Ganguly picks all time Indian test XI. Picks himself.

[Raghav_12]

No place for Bedi, Chandra, Prasanna in Ganguly's all-time best Indian Test XI Lol.. he picks himself in test 11, ahead of VVS and others. :hysterical: http://sports.ndtv.com/cricket/news/212475-no-place-for-bedi-chandra-prasanna-in-gangulys-all-time-best-indian-test-xi

No one from the legendary Indian spin troika of Bishan Bedi, Bhagwat Chandrasekhar and Erapalli Prasanna figure in Sourav Ganguly's all-time best Indian Test team. In what was a "tough choice" for Ganguly, Harbhajan Singh and Anil Kumble have made the cut as the only two spinners in the Test squad that has VVS Laxman as 12th man. Ganguly named his best ODI and Test XIs on a TV channel on Thursday. Unlike the 1983 World Cup-winning captain Kapil Dev who did not include himself in his all-time best Indian ODI team, Ganguly didn't hesitate to name himself in both the ODI and Test teams he picked. While he has chosen himself as Sachin Tendulkar's opening partner in ODIs, Ganguly feels his position at the top of the Test batting order could only be 'challenged' by Gundappa Viswanath, whose batting average (41.93) is marginally less than his own (42.17). Although they played in different eras and against different kinds of attacks, Ganguly has 113 Test caps to Vishy's 91 and scored 16 hundreds to the Little Master's 14. At a time when ODI rules were transforming, Ganguly redefined batting by making the most of the advantage of fielders inside the circle. Between 1996 and 2007, Ganguly and Sachin Tendulkar produced a torrent of runs to become the most successful opening combination in the history of 50-over cricket. With a staggering 21 century opening partnerships, a world record, the pair produced 6609 runs from 136 innings at an average of 49.32. Opening combinations have been a matter of great debate in Indian cricket. The post-Ganguly era has seen several combinations with Virender Sehwag and Tendulkar standing out as the fourth most successful combination with 3919 runs at an average of 42.14. The next best India duo is Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir - 1870 runs in 38 innings with a good average of 50.54. Ganguly has picked Sunil Gavaskar and Sehwag as India's best ever Test openers. Interestingly, Rahul Dravid figures in Ganguly's Test XI and as the 12th man in the ODI team. Test cricket is considered the true benchmark of a player and Dravid's position at No. 3 speaks for the fact that Ganguly has always believed in specialists. Considering this aspect, Mahendra Singh Dhoni is in both the ODI and Test teams. It effectively means, Ganguly has rated Dhoni above a Syed Kirmani, who most believe has been India's technically best. Dhoni's presence in both Test and ODI teams expresses Ganguly's respect for the current Indian captain. In a recent interview to NDTV.com, Ganguly had acknowledged Dhoni's immense contribution to Indian cricket but refused to say whether he was India's best ever skipper. "You can't compare anyone. Every era has its uniqueness," Ganguly had said. Ganguly has always been credited for mentoring the careers of Sehwag, Yuvraj Singh and Zaheer Khan. It is no surprise then that he has picked India's 2011 World Cup hero Yuvraj in his ODI squad. Zaheer figures in both squads, alongside Javagal Srinath. Just like Kapil Dev, Ganguly has picked Ravindra Jadeja in his ODI XI. It speaks about Jadeja's enormous talent and probably tells why Dhoni addresses the Saurashtra cricketer as "Sir." Dhoni has himself acknowledged Jadeja as India's best No. 7 cricketer. Ganguly has only corroborated this fact. (Related read: Nobody knows the real MSD, says Gavaskar) The other youngster to figure in Ganguly's ODI team is Virat Kohli. The Delhi star's growing stature in international cricket is being noticed by the game's pundits and hasn't escaped Ganguly's attention. "He is superbly skilled and has enormous potential. He has learnt from his mistakes and is a different cricketer now," Ganguly had said. Tendulkar, Kapil, Sehwag, Dravid, Dhoni, Zaheer, Srinath, Kumble are common to the ODI and Test teams. But interestingly, there is no place for Bedi, Chandrasekhar or Prasanna. Probably, Ganguly doesn't believe in the concept of "buying" wickets but Chandrasekhar's absence from at least the ODI team seems debatable. Harbhajan Singh's ability to swing the willow and fetch a few good runs down the order may have swung the vote from Prasanna, but old-timers will probably disagree. Picking all-time best Indian or world teams is never an easy task. But both Kapil and Ganguly have indicated that any team must have the right balance of youth and experience. And of course, the right man to lead. Interestingly, Ganguly doesn't name a captain in either of the teams. With Dhoni bagging every piece of ICC silverware a captain can possibly dream of, he has left the debate to the imagination of the connoisseur. Teams: ODI XI: Sachin, Sourav, Sehwag, Kohli, Dravid,Yuvraj, Dhoni, Kapil, Jadeja, Kumble/Srinath, Zaheer Text XI: Gavaskar, Sehwag, Dravid, Sachin, Sourav/Vishy, Dhoni, Kapil, Harbhajan, Kumble, Srinath, Zak. 12th: VVS

