Asia Cup 2018: Dhoni, Tendulkar, Imran and the all-time best India-Pakistan XI

Bengaluru, September 18: India and Pakistan have produced some great cricketers - from CK Nayudu to Fazal Mahmood. Several times in the past lot of debates had taken place to find an all time best India-Pakistan XI - overall, in Tests and in ODIs. And there will not be a better occasion to rekindle that topic than the eve of another India vs Pakistan match - this time in the Asia Cup 2018 at Dubai.

So, here's MyKhel presents you an all time best India-Pakistan ODI XI.

MOST MEMORABLE INDO-PAK ASIA CUP MATCHES

1. Sachin Tendulkar

With 18426 runs, most of it as an opener, and 463 ODIs against his name, Sachin Tendulkar is a natural choice at the pole position. One of the greats of the game, Tendulkar tortured bowlers - pace and spin alike - during his long career and stamped his class against bowlers like Allan Donald, Curtly Ambrose, Wasim Akram, Waqar Younis, Glenn McGrath, Shoaib Akhtar etc.

2. Saeed Anwar

Any team will like to have a right-left combination at the top and with Tendulkar already taking the right-hander slot, the southpaw has to be Saeed Anwar. An elegant and destructive batsman, Anwar made 8824 runs from 247 matches and his 194 against India stood the highest individual score in ODIs for a long time.

3. Rohit Sharma

In ODIs, five batsmen have crossed 200-run barrier for a total of eight times. And Rohit Sharma alone has done it three times with a highest of 264. He is capable of anchoring the innings or taking the attack to the opposition and has a stunning array of shots. Perhaps, the only contemporary batsman who can equal Virat Kohli shot for shot. A perfect fit at No 3.

4. Virat Kohli

By the time, Kohli, currently the all-format skipper of India, finishes his career, there will be no sky beyond him. At least, his current form indicates that. From 211 ODIs, he has scored 9779 runs at 58.20 with 35 hundreds. And he is a master chase orgainser too.

5 Javed Miandad

After all those, sparkling stroke makers at the top, the middle order cries out for a batsman who is solid and one who can bat around them. And Miandad fits that bill easily. He was one of those batsmen of the 80s who adapted well to the ODI format. His game was not built around power but more on placing and ability to take singles and twos and immense will power. His 7381 ODI runs and that last ball six against India at Sharjah will testify his ability and utility.

6. MS Dhoni (Capt/Wicketkeeper)

Dhoni is a heady package. A brilliant one-day batsman who is capable of orchestrating finishes with perfection, efficient wicketkeeper and a good and calm leader of men. He has scored more than 10046 from 321 ODIs at 51.25. He is a batsman capable of running tirelessly between the wickets to courier the ball to the stands with equal felicity. Of course, he is one of the most decorated captains too - winner of 50-over World Cup (2011), World T20 (2007) and Champions Trophy (2013).

7. Kapil Dev

A terrific all-rounder in the ODI format. He has played 225 ODIs taking 253 wickets and scored 3783 runs but more than those numbers his strike-rate 95.07 was futuristic. A perfect player to get a few quick runs or to end the chase in a jiffy.

8. Imran Khan

A quick and cunning bowler with a strong character on and off the field, Imran, also a World Cup winner in 1992, could have led the side. But he necessarily need not to don the captain's armband to instil confidence in players around him. He has played 175 ODIs picking up 182 wickets and scored 3709 runs.

9 Wasim Akram

A magician with the ball. Akram was the first bowler to take 500 wickets in ODIs and for someone who operated in the most trying conditions for a bowler - opening and slog overs - he maintained an economy of 3.8 over 356 ODIs. He was a pretty handy lower-order batsman too.

10. Anil Kumble

For a leg-spinner, Kumble was on the coin always. He gave no freebies to batsmen and competed with grit. At his peak, the tail-enders stood no chance against him. 337 wickets from 271 ODIs will give one of the spinners slot.

11. Saqlain Mushtaq

In many ways, Saqlain was a trendsetter. He was the first bowler to master that variation 'doosra' and reaped good amount of success. His bag of tricks kept the opposition guessing most of the time evidenced by 288 wickets from 169 matches.