Two of the finest wrist-spinners in white-ball cricket, India’s Yuzvendra Chahal and Afghanistan’s Rashid Khan, during a recent interaction on Instagram, have picked their combined Indo-Afghan ODI XI.
Rashid had no hesitation in picking the lethal opening combination of Shikhar Dhawan and Rohit Sharma who have dominated world cricket, facing the new ball.
At number three, Rashid made the obvious choice of Virat Kohli, the best batsman in the world in ODI cricket currently.
Following Kohli, the leggie opted for teammate Rahman Shah, who has been ever-consistent for his country in the 50-over format.
The middle order of the combined XI comprised KL Rahul and MS Dhoni. Chahal prescribed a rotational policy for the all-rounders’ slot, between Hardik Pandya and Mohammad Nabi.
Both Pandya and Nabi have been marquee all-rounders for their respective countries for a substantial period of time by now.
The bowling lineup consisted of an Indian pace attack, namely, Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammad Shami; and Afghan spin attack consisting of Mujeeb-ur Rahman and Rashid himself.
Later, Chahal and Rashid came to an agreement of bowling five overs each, sharing their quota of overs.
Here is Chahal and Rashid’s India-Afghanistan combined XI:
Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan, Virat Kohli, Rahmat Shah, KL Rahul, MS Dhoni, Hardik Pandya/Mohammad Nabi, Rashid Khan, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami, Mujeeb Ur Rahman.
The 29-year old Afghan sensation has already made his mark in T20 franchise cricket worldwide. Rashid has excelled in top leagues around the globe, featuring for Adelaide Strikers (BBL), Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH), Quetta Gladiators (PSL) and Guyana Amazon Warriors (CPL).
