dream 11.At the end, he feels a bit heavy-hearted and apologetic for leaving out some of the big names but he has to pick only 11, right?Now, do you agree with this test team of Harsha?If not, who would you replace?You can know me in the comment section, if you wish to.
If a cricket match is to be played between world left handers XI and world right handers XI, what would your teams be?
Left Handers XI (ODI)Sourav Ganguly (c)Adam Gilchrist (W)Kumar SangakkaraMichael HusseyYuvraj SinghMichael BevanLance KlusnerWasim AkramZaheer KhanMitchell StarcDaniel VettoriI think this is the best Left Handers XI I can imagine, this team has good aggressive opening pair and a stable player at middle order and aggressive lower order batsman. Michell Starc is an agressive bowler in current generation hence included him. I always prefer 4 bowlers with 2 all rounders it will give good balance to the team hence included two good all rounders Yuvraj Singh and Lance Klusner.Right Handers XI (ODI)Sachin TendulkarHashim AmlaRicky PontingVirat KohliJacques KallisMS Dhoni (c)(w)Shaun PollockBrett LeeGlenn McCGrathWaquar YounisMuttiah MuralitharanI went with the same number of batsman\bowlers\all rounders like left handers XI. Thought of including Shane Watson, but prefered to have a bowling all rounder hence picked Shaun Pollock. Tough to pick between Muralitharan and Shane Warne since Muralitharan has better records picked him.Left Handers XI (Test)Mathew HaydenAlastair Cook (c)Kumar Sangakkara (w)Brian LaraShivnarine ChanderpaulMichael HusseyShakib Al Hasan Wasim AkramZaheer KhanChaminda VaasDaniel VettoriTest team looks different from ODI team, Mathew Hayden is best left hand openers along with Cook. Picked up one of my favourite player Chanderpaul, no chance of leaving him behind. Picked up Shakib Al Hasan since I required an all rounder and he is a good test player.Right Handers XI (Test)Virender SehwagHashim AmlaRahul DravidSachin TendulkarSteve SmithJacques KallisMS Dhoni (c)(w)Allan DonaldGlenn McCgrathMuttiah MuralitharanWaquar YounisPicked up Steve Smith since he is the best test batsman in current generations and considered one of the fab 4 he is excellent test batsman. If I did’nt include Rahul Dravid then it would be a sin.
What would be your Test XI to challenge the all time Asian XI?
I can see too many right handers in the lineup . So I will skip off spinners .With two of the best spinners in the opposition , I need a best player of spin .so I will include Lara.I am excluding ponting who has very poor record in asian conditions. Hayden was vulnerable against swing bowling , so I am excluding him .I have no other option apart from picking shane warne who has very mediocre record in asian conditions. But he is best in the business . So I pick him as my spinner .Top order:Cook:Amla :I picked amla and cook as they belong to rare category of a non asian cricketer to have great record against asian teams . Both form left right combo .Lara :Who can leave out the left handed magician . Best player of spin and pace .Middleorder:Kallis :The allrounder is a top class batsman and wicket taking bowler . I can't leave him out of the team .he can play for hoursDevilliers :The Superman from other planet plays in middleorder as I need someone who was supremely talented and great ability to counter reverse swing and 2nd new ball . He loves to save the match .Gilchrist (wk) :Time for the wicket keeper to fit in the batting.i can't find someone as good as Gilchrist. He can turn matches irrespective of the format . To keep wickets against warne is not easy for anyone.Lower order:Hadlee :The kiwi all-rounder fills the 7th spot of the batting lineup who was a great bowling allrounder among the quartet of botham , imran Khan , Kapil . He swings ball admirably. He is a very good batsman too .Warne :I don't think he needs introduction for his bowling. But he is a underrated batsman . Has couple of 90’s in tests .Vettori :The kiwi all-rounder fills as a bowling allrounder at 9 . He is the best left arm spinner in tests of his era . Very good batsman also . He complements warne with his left arm spinStarc :The tall pacer is a excellent bowler of new ball and odd ball . He has excellent record in asian conditions. A handy batsman too .Steyn :The steyn gun has very decent record in all conditions. Excellent swing bowler and maintains same pace till end of the day . His right arm pace will form excellent combo of pace with starc . He can hit few lusty blows with bat too.Goo number of left right combo in lineup which makes it a formidable lineup
What would be your World Cricket XI team for tests if you had to pick just one player from each nation?
It is very difficult to choose a single player from a nation. I thought bit and have chosen. My dream 11 for Test would go like thisAlastair CookHashim AmlaRahul DravidKumar SangakkaraMisbah-ul-HaqShakib-al-HasanCarl HooperShane BondGlenn McGrathHeath StreakRashid khanOpeners:Alastair CookAlastair Nathan Cook, is an English cricketer. A left-handed opening batsman, he is a former captain of the England Test and ODI teams.HASHIM AMLAOne down :RAHUL DRAVIDRahul Dravid is a former Indian cricketer and captain, widely regarded as one of the greatest batsmen in the history of cricket.Middle orderKUMAR SANGAKKARA (Wicket keeper)A left-handed top-order batsman, he is also a record-breaking wicket-keeper, although he no longer kept wicket at the end of his Test career.Misbah ul haq (Captain)Misbah-ul-Haq Khan Niazi, or Misbah-ul-Haq, is a former Pakistani cricketer who captained the Pakistani team in all three formats of the game and he is Pakistan's most successful Test captain with 26 wins.All roundersSHAKIB AL HASANShakib Al Hasan is a Bangladeshi international cricket player, former Test, ODI captain and current Twenty20 International captain, appointed in April 2017. He is well known for his aggressive batting, controlled bowling & athletic fielding.CARL HOOPERCarl Hooper is the only player apart from Jacques Kallis to claim 5000 runs, 100 wickets, 100 catches and played 100 matches in both Tests and ODIs. In a career spanning a decade and a half, Hooper went on to score more than 10,000 international runs and picked up over 300 wickets.Bowling departmentSHANE BONDShane Edward Bond is a former New Zealand cricketer and present bowling coach of Mumbai Indians, described as "New Zealand's best fast bowler since Sir Richard Hadlee".GLENN MCGRATHGlenn Donald McGrath AM is a former Australian international cricketer.HEATH STREAKHeath Hilton Streak is a former Zimbabwean cricketer and currently the head coach of Zimbabwe national cricket team.Rashid khanRashid Khan Arman, commonly known as Rashid Khan, is an Afghan cricketer who represents the national team. Rashid played in the 2017 Indian Premier League for Sunrisers Hyderabad.CREDITS : WIKIPEDIA ☺