Babar Azam snubbed as Wasim Akram names his all-time Pakistan-India combined ODI XI
The Swing of Sultan captained the Green Shirts in two World Cups
Former Pakistani captain and one of the greatest pacers of all time, Wasim Akram, picked his all-time combined Pakistan-India One Day International (ODI) XI.
Akram’s dream team had some of the greatest players from the two countries as names like Sachin Tendulkar, and Javed Miandad were included in the left-armer’s list.
However, Pakistan’s skipper, Babar Azam, was not included in the Swing of Sultan’s list of 11 players which left many fans and experts stunned.
Pakistan’s Saeed Anwar and India’s Virender Sehwag were the top two players in the 57-year-old’s XI.
The iconic opening duo is followed by Sachin Tendulkar, Miandad and Virat Kohli, completing the team’s middle order.
Imran Khan, a World Cup winner, is named the captain of Akram’s team which comes as no surprise. While Mahendra Singh (MS) Dhoni is included as a wicketkeeper.
The bowling of the XI includes Jaspirt Bumrah, Waqar Younis and Saqlain Mushtaq.
Wasim Akram's Combined Pakistan-India XI
Saeed Anwar, Virender Sehwag, Sachin Tendulkar, Javed Miandad, Virat Kohli, Imran Khan, Kapil Dev, MS Dhoni, Saqlain Mushtaq, Jasprit Bumrah, Waqar Younis
It must be noted that in his 20-year-long career, the Sultan of Swing took 916 wickets in 460 international matches in ODI and Test cricket.
He is also the second-fastest bowler to reach 500 international wickets in just 354 matches, only behind Sri Lanka’s mystery spinner Muttiah Muralitharan who reached the feat in 20 fewer matches.
Considered one of the greatest fast bowlers of all time, Akram was one of the keys to Pakistan's 1992 Cricket World Cup triumph in Australia.
He did not only take three important wickets — sending two English batters back to the pavilion for a duck — but also played a crucial knock scoring 33 off 18 deliveries with four boundaries at the strike rate of 183 in the final against England at Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG). He was also named the Player of the Match for his heroics.
He was the highest wicket-taker of the tournament with 18 scalps to his name
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