Proteas’ star batsman David Miller and former pacer Monde Zondeki have teamed up to pick South Africa’s all-time ODI XI.
Miller was given the responsibility of picking the top six, mainly the batting order, while Zondeki was on hand to round-off the bowling unit.
Miller opted for his teammate Quinton de Kock at the top of the order, instead of Graeme Smith, Herschelle Gibbs or Gary Kirsten, with Hashim Amla as his opening partner.
Jacques Kallis, AB de Villiers and captain Faf du Plessis are the next three batsmen in the lineup with JP Duminy completing the top six.
Zondeki went for all-rounder Lance Klusener as No. 7 with Shaun Pollock, Allan Donald and Makhaya Ntini as the three fast bowlers in the team.
Imran Tahir, who with his emphatic wrist deliveries yielded many wickets for the Proteas in the 50-overs format, is the lone spinner in the XI.
The ‘fast and furious’ Dale Steyn has been named as the 12th man in the team.
Miller and Zondeki’s Proteas all-time ODI XI:
Quinton de Kock (wk), Hashim Amla, Jacques Kallis, AB de Villiers, Faf du Plessis (c), JP Duminy, Lance Klusener, Shaun Pollock, Allan Donald, Makhaya Ntini, Imran Tahir, Dale Steyn (12th man).
Talking about David Miller, had it not been for the COVID-19 pandemic, the southpaw would have been participating in the 13th season of the Indian Premier League (IPL). Having made his IPL debut for Kings XI Punjab in 2012, Miller represented the franchise for eight years. In 82 IPL matches, Miller has scored 1,850 runs at an average of 34.26 and a strike rate of 138.78 including one century and nine half-centuries.
It was only in the IPL 2020 players’ auction that the 30-year-old cricketer was bought by Rajasthan Royals (RR). Miller, at RR, would have joined the squad that boasts of the likes of Steve Smith, Robin Uthappa, Sanju Samson, Ben Stokes and Jofra Archer.
