Former Pakistan captain Ramiz Raja said that while he thinks it is a difficult proposition to pick an ODI playing XI out of the India and Pakistan players he has played with or against and those he has seen since, his son had a pretty simple suggestion to give him.
“I briefly discussed this with my son,” said Ramiz on Facebook live video chat on Sony Ten Pit Stop with former India skipper Sunil Gavaskar. “It’s a massive situation to be in, how to assemble a star caste of some giants of the game.
“But he said no it’s very simple, you have Pakistan bowlers and Indian batsmen in the line-up and you get a fantastic India-Pakistan XI.”
In keeping with this policy, Ramiz chose Virender Sehwag and Sunil Gavaskar, who was also on the show, as the openers of the line-up. Current Indian captain Virat Kohli comes in at no.3 while Sachin Tendulkar follows him at no.4. Rahul Dravid slots in at no.5 and is followed by M.S. Dhoni.
Imran Khan follows Dhoni and the 1992 World Cup winning former Pakistan captain is also the skipper of this team.
Among the bowlers, Ramiz made way for Anil Kumble as the only Indian representative while Wasim Akram, Waqar Younis and Saqlain Mushtaq made up the rest.
Ramiz Raja’s India-Pakistan ODI XI: Virender Sehwag, Sunil Gavaskar, Virat Kohli, Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, MS Dhoni, Imran Khan, Wasim Akram, Waqar Younis, Anil Kumble, Saqlain Mushtaq.