Shahid Afridi names his all-time XI; picks only one Indian player

Shahid Afridi, during his international days, was known to go after the bowling from the word go. His aggressive instincts were exceptional and still mesmerises many with his batting in the T20 leagues across the globe. Having made his international debut back in 1996, Afridi has played with and against a lot of cricketers and when asked to pick his all-time XI based on the same, he picked some interesting players in his team.

He straightaway went for his former teammate Saeed Anwar as the first opener stating that elegant batsman used to bat like him attacking the opposition bowlers. Anwar was certainly one of the better Pakistan ever produced and he proved it scoring almost 13,000 international runs for his country with 31 tons in Tests and ODIs combined.

Shahid Afridi then picked Adam Gichrist to partner Anwar at the top of the order which is not surprising. The southpaw was famous to rip apart the opposition bowling attack irrespective of the format. Ricky Ponting and Sachin Tendulkar made it to number three and four of Afridi’s line-up. These legends are beyond numbers for what they’ve done for their country during their respective illustrious careers.

Shahid Afridi picks an interesting wicket-keeper in his all-time XI

Former Pakistan captain Inzamam-ul-Haq will bat at number five in this XI. Shahid Afridi played a lot under his captaincy and Inzamam was certainly one of the best batsmen during his playing days. The all-time best all-rounder Jacques Kallis, who is almost the part of all the XIs, is the next legend in this already world beating side. His all-round skills was always an advantage for his captain.

Having Kallis in the team helped Shahid Afridi in picking another specialist wicket-keeper in his team. He surprisingly went for Rashid Latif as the man behind the stumps despite having a player like Gilchrist in the team already. He played 37 Tests and 166 One-Day Internationals for Pakistan before hanging his boots in 2003.

Afridi went for one of the best pace attacks of all-time picking Wasim Akram, Glenn McGrath as his new ball bowlers and backed them up with the pace sensation of his own country, Shoaib Akhtar. While Akram was the best swing bowler of his generation and McGrath used to trouble the batsmen with his accuracy, Shoaib ruffled the opposition batters with sheer pace.

And it goes without saying that Shahid Afridi’s XI winded up with one of the best spinners in Shane Warne. Overall, the 40-year-old picked five players from Pakistan in his all-time team and the side is looking extremely strong.

Here’s his all-time XI: Saeed Anwar, Adam Gilchrist, Ricky Ponting, Sachin Tendulkar, Inzamam-ul-Haq, Jacques Kallis, Rashid Latif (WK), Wasim Akram, Shane Warne, Glenn McGrath, Shoaib Akhtar.

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