The Asian Giants- The Asian ODI XI

The Asian Giants- The Asian ODI XI: Asia is undoubtedly a cricket crazy continent. Cricket is widely renowned in countries like India, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Afghanistan and Nepal. The passion of the Asian fans for cricket is tough to emulate by fans of any other sport in the continent. We can see zealous fans shrouding the stadiums for matches, waving their national flags and playing the vuvuzelas and cheering their guts out for the team they support. Asia has always produced top class cricketers who have taken cricket to another level. Asian superstars have been indispensable in taking cricket across the global boundaries. Here is The Asian Giants- The Asian ODI XI 1. Rohit Sharma (India): Rohit Sharma. (© Getty Images) Rohit Sharma is the first entrant into the Asian XI. This guy makes batting look so ridiculously easy and is a silent assassin true to his nickname of hitman. He has a good cricketing brain, in addition to his incredible ingenuity with the bat. When in his signature flow, Rohit can easily be one of the more pleasing sights on a cricket field with his lazy elegance that is tough to replicate. Rohit averages 42 in ODI’s with 10 tons and 28 half tons. He was one of the paramount reasons why India lifted the Champions trophy in England. As an opener, he first takes time to settle down and then unleashes his aggressive brand of cricket in the end overs. He is a class player and one of the best in the world right now. 2. Tillakaratne Dilshan (Sri Lanka): (Photo Source: The HIndu) The Sri Lankan holds the patent for the innovative dil scoop. Dilshan is a very sensible opening batsman who reads the pace of the wicket quickly and makes appropriate adaptations. He averages almost 40 in ODI’s with 22 tons, which is tied with Sourav Ganguly and Virat Kohli. He is a dashing opener who starts off slowly but once when in the zone can decimate and unnerve any bowler. Dilshan can also be useful as a part time off spinner. He is also an excellent fleet-footed fielder with preposterous athleticism. These factors make him the apt candidate in our playing XI. 3. Virat Kohli (India): India’s batsman Virat Kohli celebrates his 100 runs against Australia during the third one-day international at the MCG in Melbourne on January 17, 2016. (Photo by SAEED KHAN/AFP/Getty Images) The young and dynamic batsman from India makes it into our playing XI. If you want to see aggression, talent and passion all combined in one, then that inestimable package is Virat Kohli. The player with his exceptional prowess and iron like temperament, and consistent performances has topped most batting charts in the past few years. He is currently India’s test captain. That speaks volumes of how steadily he has risen to greater heights. He averages over 52.93 in ODI’s and has 26 tons to his name in just 176 matches. He is also hailed as the master of run chases in ODI cricket today. 4. Mahmudullah (Bangladesh): Mahmudullah. (Photo Source: BCB) A class player from Bangladesh, Mahmudullah rose to eminence more sensationally after he hit 2 consecutive hundreds in world cup and propelled his side to reach the quarter finals. He was dropped from the Asia Cup squad in 2014, but has ever since comeback really stronger and has proved to be a pain in the back of his doubters. He is also a tidy off spinner and can be useful as a part timer. Emergence of players like him have restored confidence in the Bangladesh team and have ensured that Bangladesh cricket is in safe hands. 5. Shakib Al Hasan (Bangladesh): Shakib Al Hasan. (Photo Source: AFP) Shakib Al Hasan is arguably the best ever cricket production of Bangladesh. The skillful left-handed batsman averages 35 in ODIs with the bat and is a dexterous left arm spinner as well. Shakib created history by topping the ranking charts as the world’s number 1 all rounder in all three formats. Bangladesh have won a commendable 22 out of 47 games with him as captain. 6. Angelo Mathews (Sri Lanka): Captain of Sri Lanka Anjelo Mathews with the series winning trophy. (Photo By Seb Daly/Sportsfile via Getty Images) One of Sri Lanka’s most valuable players currently, Angelo Mathews has established himself as a top class all rounder in world cricket. He is one of the best finishers with the bat in the modern game and is a very useful fast bowler. Not only does he bowl and bat well, but also he is very energetic in the field and shows great athleticism and has a sound catching technique. He fits in our playing XI as a key all rounder. 7. MS Dhoni (Captain, wicket-keeper) (India): MS Dhoni (© Getty Images) Unquestionably the best captain in the world right now in the limited overs format, Dhoni has reached the pinnacle of success in all forms of the game both as a captain and as an excellent batsman in the 50 over game.A cool head as a captain, an eagle like sharpness as a wicketkeeper and a lion like splendour with the bat, swashbuckling captain averages a majestic 52 in ODI’s and is praised by numerous pundits as the best finisher that the game has ever seen. He averages over 100 in successful run chases and that is an irrefutable testimony to his incredible virtuosity with the bat. There can be no better candidate than MSD to do all the three jobs of captaining the team, batting and wicket keeping as effectively as him and so he is a natural choice in our playing XI. 8. Mohammed Shami (India): Mohammed Shami. (© Getty Images) The lethal Indian pacer averages a remarkable 24.89 with the ball in ODI’s and has made a name for himself as one of the top bowlers in the world in a short span of time. He can clock regularly over 140 kmph and hits the deck hard, generates great bounce and bowls at a good seam position than most. He has been MSD’s go to bowler in recent times. 9. Ravichandran Ashwin (India): R Ashwin. (Photo Source: BCCI) Ravichandran Ashwin is without a doubt one of the best in the business right now at what he does. He has been a reliable off-spinner for the Indian team and has been instrumental in the team’s success in the limited overs format of late. He also is a very useful lower order batsman who can thwack a few boundaries in the end. He has 142 wickets to his name in just 102 matches. 10. Wahab Riaz (Pakistan): Wahab Riaz. (© Getty Images) The fiery pacer from Pakistan bowled one of the greatest bowling spells of all time in the recently concluded world cup 2015. He is a natural wicket taker and was the third highest wicket-taker in ODI’s in 2014. He is a bit expensive but he makes up for it with moments of brilliance with the ball picking up wickets at regular intervals. 11. Lasith Malinga (Sri Lanka): Lasith Malinga. (Photo Source: Twitter) The Sri Lankan with a weird bowling action is one of the most deadly pacers in the world right now. He is a death overs specialist with his venomous yorkers and can reverse the ball dismantling any batsman. Malinga can easily unnerve any batsman and cause doubts in their minds with his fearsome bowling action and with his fiery pace. He has picked up 291 wickets in his illustrious career and is an automatic choice in our playing 11. (Stats Updated Till 01st January 2017)

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