Former Sri Lanka cricketer Tillakaratne Dilshan picked his best ODI XI and Sachin Tendulkar was the only India player to make the cut. The team featured Sri Lanka legends Muttiah Muralidharan, Sanath Jayasuriya and Mahela Jayawardene along with the South African duo of AB De Villiers and Jacques Kallis. The captaincy, however, was not handed to any of his compatriots as Ricky Ponting was chosen to lead this star-studded team.
Dilshan chose to open the batting by the star duo of Jayasuriya and Tendulkar with West Indies legend Brian Lara at No. 3 and Jayawardene at No.4. Ponting was moved down the order to bat at No. 5.
“He (Jayasurya)’s one of the greatest openers for Sri Lanka. In 1996, I think he was one of the best attacking batsmen in the world. Compared to Sanath, Sachin was more stylish. He knew how to set up the game. He’s one of most experienced guys in the XI and has the most runs to his name in international cricket,” Dilshan told ESPN Cricinfo.
Dilshan was all praise for Kallis as he chose him as the all-rounder in the side and in a surprise move, he went with De Villiers as the wicket-keeper over celebrated Australia cricketer Adam Gilchrist.
“He (Kallis) is an easy pick because he was the best allrounder in the world. He can take the new ball, he can bowl in the middle overs and in the death. He was also one of the best batsmen I’ve seen, in all three formats.”
In the bowling department, Wasim Akram and Courtney Walsh were the top fast bowling options while Muralidharan and Shane Warne were the big names in the spin department. Dilshan lamented the fact that he was unable to include Glenn McGrath in the team and named him the 12th man.
Dilshan’s ODI XI: Sanath Jayasuriya, Sachin Tendulkar, Brian Lara, Mahela Jayawardene, Ricky Ponting, Jacques Kallis, AB De Villiers, Wasim Akram, Courtney Walsh, Muttiah Muralidharan, Shane Warne.
