The great Mahendra Singh Dhoni was named captain in Aakash Chopra's ODI team of the decade. The former India skipper, under whom the country achieved glory at the 2011 World Cup and the 2013 Champions Trophy, was placed at the helm by Chopra, the ex Test cricketer-turned-commentator.
Chopra revealed his star-studded line-up in a video shared over his Facebook page, with three other Indians finding slots besides Dhoni.
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Dhoni was also given the No.5 batting spot in Chopra's well-balanced side.
"I have kept Dhoni at No.5. He is my captain and will be the third Indian in this team. You will also be having him, after all that is logical. So he is my captain and wicket-keeper, there is no doubt about it," Chopra was heard saying in the video.
Calling him an "amazing" batsman, Chopra picked limited-overs giant Rohit Sharma to open.
"The first name I am going to keep is Rohit Sharma. He will be the opener, he is an amazing player and his performances have been brilliant. He has struck three double centuries," he said.
To partner Rohit, Chopra selected South African great Hashim Amla.
"I was thinking if the other opener could be David Warner. He has also scored a lot of runs but I am going with Hashim Amla. He is a huge favourite of mine, he is a little under-rated but his numbers for the decade have been phenomenal."
For the middle-order, Chopra couldn't look past modern-day greats Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers.
"At No.3, you can close your keys and think and you will only get the one name, i.e. Virat Kohli. He will be in everyone’s team and even if you make an all-time XI."
"At No.4, I have got AB de Villiers. He has the ability to change the game single-handedly. If you jog your memory throughout the decade, you will find that he delivered every single time."
With Dhoni being a wicketkeeper batsman at No.5, Chopra looked for two all-rounders to further add balance and depth to his team. In that process, he identified Bangladesh's Shakib Al Hasan and Pakistan's Mohammad Hafeez for No.6 and 7.
"At No.6, I have got Shakib Al Hasan. Although I should have kept him up the order but there is no place. I also thought about Ben Stokes but I feel when you talk about the entire decade he is a little behind," he said.
“I have Professor Hafeez at No.7. Now, I have got depth. He is again not a lower order batsman but if he you see his stats, he makes runs at a fast pace and has taken wickets as well. So, I have two proper all-rounders and have all bases covered," Chopra added.
In the bowling department, Chopra went for variety and options who allow him to cover all basis. He picked three pacers – Lasith Malinga, Mitchell Starc and Jasprit Bumrah - along with wrist-spinner Imran Tahir.
Aakash Chopra’s ODI team of the decade:
Rohit Sharma, Hashim Amla, Virat Kohli, AB de Villiers, MS Dhoni (c & wk), Shakib Al Hasan, Mohammad Hafeez, Lasith Malinga, Mitchell Starc, Jasprit Bumrah, Imran Tahir
