Ashton Agar, the Australian all-rounder, has picked his all-time world XI. While speaking to Lords Cricket Ground’s official YouTube channel, Agar elected some legendary cricketers for his dream XI team belonging from different nations.
However, the left-arm spin bowler didn’t pick two modern-day great batsmen, Steve Smith and Virat Kohli in his team.
For the openers, Agar went with destructive batsman Virender Sehwag and classy player Justin Langer. Agar said that Sehwag is his favourite cricketer of all-time as he was a real entertainer of the game.
“He is my favorite cricketer of all-time. He looked to hit the ball from ball one and probably the most entertaining player to play the game.”
For Langer, Agar opined that the left-handed batsman was a player he watched while growing up and he (Langer) influenced his career.
“He was always a player I watch growing up as a kid, a true Australian and I think he’s someone who had biggest influence on my career.”
For the number three position, Agar went with former Australia skipper and one of the most skillful batsman Ricky Ponting. The 26-year-old regarded Ponting as the greatest Australian batsman. Agar also made Ricky the captain of his all-time XI.
“I’ll have Ricky Ponting at number three, and he will be the captain as well. He was always the captain of the great Australian team, so I got to watch as a kid, and he’s probably Australia’s greatest ever batsman.”
For the next two places, Agar picked two world-class batsmen who literally dominated the cricketing world by their brilliance and outstanding display of batting. The Melbourne-born bowler picked India’s cricket icon Sachin Tendulkar at number four and West Indies’ genius Brian Lara for number five position.
Agar said that one couldn’t go past Sachin and his records. He revealed that he used to practice Sachin’s shots in his backyard. For Lara, Agar expressed that he made the game look easy and broke opposition’s bowling attacks.
For number six, Agar went with another Caribbean legend, Sir Viv Richards. The left-armer stated that it was hard for him to choose between Jacques Kallis and Richards, but eventually, he picked one of the greatest West Indies’ batsmen.
For the next three spots, Agar picked his countrymen. The western Australian selected Adam Gilchrist for the role of a wicketkeeper and the duo of Brett Lee and Shane Warne as the frontline bowlers.
Agar picked the remaining bowlers in the form of ‘Rawalpindi Express’ Shoaib Akhtar and one of the finest left-arm spinners Rangana Herath. Agar revealed that he tried to ball like Akhtar in his backyard with his brothers.
For Herath, Agar opined that his ability of bowling with consistency and mixture of changes in his pace was a treat to watch.
“Supreme Control, someone who didn’t get to play as much Test cricket as he should have because of Muttiah Muralitharan. Herath’s longevity is amazing, and he is just mastered his craft, and I respect him. Being a left-arm spinner I try to take things out of his bowling. Great accuracy, changes of pace, and angles and all. He is a pleasure to watch,” concluded Agar.
Here is Ashton Agar’s all-time World XI:
Virender Sehwag, Justin Langer, Ricky Ponting (c), Sachin Tendulkar, Brian Lara, Viv Richards, Adam Gilchrist (wk), Brett Lee, Shane Warne, Shoaib Akhtar, Rangana Herath.
