The deadly coronavirus hasn’t gone yet, however, few countries have lifted the lockdown. Some people have returned to their job while some are still managing it via home. Meanwhile, cricketers from across the world are engaged in different activities.
In the past few days, many former and currently active cricketers have come up with their favourite batsmen/bowlers. Some have even named their best XI featuring cricketers from all around the world. Following the trend, Indian leg-spinner Piyush Chawla has revealed his all-time Test XI.
During the 2019 Indian Premier League (IPL) auctions, Piyush was roped in by Chennai Super Kings (CSK) for a whopping INR 6.75 cr. But, the 13th edition of the lucrative league couldn’t take place as BCCI had postponed the 2020 season for an indefinite time amid outbreak of COVID-19.
Surprisingly, Piyush didn’t name MS Dhoni in his all-time Test XI. For the wicket-keeper position, he picked legendary Australian Adam Gilchrist. To add more surprises, Piyush didn’t go with current Indian skipper Virat Kohli.
Piyush, in fact, selected only three Indians in his all-time XI. For the openers, he went with Virender Sehwag and Matthew Hayden. Sehwag played 104 Tests for Team India in which he scored 8586 runs at an average of 49.30 with 23 centuries and 32 fifties. Hayden, on the other hand, appeared in 103 Tests, and at a 50-plus average, he accumulated 8625 runs, with 30 tons and 29 half-centuries to his name.
Piyush named Ricky Ponting as his number three batsman. The former Aussie captain finished his Test career with 13378 runs with 11 hundreds and 62 fifties.
For the next two places, Piyush picked world-class batsmen who literally dominated the cricketing world by their brilliance and outstanding display of batting. The Aligarh-born bowler picked India’s cricket icon Sachin Tendulkar at number four and West Indies’ genius Brian Lara for number five position.
For the all-rounder, Piyush went with the quintessential Kapil Dev. The former India skipper appeared in 131 Tests and scored 5248 runs with eight centuries and 27 half-tons. He also bagged 434 wickets in red-ball cricket – second-most by any Indian bowler in the longest format of the game.
Among bowlers, Piyush selected Wasim Akram and Curtly Ambrose as pacers. Similarly, the leggie picked Shane Warne and Muttiah Muralitharan as spinners. Akram with 414 scalps is the leading wicket-taker for Pakistan whereas Ambrose with 405 scalps is the second-highest wicket-taker for West Indies.
Warne and Muralitharan, on the other hand, are leading wicket-takers in the history of Test cricket. Muralitharan is at number one spot with 800 scalps while Warne is at the second place with 708 wickets. Piyush named veteran South African Jacques Kallis as the 12th man in his all-time Test XI.
Here is Piyush Chawla’s all-time Test XI:
Virender Sehwag, Matthew Hayden, Ricky Ponting, Sachin Tendulkar, Brian Lara, Adam Gilchrist (wk), Kapil Dev, Wasim Akram, Shane Warne, Muttiah Muralitharan, Curtly Ambrose, Jacques Kallis (12th man).
