The Indian team has produced several legendary cricketers in the last few years. Earlier, the sport of cricket had only one format – Tests. However, as time passed, the fans’ patience levels reduced. A majority of them could not wait for five days just to know the result of one match. Also, the organizers felt that they could have more revenue-generating potential if they have three games in five days instead of having a Test fixture.
This ideology led to the birth of ODI cricket. Initially, each team got 60 overs to bat in a one-day game. After a few years, the number reduced to 50. India has achieved a lot of success in this format. It is the only nation to win ODI World Cups in both the above-mentioned forms. This achievement indicates India’s dominance and here’s an all-time Indian ODI XI comprising only of right-handed players.
Openers – Virender Sehwag and Sachin Tendulkar
Two of the greatest opening batsmen in cricket history, Virender Sehwag and Sachin Tendulkar will open the innings for this XI. Sachin opened the innings 340 times in his ODI career, scoring 15,310 runs. On the other hand, Sehwag aggregated 7,518 ODI runs while opening the innings for India. Co-incidentally, the iconic duo had an ODI double century each to their names. Also, they were very successful as an opening pair.
Middle Order – Virat Kohli, Rahul Dravid, Mohammad Azharuddin and MS Dhoni (c & wk)
The current Indian skipper, Virat Kohli will back Sehwag and Sachin at number 3. Kohli has cemented this position in the playing XI for the past decade. He has scored 11,867 ODI runs in 239 innings that include 43 hundred and 58 fifties. ‘The Wall’ Rahul Dravid will bat at number four. The right-handed batsman amassed 3,301 runs in 102 innings batting at numbers. He crossed the fifty runs landmark 28 times while batting at this number.
Former Indian captain, Mohammad Azharuddin will take the number five spot. Azharuddin scored over 2,000 runs in the 83 innings that he batted at number 5. Most importantly, he remained unbeaten on 12 occasions at this position. MS Dhoni will lead this captain because he inspired the Men in Blue to the ICC World Cup in 2011 and ICC Champions Trophy in 2013. Dhoni has scored 30 half-centuries after coming to bat at number six. He will also keep the wickets for the team.
All-rounder – Kapil Dev
The most dominant right-handed Indian all-rounder in ODI cricket history was Kapil Dev. The 1983 World Cup-winning skipper took 253 wickets in 225 ODI matches. He had a stellar economy rate of 3.71. Also, he had the highest score of 175* with the bat. These statistics highlight that having Kapil Dev in the team provided the perfect balance to India’s playing XI.
Bowlers – Anil Kumble, Harbhajan Singh, Javagal Srinath, and Ajit Agarkar
Anil Kumble holds the record for the most ODI wickets by an Indian bowler. He played 269 games in his career, picking up 334 wickets at an average of 30.83. Harbhajan Singh will support him in the spin department. The Punjabi off-spinner scalped 265 wickets in his career. His best figures were 5/31.
Javagal Srinath and Ajit Agarkar will be the lead pace bowlers of the team. Srinath had an excellent career in the 50-overs format. The right-arm pacer has 315 wickets to his name in 229 matches. His bowling strike rate of 37.80 highlights his consistency. Ajit Agarkar picked up 10 four-wicket hauls and 2 five-wicket hauls in his ODI career. These numbers solidify that he was a proven wicket-taker who could turn the course of the game at any moment.
Thus, this is the best all-time Indian ODI XI comprising only of right-handed players.
