All format India XI of all-time

Here are the 11 all-time greatest Indian players who can walk into India XI in any of the formats.

Indian team has always been flush with talents with both bat and ball since they made their international debut in cricket in 1932.

Indian team has seen some of the biggest stars in world cricket in every era right from Lala Amarnath, Vijay Hazare, Vijay Merchant to Sunil Gavaskar, Polly Umrigar, Bishan Bedi, B Chandrasekhar to modern greats like Sachin Tendulkar, Anil Kumble, Virat Kohli, and others.

However, the biggest strength for the Indian team has been that they have been blessed by players who were talented enough to mold and adjust themselves when it came to switching between formats since the advent of ODI cricket and T20I cricket.

Therefore Team COC presents to you an all-format India XI of all time.

Eleven players who are talented and skilled enough to walk into any of the Indian playing XI in any of the formats.

Please note that some of the players chosen in this India XI have not played the T20 format and have been chosen solely on their abilities, skills, and likeliness to adjust to new formats seamlessly.

VIRENDER SEHWAG
8586 runs in 104 Tests, 8273 runs in 251 ODIs, 394 runs in 19 T20Is with a total of 38 centuries

Virender Sehwag was a trailblazer of a kind when it came to his aggressive way of opening the innings, in Test cricket. A player with some faults in technique which was made up for by immense confidence and inhumane hand-eye coordination, Sehwag terrorized bowlers since 1999-2012 everywhere in the world.

Sehwag was the second batsman to hit a double century in ODIs and the first from India to hit a Test triple century. In fact, he is only one of the four batsmen in Test cricket to hit two triple hundreds. He was part of India’s T20 World Cup-winning team in 2007 and the 2011 World Cup-winning team as well.

He is a true great of the game when it came to hammering bowlers to all corners of the ground.

ROHIT SHARMA
2615 runs in 38 Tests, 9205 runs in 227 ODIs, 2864 runs in 111 T20Is with 3 double tons in ODIs

Rohit Sharma is the next best thing closest to Virender Sehwag when it comes to dominating the opposition bowlers. He might start off slowly, but has the knack for making huge scores in all three formats when he gets in.

He has 3 double-hundreds in ODIs, a record four centuries in T20Is, and a century in both innings of a Test for India. He also has a record five centuries in a single edition of the 50-over World Cup as well. Rohit Sharma just hit another gear when he started opening in 2013 and has become one of the most dangerous batsmen in all formats in international cricket.

VIRAT KOHLI
7490 runs in 91 Tests, 12169 runs in 254 Tests, 3159 runs in 90 T20Is with a total of 70 centuries

Virat Kohli is now to Indian cricket, what Sachin Tendulkar was for them in the 1990s, the pillar around whom the Indian batting revolves. He made his India debut in 2008 and now has 70 international centuries.

He is the only active batsman to average over 50 in all three formats of the game in international cricket, is the highest all-time run-getter at the moment in T20Is, and is the most successful captain India has ever had.

Virat Kohli not only walks into any Indian XI in any of the three formats but any XI of any team anywhere in the world.  

SACHIN TENDULKAR
15921 runs in 200 Tests, 18426 runs in 463 ODIs with a total of 100 centuries

Inarguably one of the all-time great batsmen the game of cricket has ever seen, Sachin Tendulkar holds quite a long list of batting records given his 24-year international career, which saw him becoming the first and only cricketer to play 200 Tests, a record 463 ODIs for India.

Though Sachin Tendulkar played a single T20I for India, he showed this immense talent and ability to adjust to the new T20 format, playing for the Mumbai Indians in the Indian Premier League (IPL), and even scored a century in the format as well.

Tendulkar evolved his game from time to time to update himself with the changing world of cricket and that is what made him an all-time great.

MOHAMMAD AZHARUDDIN
6215 runs in 99 Tests, 9378 runs in 334 ODIs with a total of 29 centuries

A surprise pick many would say, Mohammad Azharuddin was the first Indian to play 300 ODIs. Azharuddin is the only batsman to make three centuries in his first three Test matches and also scored a century in what turned out to be his last Test match.

Azharuddin led India in three ODI World Cups -1992, 1996, and 1999 and was one of the pillars of the team’s batting lineup in the 1980s and 1990s. He was also a terrific fielder in slips and covers and blazing fast in between the wickets.

Many might argue that Azharuddin might not be suited for T20 cricket, but anyone thinking it should go to YouTube and see his assault on Pakistan’s Ata-Ur-Rahman, who was clobbered for 24 runs in one over.

He would fit in easily in T20 cricket as a middle-order batsman, who could smash both spinners and fast bowlers on any kind of pitch and was quick in-between wickets as well, with his fielding being an added bonus.

