Dream Eleven

Comparisions are odious, they say. But cricket fans were forced to compare players from different era while choosing players for a dream eleven team that was announced by ICC before the 2000th test match started between India and England.

The final eleven chosen by lakhs of fans were Sunil Gavaskar, Virender Sehwag, Don Bradman, Sachin Tendulkar, Brian Lara, Adam Gilchrist, Kapil Dev, Wasim Akram, Shane Warne, Curtley Ambrose and Glenn McGrath. It is obvious that the team was chosen by mostly youngsters. Don Bradman’s stupendous average of 99.9 must have led the fans to chose him as hardly any participant could have seen him play. He retired in 1948. His fame has grown over the years and his batting average could well be unbeatable. He is almost like God in cricket and shouldn’t be touched.

But what is surprising is that there is no Vivian Richards, Gary Sobers or anyone from fearsome fast bowling quartet of Roberts, Holding, Marshal and Garner. No Muralitharan or anyone from Sri Lanka, England or New Zealand. I would have included Gary Sobers for Lara and Marshal for Ambrose. Viv Richards would have to be 12th man. Just imagine that !

To avoid heated arguments, it is better to name two teams: One consisting of players up to nineties, and the other comprising cricketers after that. This way one can avoid heated arguments over the selection. Constructing a team of oldies is difficult because one is not familiar with the players before the sixties though their exploits in the field are well known. So I will stick to players from the sixties onwards

Here goes my list : Sunil Gavaskar, Gordon Greenidge, Vivian Richards, Allan Border, Javed Miandad, Gary Sobers, Alan Knot, Ian Botham, Dennis Lillee, Malcom Marshal and Richie Benaud. There isn’t anyone from great Indian spinners Prasanna, Bedi, and Chandrasekhar as they were not good fielders. But any one of them can replace Benaud if the situation demands it.

The choice from the four all rounders, Kapil Dev, Imran Khan, Richard Hadlee and Ian Botham, is a difficult one to make. Since the team has two fast bowlers, Imran Khan is out. Of the other three, it is anybody’s choice. I chose Botham because he has changed the complexion of a game both with his batting and bowling. The other two had done that with their bowling mostly. Kapil’s batting shone more in ODIs. Graeme Pollock and Barry Richards from South Africa could have been in the team had their career not doomed by apartheid.

The nineties list is easier to fill. Hayden, Sehwag, Ponting, Sachin, Lara, Kallis, Gilchrist, Akram. Warne, Muralitharan and McGrath. If you think that is a fine team. Then look at the bench strength. It has the likes of Dravid, Kumble, Vettori , Sangakkara, Jayawardene, Ambrose, Walsh, Steve Waugh, Azharuddin, Inzamam etc