CricInfo announces star-stuffed line up for BT-sponsored All Time Asian XI
Ralph Dellor reports
Users of the world’s number one cricket web site, CricInfo, have been voting in their thousands to select an All Time Asian XI in a survey sponsored by BT Talk and Surf Together.
What an array of talent was available for selection! Just imagine being a selector and having the opportunity to pick a side containing some of the great names of world cricket.
That was the mouth-watering prospect for entrants in the survey who have come up with the following selection:
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- Sunil Gavaskar,
- Saeed Anwar,
- Sachin Tendulkar,
- Javed Miandad,
- Aravinda de Silva,
- Imran Khan,
- Wasim Akram,
- Kapil Dev,
- Wasim Bari,
- Waqar Younis,
- Muttiah Muralitharan
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The selection transcends national boundaries in that those who completed the survey did not simply chose players of their own nationality. They appreciated cricketing ability whatever country they came from. That is how there are six Pakistanis, three Indians and two Sri Lankans in the final eleven.
When it came to Bangladeshis, Aminul Islam was considered by CricInfo users to be closest of the current Bangladesh side to making the team.
It is difficult to fault the judgement of CricInfo’s users. Sunil Gavaskar is one of the all time greats of the game - technical perfection and limitless concentration in a small but mighty package. As an opening partner, Saeed Anwar has the ability to play a match-winning innings against any opposition.
There is no denying the number three spot to Sachin Tendulkar, while Javed Miandad has a wonderful record and Aravinda de Silva is still adding to his. Imagine the strokes from this middle-order trio following on from the openers!
It does not stop there. Wasim Bari’s wicket-keeping was peerless. Rated by his colleagues as the best, that assessment came from fellow wicket-keepers of the first rank.
In Wasim Akram and Imran Khan you have two of the finest all-rounders to grace the game. Both have had the added responsibility of captaincy and have shown that they can handle it, unlike some of the other outstanding players of their time.
The same could be said for Kapil Dev who is chosen primarily as a bowler, but one who could wield the bat with devastating effect. The same might not be said of Waqar Younis, about whom there can be no doubts about his right to be in the final team.
The record of Muttiah Muralitharan speaks for itself. There are some who have questioned the legality of his action, and some who still do, but he has overcome all those problems to emerge as one of the great wicket-takers in the game and still has plenty of time to establish himself at the very top of the list.
If there is any doubt about the quality of the selected eleven, just look at some of the names that could not make it. Men like Majid Khan, Ravi Shastri, Inzamam-ul-Haq, Zaheer Abbas, Hanif Mohammad, Farokh Engineer, Abdul Qadir, Bishen Bedi, Javagal Srinath, Bhagwat Chandrasekhar and Chaminda Vaas could not make the team.
Come to think of it, that is not a bad alternative eleven to take on the chosen side!
Is your team a bit different ??
Can Asian All time “B” team beat Asian all time “A” ??
