Legendary Australia spinner Shane Warne recently came up with his all-time favorite India XI and while he picked some of the legendary names in his playing XI, he missed out on some of the modern legends of the game.
Shane Warned picked former Indian skipper and current BCCI President Sourav Ganguly as the skipper of his all-time India XI. The list also included master-blaster Sachin Tendulkar, who is hailed as one of the greatest batters to have ever played the game.
However, Shane Warne ignored legendary skipper MS Dhoni and current Indian skipper Virat Kohli, who is hailed as the modern legend of this game. While explaining the reason behind their exclusion, Shane said that he is only naming the players he has played against. He said:
“I am only picking players that I played against and that’s why M S Dhoni and Virat Kohli are not going to be a part of the side. While Dhoni is probably the greatest wicketkeeper-batsman to have played the game, Kohli is one of the greatest batsmen across formats,”
Warne also ignored VVS Laxman in his all-time India XI. Justifying his decision, Warne stated that VVS Laxman faced the ax so as to accommodate Sourav Ganguly in his team. He said:
“I went for Ganguly because I wanted him to be the captain of my side, that is why Laxman missed out,”
Further, Warne went on to pick former Indian cricketer turned politician Navjot Singh Sidhu and big-hitter Virender Sehwag as the openers in his playing XI, which also includes the likes of Mohammad Azharuddin, Rahul Dravid, Kapil Dev, among others.
“I had to pick Navjot Singh Sidhu because he was the best player against spin I have ever played against. All the other spinners I have played with, they have also told me that Sidhu was brilliant against them,”
Nayan Mongia was picked as the wicket-keeper of Warne’s playing XI, while Harbhajan Singh, Javagal Srinath and Anil Kumble were leading the bowling attack.
Shane Warne’s all-time India XI:
Sourav Ganguly (captain), Virender Sehwag, Navjot Singh Siddu, Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar, Mohammad Azharuddin, Kapil Dev, Nayan Mongia (wicketkeeper), Harbhajan Singh, Javagal Srinath, Anil Kumble.
