Dinesh Chandimal picks Virat Kohli and Sachin Tendulkar in his all-time Test XI

The worldwide lockdown on sports has created a new trend where cricketers have come forward and made their all-time favourite XI. On Tuesday, Sri Lanka batsman Dinesh Chandimal joined in the action. He named his all-time Test XI of the players he has played with and against. His line-up comprised five players from Sri Lanka, two each from India and South Africa and a player each from England and West Indies.

For one of his opening slots, Dinesh Chandimal surprisingly chose Sachin Tendulkar. Even though, the Indian legend had a great career opening the batting in ODIs, he batted at no. 4 for the majority of his Test career. To partner Tendulkar, Chandimal chose former England captain Alastair Cook.

For the wicket-keeper’s role, he chose his former colleague Kumar Sangakkara. Next in line at no.4 was the current Indian captain Virat Kohli. Kohli and Chandimal both made their international debuts almost at the same time, but their careers have gone into different directions since then. At no.5, Dinesh chose the legendary West Indian batsman Brian Lara.

Mahela Jayawardene to lead Chandimal’s all-time Test XI

To captain his all-time XI, Dinesh Chandimal chose Mahela Jayawardene. He played a significant amount of his international career under the latter. The masterful right-handed batsman, Jayawardene is undoubtedly one of the best captains Sri Lankan cricket has ever had. South African veteran Jacques Kallis was the only all-rounder whom the wicketkeeper-batsman chose in his all-time XI.

In the bowling department, the 30-year-old did make some choices favouring his love for Sri Lankan cricket. He chose two spinners, Rangana Herath and Muttiah Muralitharan. Both the spinners had their distinct styles but were extremely effective. While Muralitharan took 800 wickets, Herath ended with 433 wickets in the longest form of the game. Other than his two spinners, Dinesh Chandimal selected two pacers in Dale Steyn and Chaminda Vaas.

As far as his Test career is concerned, the former Sri Lanka skipper made his Test debut in 2011. He has had several highs and lows so far. Having even had the captaincy of the team one time, Chandimal is one of the players who has been entrusted with the responsibility of carrying Sri Lankan cricket forward. He has played 57 Tests and scored 3877 runs at an average of 40.8.

Dinesh Chandimal’s all-time Test XI: Alastair Cook, Sachin Tendulkar, Kumar Sangakkara (WK), Virat Kohli, Brian Lara, Mahela Jayawardene (C), Jacques Kallis, Dale Steyn, Rangana Herath, Chaminda Vaas, Muttiah Muralitharan

Here’s his tweet: