Former Australia spinner Shane Warne recently revealed his all-time IPL XI. Warne led Rajasthan Royals to their one and only IPL title win in 2008 and played in the league till 2011.
The master leg-spinner is also credited with reviving the art of wrist spin in limited-overs cricket when finger spin and fast bowling was taking precedent over other bowling forms. Warne picked 293 wickets in 194 ODIs for Australia, winning the 1999 World Cup in England.
Shane Warne picks his greatest Australian ODI XI; names Allan Border as leader of the pack
He had amazing battles with top-class batsmen throughout his career and played with some of the best bowlers who were his contemporary. Therefore, during an Instagram live session, Shane Warne came up with his greatest ODI XI, made up of players he had played against.
He picked two destructive openers of his time in Virender Sehwag and Sanath Jayasuriya. It gives him the left-hand/right-hand combination at the top with two batsmen who redefined how openers should play 50-over cricket.
At no.3, he has India’s Sachin Tendulkar who has the most no. of runs in the format and has scored 49 centuries in ODIs. He was also the first batsman hit a double ton in men's ODIs. Next comes in Brian Lara, an understated ODI player, given his achievements in Test cricket. He made more than 10,000 runs in the format in 299 ODIs with 19 centuries.
Kevin Pietersen and Kumar Sangakkara are the next two players in Warne’s greatest ODI XI, with Sangakkara keeping wickets. Andrew Flintoff is the all-rounder, while Daniel Vettori is the lone spinner in the XI chosen by Warne.
As for the quick bowlers, Warne went for Pakistan’s Wasim Akram and Shoaib Akhtar, along with West Indies great Curtly Ambrose. Akram was the first bowler to 500 ODI wickets, with two hat-tricks to his name, while Akhtar was the first to breach the 100 mph barrier in international cricket.
"If you look at this side, this is pretty amazing," Warne said on Instagram after naming his playing XI.
Shane Warne's greatest World ODI XI:
Virender Sehwag, Sanath Jayasuriya, Sachin Tendulkar, Brian Lara, Kevin Pietersen, Kumar Sangakkara (WK), Andrew Flintoff, Wasim Akram, Daniel Vettori, Shoaib Akhtar, Curtly Ambrose
