Tamim Iqbal, the left-handed Bangladesh batsman, has named MS Dhoni as skipper in his all-time World Cup XI. The dashing opener revealed his picks to Espncricinfo in a recent interview.
Iqbal has selected batting legend Sachin Tendulkar and Virender Sehwag for the opening slot. The duo was deemed as one of the most explosive pairs of their generation, having scored 4387 runs together in 114 matches. It didn’t spring as a surprise that Iqbal went for Virat Kohli as his number three batsman. Kohli has 41 One-Day International (ODI) centuries to his name.
The 30-year-old picked the legendary Australian batsman Ricky Ponting for No. 4 position in the batting order. Ponting is a two-time World Cup winning captain.
Jacques Kallis and Tamim’s Bangladesh teammate Shakib Al Hasan are the two all-rounders in the team. With over 24,000 runs and 670 wickets, Kallis was a fulcrum of the South African team. On the other hand, Shakib is all set to feature his fourth ICC Cricket World Cup after making debut in 2007.
Iqbal selected MS Dhoni, the world’s best finisher to come in and bat at number seven. Dhoni powered India to clinch their second World Cup title back in 2011 after 28 years. In the final, he scored an unbeaten 91 against Sri Lanka.
Iqbal next picked the deadly duo from Pakistan – Wasim Akram and Shoaib Akhtar – as his frontline pacers. Akram and Akhtar have claimed 55 and 30 wickets respectively in the World Cup.
The legendary Australia seamer Glenn McGrath, who is also the tournament’s leading wicket-taker with 71 scalps, is the third specialist fast bowler in his team.
Muttiah Muralitharan is the lone specialist spinner in Iqbal’s dream XI. The veteran Sri Lanka spinner has 68 wickets to his name from 40 matches.
Tamim’s all-time World Cup XI:
Sachin Tendulkar, Virender Sehwag, Virat Kohli, Ricky Ponting, Jacques Kallis, Shakib Al Hasan, MS Dhoni (c & wk), Wasim Akram, Shoaib Akhtar, Glenn McGrath, Muttiah Muralitharan.
