Best players in the world??

[expoking]

If cricket was run like american sports and all of the players in the world had to be assigned to teams, which player would be chosen first, as in which player is the best player to build a team around in all forms of the game. 1) AB de Villiers: He is already a very good batsmen and potentially a great batsmen, and electric fielder and capable of keeping wicket. An aggressive cricketer who has scored runs all over the world in test cricket, and is a very good limited overs player. He is only 27 and doesn't get injured so he still has 7-8 years in him. 2) MS Dhoni: Although he does have great players he is a very good captain. Versatile player capable of filling any role in the batting line in limited overs cricket, and a decent test batmen. A gritty player that leads from the front. I would have at 1 but he will be 30 in a couple of months so AB's extra years give him the edge. 3) Gautam Gambhir: A proven performer in all formats of the game, he is an aggressive player with an aggressive attitude, a potential leader who has lead from the front previous occasions. Other guys that could potentially be high picks: Steyn: Although he is a fast bowler and their shelf life is always shorter than batsmen. Cook: Seems to be a one format player. Kohli: Unproven in test cricket but very promising. Who do you think would be top picks?

[Alchemist]

No team can Pass on "GOD"'s blessings !!!

[prinzo]

Jacque Kallis , i say no more , show me a cricketer with better stats than his his bowling and batting combined

[satyam1729]

Jacque Kallis , i say no more , show me a cricketer with better stats than his his bowling and batting combined

He is a epic choker . One of the main reason SA struggles at major tournaments.

[ganeshran]

Sachin??

[Dhruv200]

SRT the greatest batsman of all time the greatest cricketer of all time.

[Sachin=GOD]

Sachin??

I think OP is asking for "best among the rest" :winky:

[ganeshran]

I think OP is asking for "best among the rest" :winky:

Of course

[Raghav_12]

I think OP is asking for "best among the rest" :winky:

Has to be :winky:

[Ranjha]

The entire odi team Sachin Tendulkar Virendra Sehwag Gautam Gambhir Jacques Kallis (allrounder) Yuvraj Singh (allrounder) AB De Villiers MS Dhoni © (wk) Graeme Swann Dale Steyn Zaheer Khan Latish Malinga

[expoking]

No no no, the point is who is the best player to BUILD A TEAM AROUND. I agree with everyone Sachin is the best player in the world, but he will only be around for another 3-5 years fingers crossed. Who is the player for both forms of the game and still has alot of their career left, and being flexible would help, like Dan Vettori would be great but he's in his 30's.

[Ultimate_Game]

If I have to build the team right now Dhoni would be my first pick. Period. He won IPL and Chamipons League without a standout pacer other than Bollinger! And he did the same with India at the world cup with Zaheer!!! The guy's a winner pure and simple. As for the other talented I would go with the following.... Gambhir - He always stands up when the going gets tough. If the situation's tough you can count on him to deliver plus he seems to be a good captain as seen by some of the decisions he took when he captained India to a whitewash over NZ recently. Kohli - He has the right attitude and will go places. I see a great potential in him and is a future India captain. I would pick him up for my franchise deinitely as he also has age on his side. AB De Villiers - Same as Kohli but slightly older. These are the 4 players I would build my team around - Dhoni for sure and if I can't get him try to get 2 of Gambhir, Kohli and De Villiers.

[abhinav]

Sehwag - He is the game changer and destroyer of opposition morale around whom you can build a team. He takes care of so much himself that the rest of the players can feel comfortable being their natural selves. He still has got over 5 years of top class cricket left in him.

[Pak_Forever]

Does Kohli play T20? That guy should be kept far away from that format and should be groomed for Test cricket.

[abhinav]

Kohli averages 25.40 in T20s with a strike rate of 129. Fairly good I'd say and he is only getting better.

[Ultimate_Game]

Does Kohli play T20? That guy should be kept far away from that format and should be groomed for Test cricket.

He does and was instrumental in taking B'lore Royal Challengers to IPL semis and Champions league final. That's why he was the only player B'lore retained. His calmness under pressure, especially while chasing was amazing and that was one of the reasons he was brought into the Indian odi team. He, like Gambhir, is one of the few Indian players who are able to adapt to multiple formats and are successful in all of them. I'm sure Kohli will soon be playing in all 3 formats for India soon.

[Pak_Forever]

He does and was instrumental in taking B'lore Royal Challengers to IPL semis and Champions league final. That's why he was the only player B'lore retained. His calmness under pressure, especially while chasing was amazing and that was one of the reasons he was brought into the Indian odi team. He, like Gambhir, is one of the few Indian players who are able to adapt to multiple formats and are successful in all of them. I'm sure Kohli will soon be playing in all 3 formats for India soon.

IPL is fine, but i meant international T20s. Don't you think he would be better off by staying away from that format? Its hard to buy an argument like promising young players don't get affected at Test cricket level by regularly participating in T20s.

[Ultimate_Game]

IPL is fine, but i meant international T20s. Don't you think he would be better off by staying away from that format? Its hard to buy an argument like promising young players don't get affected at Test cricket level by regularly participating in T20s.

I would keep all the top stars from T20 if I could. I mean I don't want the likes of Dhoni, Kohli, Yuvraj, Zaheer, Harbhajan etc. to play T20s at all. T20 should be to give exposure to upcoming or fringe players. But you can't keep away players from IPL as that's where the money is. Most of India's top players are earning in the range of $1.5 - 2.2 million for 6-8 weeks of cricket and it's unfair for us to expect them tp not make that sort of money. Unfortunately that's how things are and I am resigned to the fact that we will have early player burn-outs and injuries. But the upside is that we will unearth lot of talent as well. Earlier not many ppl took to cricket as if you didn't make it to national team you had no future. But now even if you make it to IPL, which a decent player should be able to, the minimum salary is $30000 per year which is quite a lot if you are in India.

[ravishingravi]

Does Kohli play T20? That guy should be kept far away from that format and should be groomed for Test cricket.

This

[Ranjha]

If its odis or t20s, I will build the team around Yuvraj Singh simply because the guy wins you the big tournaments for eg under 19 wc, wc t20 2007 and worldcup 2011.....one common factor...yuvi was the standout performer. and now with his bowling and fielding(back to best again) he provides perfect balance to the team as an allrounder. For tests, I will build the team around Laxman. The guy wins you matches in crunch situations both home and away and can bat with the tail.