Indian opener and vice-captain in limited overs cricket Rohit Sharma picked the all-time Australian Test XI from the players that he had seen and played with. Surprisingly, he did not pick Steve Smith.
Ahead of the upcoming T20I series against Australia starting on February 24, Rohit did some fun stuff and picked his favourite Australian Test XI on PlayersVoice Facebook page. It’s a pretty difficult choice to make considering the number of legendary names who have donned the Baggy Green and Rohit has left some huge names out.
The 30-year-old Mumbai Indians captain picked Matthew Hayden and David Warner for the opening slots, followed by former Australian captain Ricky Ponting at number three, who has great records at this position.
Rohit has picked Michael Clarke for number four position while veteran Michael Hussey comes at number five. Adam Gilchrist was named as the wicketkeeper for the side, who would bat at number seven.
Interestingly, the Indian opener put all-rounder Shane Watson at number six, someone who hasn’t played much in this position, to bring balance to the Aussie side. He picked three fast bowlers namely Glenn McGrath, Brett Lee and Mitchell Johnson. Shane Warne is the only spinner in the team named by Rohit.
Steve Smith has been showing consistency in this format which was only seen from one man, Sir Don Bradman and to not include him in the final XI is really surprising.
Rohit Sharma’s all-time Australian Test XI:
Matthew Hayden, David Warner, Ricky Ponting, Michael Clarke, Michael Hussey, Shane Watson, Adam Gilchrist (wk), Shane Warne, Brett Lee, Mitchell Johnson, Glenn McGrath.
