On the occasion of his 60th birthday, renowned commentator Harsha Bhogle on Monday (July 19) picked his all-time Indian Test XI, which features only two cricketers from the current team.

Speaking on Cricbuzz, Harsha opted to go with the legendary Sunil Gavaskar and dynamic Virender Sehwag as his openers.  

See Also: Harsha Bhogle turns 60; Indian cricket fraternity wishes him a very happy birthday

Gavaskar was the first batsman to break the 10,000 Test runs barrier whereas Sehwag was one of the most explosive openers of his generation.

For the No. 3 spot, Bhogle preferred the great Rahul Dravid followed by the batting maestro Sachin Tendulkar. While Dravid has 13288 Test runs to his name, Tendulkar holds the record for most Test runs (15921) and centuries (51).

India’s current skipper Virat Kohli occupies the No. 5 position in Bhogle’s team. Kohli is regarded amongst the finest batsmen of the modern era with 7547 runs and 27 tons to his name in the longest format of the game.

Slotted at No. 6, MS Dhoni is the designated wicketkeeper-batsman in Harsha Bhogle’s all-time India Test XI while Kapil Dev was named the pace bowling all-rounder. Both Dhoni and Kapil had fine Test careers and are credited for revolutionizing the role of wicketkeeper and all-rounder respectively.

Coming to the bowling department, Bhogle picked Ravichandran Ashwin and Anil Kumble as the spin twins of the team while he named Javagal Srinath and Zaheer Khan as pacers.

Ashwin (413 Test scalps) and Kumble (619 Test scalps) have created several records with the ball and their batting skills have been handy as well. On the other hand, Srinath (236 Test wickets) and Zaheer (311 Test wickets) were known for their ability to swing the ball.

Harsha Bhogle’s all-time India Test XI:

Sunil Gavaskar, Virender Sehwag, Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar, Virat Kohli, MS Dhoni, Kapil Dev, Ravichandran Ashwin, Anil Kumble, Javagal Srinath, Zaheer Khan