Krishnamahcari Srikkanth snubs MS Dhoni from his greatest World Cup XI

Krishnamachari Srikkanth, the former Indian cricketer, recently picked his greatest World Cup XI. Prior to the first semi-final of the 2019 edition of the mega event, the International Cricket Council (ICC) released a video where Srikkanth can be seen picking his eleven. Srikkanth picked the left-right combination of Sachin Tendulkar and Adam Gilchrist as his opening batsmen.

Currently, the legendary Tendulkar holds the record of the most runs in a single World Cup edition (673) and he achieved the feat in 2003. Gilchrist was a part of the 1999, 2003 and 2007 World Cup-winning Australian team. Justifying his decision to pick the southpaw, the 59-year-old Srikkanth mentioned: “Why Adam Gilchrist? He can tear the bowling apart.”

Three Indians in Srikkanth’s lineup

At number three, he went for the dynamic Sir Vivian Richards. He hailed the former West Indies batsman as the greatest batter he has been a witness to. “Probably the greatest ever batsman I have ever seen,” Srikkanth, who was a part of the 1983 World Cup-winning team, said. For the number four slot, Srikkanth went for Virat Kohli, the current Indian captain.

Virat scored a ton in his debut World Cup match against Bangladesh in 2011 and from there on, he hasn’t looked back. Ricky Ponting, who played the match-winning knock against India at the Wanderers in 2003, was Srikkanth’s number five in the lineup. Ponting was followed by another Aussies- Steve Waugh, who’s remembered as one of the most calm-headed batters Australia has produced.

Kapil Dev, under whom Srikkanth played in the 1983 World Cup, also found a place in the eleven. However, he didn’t pick MS Dhoni, who won the tournament for India after 28 years in 2011, in the team. Sultan of Swing Wasim Akram is the only Pakistani in his eleven.

Glenn McGrath and Malcolm Marshall are the other speedsters that Srikkanth picked. Even after 12 years from his retirement, McGrath is still the leading wicket-taker in the World Cup with 71 wickets from 39 matches. Sri Lankan great Muttiah Muralitharan is Srikkanth’s lone specialist spinner.

Here is Srikkanth’s eleven

Sachin Tendulkar, Adam Gilchrist, Viv Richards, Virat Kohli, Ricky Ponting, Steve Waugh, Kapil Dev, Wasim Akram, Muttiah Muralitharan, Malcolm Marshall, Glenn McGrath