MS DHONI (C&WK)
4876 runs in 90 Tests, 10773 runs in 350 ODIs, 1617 runs in 98 T20Is with 829 dismissals

MS Dhoni is perhaps the most successful wicketkeeper in modern times, given that he played all the three formats of international cricket, doing the most difficult job, keeping wickets. He started out as a hard-hitting batsman who could destroy bowling attacks at will, with decent keeping skills, and ended his career as one of the best wicketkeepers.

He is third on the list of most successful wicketkeepers with 829 dismissals and is the only middle-order batsman with more than 10,000 ODI runs under his belt. He was the first Indian keeper to his a double-century in Test cricket and the only captain to win all the three ICC trophies as well.

MS Dhoni is a dream pick for any fan or expert picking his/her all-time playing XI.

KAPIL DEV
5248 runs, 434 runs in 131 Tests and 3783 runs, 253 wickets in 225 ODIs

Another dream pick for any all-time playing XI is perhaps the greatest Indian all-rounder ever, Kapil Dev. Kapil did things his way and while his bowling was his main forte given that he picked 434 Test and 253 ODI wickets, his batting is often overlooked.

Kapil Dev was the first Indian batsman to score an ODI century and held the record for the highest individual score in ODIs when he scored 175* against Zimbabwe in the 1983 World Cup.

He has a hat-trick in ODIs and took perhaps the most important catch in the final of that World Cup to get rid of Viv Richards and ensuring India won the trophy. He was also the first batsman to hit four sixes in four consecutive balls in Test cricket as well.

Though again, it could be debated that Kapil Dev didn’t play T20 cricket in his career which ended in 1994, would anyone doubt his abilities both as a bowler and as a batsman while picking his/her all-time playing XI.

You get an opening fast bowler capable of bowling on any pitch and in any condition and a hard-hitting batsman who could be a pinch-hitter or a finisher.

RAVINDRA JADEJA
1954 runs, 220 wickets in 51 Tests and 2411 runs, 188 wickets in 168 ODIs and 217 runs, 39 wickets in 50 T20Is

Ravindra Jadeja is currently the modern-day Kapil Dev for India, given his recent rise as a batsman. Jadeja is obviously an amazing left-arm spinner with 220 ODI and 188 Test wickets to his name. But he also has a Test hundred to his name and recently has begun developing into a fine finisher for the Indian team in the limited-overs format as well.

Jadeja is also perhaps one of the best fielders the country has produced and his gun-throwing arm has a legion of fans, with videos of his direct hits having millions of views on social media. He is one of the best utility players one can ask for in any format.  

ANIL KUMBLE
619 wickets in 132 Tests and 337 wickets in 271 ODIs

Anil Kumble is regarded as one of the greatest spinners of all time and is the leading wicket-taker for India in international cricket with 619 Test wickets and 337 ODI wickets. He is also at no.3 in the all-time wicket-takers list in Test cricket.

Though the T20 format came quite late in his cricketing career, Kumble still managed to wow his fans in the IPL, even picking 5 wickets for 5 runs in one of the matches. Kumble could be used as a strike bowler to take wickets or as a run stopper if other bowlers went for runs. Kumble would fit in perfectly in T20 cricket as well, given his experience and skillset.  

ZAHEER KHAN
311 wickets in 92 Tests and 282 wickets in 200 ODIs

Zaheer Khan is possibly the greatest left-arm bowler produced by India and one of the all-time greatest in the world as well. Starting out in 2000 as an out-and-out fast bowler, Zaheer gradually evolved into a complete bowler by the time he retired in 2014.

Zaheer Khan developed the now-famous knuckleball which he used abundantly in the 2011 World Cup which India won. Zaheer Khan could take wickets up front and then come back to bowl the yorkers and stop the flow of runs in death overs as well.

He is is true all-format great bowler and someone who walks into any playing XI in any format for India.

JASPRIT BUMRAH
83 wickets in 19 Tests, 108 wickets in 67 ODIs and 59 wickets in 50 T20Is

Jasprit Bumrah might be the most inexperienced when compared to many others on this list, but he has done enough since his debut in 2016 for India and his record shows it. 83 wickets in 19 Tests, 108 wickets in 67 ODIs, and 59 wickets in 50 T20Is is evidence that Jasprit Bumrah might end up as an all-time great if he can remain fit throughout his cricketing career.

Bumrah’s action makes him hard to pick and he has added the slow ball and bouncer to his arsenal as well. He has shown what he can do in T20Is for both India and Mumbai Indians, while he has five-wicket hauls in Tests in England, South Africa, Australia, and West Indies and a Test hat-trick to boast of as well.

An all-time all-format India XI:

Virender Sehwag, Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Sachin Tendulkar, Mohammad Azharuddin, MS Dhoni (C&WK), Kapil Dev, Ravindra Jadeja, Anil Kumble, Zaheer Khan, Jasprit Bumrah