Virat Kohli named skipper in Ricky Ponting’s decade Test XI

Virat Kohli has been a feature of several XIs of this decade, with Ricky Ponting’s one to be the latest to feature the Indian skipper. Surprisingly, Kohli is the only Indian player to feature on the list this year, with no mentions to the leading wicket-taker of this decade, Ravichandran Ashwin or the pacer Jasprit Bumrah. Further, the Australian has picked up as many as four Englishmen in the squad much to the surprise of the Aussie fans. 

At the top of the order in Ponting’s line-up features England’s Sir Alastair Cook and the Australian southpaw David Warner. Kane Williamson bats at no.3 for the side, with the inclusion of the Steve Smith at No.4 in the batting order. Falling down in the pecking order, Kohli takes his place in the No.5 slot, as Kumar Sangakkara rounds up the specialist batsmen in the playing XI. 

English all-rounder Ben Stokes takes his place in the playing XI as the all-rounder, with four specialist bowlers to round off the XI. South Africa’s Dale Steyn takes his place in the team alongside the English duo of Stuart Broad and James Anderson who have performed exceptionally in this decade for their national side. Nathan Lyon is the sole spinner ahead of India’s Ravichandran Ashwin in what can be deemed as a controversial decision, with Ashwin leading the pack in terms of wickets this decade. 

Ricky Ponting’s Test team of the decade:

Alastair Cook, David Warner, Kane Williamson, Steve Smith, Virat Kohli (C), Kumar Sangakkara (wk), Ben Stokes, Dale Steyn, Nathan Lyon, Stuart Broad, James Anderson