Rameez Raja leaves out Rohit Sharma, Shahid Afridi from India-Pakistan combined ODI XI
In his choice of a combined India-Pakistan ODI XI, Rameez Raja has left out Rohit Sharma and Shahid Afridi while picking Imran Khan as the captain of the side. The former Pakistan cricketer also named the likes of Virender Sehwag, MS Dhoni, Anil Kumble, and Virat Kohli in the aforementioned XI.
In a recent conversation with Sunil Gavaskar on Sony Ten Pit Stop, former Pakistan cricketer Rameez Raja revealed his all time preferred India-Pakistan combined ODI XI. Surprisingly, the team did not include the likes of Rohit Sharma and Shahid Afridi. Raja went for two Indian openers - Virender Sehwag with 8273 runs in 251 matches and Gavaskar, who amassed 3092 runs in 108 ODIs and was a part of India’s 1983 World Cup-winning team.
While Indian captain Virat Kohli found a place as the No. 3, next came the legendary Sachin Tendulkar in his list. For the number 5 spot, Raja chose former Indian captain Rahul Dravid. All of these three Indian batsmen have scored over 10,000 runs in the 50-over format.
Meanwhile, former India World Cup-winning captain MS Dhoni, who was last seen in the Indian team colours during 2019 World Cup semifinal against New Zealand, was picked by Raja as the wicketkeeper of the team. Further on, the sole all-rounder in the squad, Imran Khan, was named the captain by Raja. The former Pakistan captain had led the Pakistan team to a World Cup title in 1992.
Raja’s bowling attack included the likes of pacers Wasim Akram (502 wickets) and Waqar Younis (416 wickets) besides Imran Khan himself. Amongst spinners, India’s Anil Kumble and Pakistan’s Saqlain Mushtaq found their place in Raja’s XI.
Ramiz Raja’s India-Pakistan ODI XI team: Virender Sehwag, Sunil Gavaskar, Virat Kohli, Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, MS Dhoni, Imran Khan (Captain), Wasim Akram, Waqar Younis, Anil Kumble, Saqlain Mushtaq