[FischerTal]

and some people want Dada to be Indian team coach after Duncan :phehehe:

[FischerTal]

harbhajan better than bedi? somebody should have told ganguly not all sardars look the same :cantstop:

[div]

:hysterical::hysterical:

[gattaca]

He didnt pick VVS after that 281 under his captaincy. shocking..

[Laaloo]

Good team. Should have picked Laxman ahead of Dravid. Dravid is virtually nonexistant against good bowling attacks

[FischerTal]

Good team. Should have picked Laxman ahead of Dravid. Dravid is virtually nonexistant against good bowling attacks

he picked himself :poink:

[Cricketics]

Dhoni's stats for test doesn't prove him anywhere close to being India's no. 1 test wicket keeper. Nayank Mongia would have been a strong contender alone or Kirane more. If Dhoni is the captain of the team, then differen tthing all together. Even Farooq Engineer might have better chance of making to all time INdian x1 as keeper

[SLICKR392]

This answers MTC's query of yesterday. :cantstop: Nothing wrong about it if you are a Bradman or a Sobers and picking him ahead of VVS, comedy. Whose leading the Test side?

[jalebi_bhai]

He didnt pick VVS after that 281 under his captaincy. shocking..

Think his average record against England and South Africa may have been the reason.......:dontknow:......I honestly don't think I'd have Dhoni in my all time Test XI......would much rather have Farokh Engineer.......

[cowboysfan]

why would he pick prasanna? I would personally not pick Bhajji at all.

[Cricketics]

No wonder Kiran More dropped him during his stint as a selector. Hence, Ganguly didn't pick him in the Indian line up :)

[G_B_]

this picking the best team is like a poisoned chalice. I feel sorry for the likes of Vijay Hazare (after whom a trophy is named). From a bygone era which today nobody wants to appreciate.

[The Outsider]

I saw this show on TV(Headlines Today?) yesterday and the dumbass anchor picked Ganguly at number 5 for tests and as opener for ODIs before asking him to pick the remaining 10.

[BeautifulGame]

Even for all time XI Ganguly picks 7 bat and 3 bowlers(and Kapil).His love for part timers :cantstop:

[India-KXIP fan]

Not sure why this is surprising. The person himself is picking team! Obviously he'll pick himself cause he's confident in himself and that he'll fit right in. As a neutral though Id say Ganguly would not make that team as a batsman ahead of some others.

[kumar713]

sh!t team:facepalm:Laxman should have been in that team.

[Trichromatic]

Think his average record against England and South Africa may have been the reason.......:dontknow:......I honestly don't think I'd have Dhoni in my all time Test XI......would much rather have Farokh Engineer.......

He did well against SA.

[jalebi_bhai]

He did well against SA.

averaged 37.5 against them overall in his Test career.......not too bad......but nothing to write home about.......better than Dravid and Ganguly though......

[rkt.india]

Dhoni's stats for test doesn't prove him anywhere close to being India's no. 1 test wicket keeper. Nayank Mongia would have been a strong contender alone or Kirane more. If Dhoni is the captain of the team, then differen tthing all together. Even Farooq Engineer might have better chance of making to all time INdian x1 as keeper

:cantstop: