This century has seen some great Indian players come through the ranks, especially in Test cricket. And so has England. So, Cheteshwar Pujara and Nick Knight came together, to pick a combined IND and ENG XI of the century. What came as a surprise though, the likes of Rohit Sharma and Zaheer Khan did not make the cut to the team, and neither did current India coach Gautam Gambhir, in a contest on ESPNCricinfo.
Cheteshwar Pujara Misses Out on Rohit Sharma
The first man to be picked was, England skipper Ben Stokes, while Knight went on to pick Alastair Cook and Virender Sehwag as the choice of openers. Surprisingly, Pujara picked Alec Stewart as hic choice for the keeper-opener, while Rahul Dravid was his second opener.
Next came the turn of the pacers, and Knight went with the combo of James Anderson and Stuart Broad. Mohammed Shami was Pujara’s pick. In the middle-order, the Englishman went with Sachin Tendulkar and Kevin Pietersen.. Pujara went ahead with R Ashwin and Joe Root as the spinners, who of course do the job with the bat as well. Knight went ahead with MS Dhoni as keeper, and Graeme Swann as the spinner.
No Takers for Zaheer Khan
Pujara completed his team with the inclusion of Ravindra Jadeja and Virat Kohli; and also VVS Laxman and Andrew Flintoff. Meanwhile, talking about selection, the Indian management faces a stiff challenge in coming up with a perfect XI for the Manchester Test. The team is 2-1 behind, and the would like to include an extra pacer, given the nature of the wicket at Old Trafford.
Pujara’s India-England combined Test XI : Alec Stewart (wk), Rahul Dravid, Joe Root, Virat Kohli, VVS Laxman, Ben Stokes, Andrew Flintoff, Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin, Mohammad Shami, Jasprit Bumrah, Matthew Hoggard (12th man).
(*No same player could be picked by Pujara and Knight)
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