The ODI format was something that was invented out of necessity. The first-ever ODI was played between Australia and England on 5 January 1971 at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.
This happened because the first three days of the third Test were washed out, and the officials decided to abandon the match and play a 40 eight-ball overs per side match to give something back to the public.
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However, the limited-overs cricket came into its fore thanks to Kerry Packer’s World Series of Cricket, which brought much of the innovation we see today. Drop-in pitches, colored clothing, white balls, and many other such things which are common nowadays were first introduced during that time.
From then on, the ODI cricket has become one of the most favored formats in teams and viewers alike and has seen the West Indies, Australia and India winning the World Cup multiple times, with Sri Lanka, England, and Pakistan winning it once.
With the Asian continent dominating the ODI scene for a long time, Team COC presents to you the Best Current Asian XI in ODI cricket.
We start with the openers and who better than Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan. The Mumbaikar holds the record for most double hundreds (3) in the format and the highest score (264) as well.
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While the left-hander from Delhi has also made a name for himself, especially in the ICC events. The duo has added 4802 runs in 107 matches together with the highest partnership being 210 and 14-century partnerships between the two.
Virat Kohli (11867 runs in 248 matches) and Babar Azam (3359 runs in 74 ODIs), along with KL Rahul (1239 runs in 32 ODIs) form the middle order of this best Asian ODI XI. Kohli is undoubtedly the greatest modern-era batsman in the format and averages close to 60 with 43 centuries to his name.
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Babar Azam, in his short career, has scored 11 centuries and averages 54.20 in 74 ODI matches. These two batsmen have ruled the 50-over format for a while now, is considered to be the best from their respective teams.
KL Rahul has really gotten into his own in recent times and will keep wickets in this XI. He is the lone Indian to date to score a century on ODI debut and currently is the most reliable batsman in the Men in the Blue side.
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Rashid Khan, Shakib Al Hasan and Hardik Pandya are all-rounders in our current best ODI XI. Shakib is widely regarded as the best player produced by Bangladesh and his record of 6323 runs and 260 wickets in 206 ODIs show that.
He has scored 9 centuries as well, and in the recent 2019 World Cup, he scored two centuries making him perhaps the best Asian all-rounder at the moment.
Hardik Pandya might have been out of the Indian team for quite some time due to his back injury, but the impact he has had since his debut is remarkable. He has brought amazing balance to the team and both his hitting abilities at the lower middle order and ability to bowl decent 10 overs every match, make him an automatic choice in any XI.
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Rashid Khan is perhaps one of the freshest talents to come out of Asian cricket recently. The Afghan leg-spinner has 133 wickets in 71 ODI matches with a best of 7/18 and is considered to be a game-changer, with his ability to rattle the batsmen with his quickish leggies.
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Next, we have the fast bowling contingent starting with young Pakistani left-armer Shaheen Shah Afridi. The 20-year-old has quite an impact for the team, picking 40 wickets in 19 matches for the Green Army, with best bowling figures of 6/40. His raw pace, ability to bowl yorkers at will and pick wickets whenever he wants is what makes him special.
Mohammad Amir is another ‘young’ pacer, who had made quite a splash in 2009 during his debut as a 17-year-old. However, after losing five years to spot-fixing, he made a brilliant return to the Pakistani team and no one will forget him routing India’s top-order in the finals of the ICC Champions Trophy 2017 in England. He has 81 wickets in 61 ODI matches to his name with the best bowling of 5/30.
Last but not least comes Jasprit Bumrah, who has become a force to reckon with since his debut in 2016. With 104 wickets in just 64 ODIs with the best of 5/27, Bumrah has given India a new dimension with his pace and yorker bowling abilities. He is there whenever the captain needs a wicket at any point in the game.
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This Asian best ODI XI is enough to give competition to any team of any caliber in the world.
Current Best Asia ODI XI:
Rohit Sharma (IND), Shikhar Dhawan (IND), Virat Kohli (C-IND), Babar Azam (PAK), KL Rahul (WK-IND), Shakib-Al-Hasan (BAN), Hardik Pandya (IND), Rashid Khan (AFG), Shaheen Afridi (PAK), Mohammad Amir (PAK), Jasprit Bumrah (IND)
