VVS Laxman picks India's best Test XI of last 25 years in England

Team India has come a long way in the last 25 years especially in the longest format of the game. They have notched up victories overseas and has witnessed some of the greatest cricketers like Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly and Rahul Dravid among many others. VVS Laxman was one of the fab four of the Indian batting line-up and he has now picked India’s best XI in the Test format over the last 25 years in English conditions.

He has selected Virender Sehwag and Murali Vijay as his preferred openers. They would’ve formed a perfect pair at the top with one playing cautiously and the other smacking the leather with utter disdain to put the opposition under pressure. Vijay has been recently dropped from the Indian team but he was been one of the most reliable players for the team during the 2014 tour and it was a no-brainer for selectors to pick him as the best opener on this tour as well.

Who is the captain?

VVS Laxman, while speaking to ESPN Cricinfo, selected Rahul Dravid as the number 3 batsman of his team and it must have been the easiest pick. He shone with 4 tons in 2011 when the whole team fell apart. Even if the World XI has to be picked, the Wall will make it at the first drop with the way he used to wear out the bowlers. Sachin Tendulkar is another obvious selection at 4whose immense temperament and technique stood out in testing conditions.

Two players with aggression are the next in the line-up. Virat Kohli and Sourav Ganguly, the current and former Indian captain, will form the perfect the batting order. Laxman also picked the Prince of Kolkata as the skipper of his team. MS Dhoni was another no-brainer as a wicketkeeper-batsman but his poor record as captain in the country might have gone against him while naming the captain of the team. An interesting point to note here is, India’s captain in three different eras will be playing in the same team and it already looking unbeatable.

Bowling attack

The bowling attack comprises of a lone spinner in Anil Kumble who didn’t need dustbowls to run through the oppositions. He used to make the ball talk even in dead English conditions for spinners. The pace attack is definitely a deadly one. Javagal Srinath, Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Zaheer Khan have made it to Laxman’s team. Though there are only four proper bowlers in the side, it is capable to pick 20 wickets in swinging conditions. Also, Ganguly was more than a part-time bowler and he also had the ability to swing the ball.

Here’s Laxman’s best Test XI of India (1993 to 2018)

Virender Sehwag, Murali Vijay, Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar, Virat Kohli, Sourav Ganguly (c), MS Dhoni (wk), Anil Kumble, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Javagal Srinath, Zaheer Khan

[interaction id=”5b83b0eccd0ad7bb3327301f”]

Keep following CricTracker for more news and updates.