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As CricInfo is selecting the Best Indian XI, let us pick ours. I will go one step further and select a best Australian XI and a best Indian XI.
The proviso is that they must have played against each other at some stage. For this reason, legends like Victor Trumper, Alf Noble, ‘Demon’ Spofforth, ‘Terror’ Turner, the Gregorys, Bill Ponsford, Bill O’Reilly, Clarrie Grimmett… from Australia and CK Nayudu, Mohammad Nissar (India’s only genuine fast bowler), Vijay Merchant (whose first-class batting average of 71.22 is second only to Don Bradman’s)… from India do not qualify.
The first Test between Australia and India was played in 1947-48 so we know the starting point. As Australia is touring India for a two Test, three ODI series in October, the post becomes topical. Also interesting as India is currently ranked no.1 at Test level and Australia held the no.1 spot for a decade previously.
So let’s start with the Best Aussie XI since 1947:
Who will open the batting? Many candidates: Arthur Morris, Bob Simpson, Bill Lawry, Mark Taylor, Matthew Hayden and Adam Gilchrist. All very capable but my personal choice is to attack from the first ball against an attack lacking real pace. The two left-handers with killer instincts, Hayden and Gilchrist, are my choice. Gilchrist will also keep wickets.
No argument about no. 3 batsman, the one and only Don Bradman.
The current maestro Ricky Ponting will go in next. No. 5 spot is hotly contested by Greg Chappell and Neil Harvey.
Greg Chappell wins narrowly. The score would be now 3-350 but let the massacre continue.
Allan Border, Norm O’Neill, Doug Walters, Ian Chappell, Steve and Mark Waugh compete for the no.6 spot. My choice is Border, the man for all seasons.
Keith Miller and Richie Benaud are world class all-rounders and pick themselves, Miller as a paceman, Benaud as a leg-spinner and captain.
Shane Warne will be the other leggie and Dennis Lillee will open the attack.
But who will partner Lillee, the graceful Ray Lindwall or Thomson the tornado? A hard choice but I have gone for Thomson for sheer fright factor. Sorry Glenn McGrath, no room for you despite your strong credentials.
So Lillee and Thommo will test the Indian openers, Miller will then continue the torture and Warne and Benaud will do the spinning job.
Simpson will be the 12th man.
Now to the Best Indian XI since 1947:
Sunil Gavaskar, one of the best opening batsman in Test history and the first one to aggregate 10,000 Test runs, will open India’s innings with the dashing, dynamic Virender Sehwag. What a contrast, one protecting his wickets more than his life, the other a suicide bomber who can win or lose a match with a few tall hits. Dilip Sardesai just misses out.
The elegant GR Viswanath will step in at no.3 armed with his elegant square-cuts and delicate leg-glances. Stylists, Mohammad Azharuddin, Chandu Borde, Rahul Dravid and Dilip Vengsarkar were other candidates but cuddly Vishy is my pick.
Record-smasher and crowd idol Sachin Tendulkar is the obvious choice, at no.4.
No. 5 throws open many nominees: my hero Vijay Hazare, Vijay Manjrekar, Polly Umrigar, Nawab of Pataudi (jr), Ajit Wadekar, Mohinder Amarnath and Sourav Ganguly. Hazare gets the nod. Who can forget Hazare’s two centuries in the 1948 Adelaide Test against Lindwall and Miller at their fastest? Bradman was full of praises for him.
Spinning all-rounder Vinoo Mankad and seaming all-rounder Kapil Dev will bat at nos. 6 and 7.
MS Dhoni will keep wickets and captain the team. Other ’keepers Syed Kirmani and Farokh Engineer were considered but MS is my choice.
EAS Prasanna will be the off-spinner and SP Gupte the leg-spinner. What a shame to exclude Bapu Nadkarni, Bishan Bedi, BS Chandrasekhar and Anil Kumble!
Who will share the new ball with Kapil? The fast and fiery Nissar would be the man but he did not play against Australia, so can’t make it by our criteria. I have gone for tiny Ramakant Desai who was one of the quickest Indian bowlers.
The attack will be Kapil, Desai, Prasanna, Gupte and Mankad.
Dravid will be the 12th man.
Ponting is the only current player in the Australian line-up. Significantly, there are three current players, Sehwag, Tendulkar and skipper Dhoni in the Indian XI, as also 12th man Dravid.
This is only a personal selection. Let the discussion begin.