Aaron Finch names India-Australia combined ODI XI team, Rohit Sharma misses out
Instead of Rohit Sharma as an opener, Aaron Finch went with India batting legend Virender Sehwag and Australia great Adam Gilchrist.
Australia captain Aaron Finch named his combined India-Australia ODI XI team and one surprise omission from it was India opening batsman Rohit Sharma. Rohit is regarded as one of the best players of the limited-overs cricket at the moment. He is the only player to register three double centuries in the format. Rohit had also scored five centuries at the ODI World Cup last year, becoming the first batsman to do so in a single edition of the tournament.
But instead of Rohit as an opener, Finch went with India batting legend Virender Sehwag and Australia great Adam Gilchrist.
Also read: ICC discussing COVID-19 substitutes for test matches, says ECB official
“Sehwag is my number one pick. He was so dominant. As soon he was on, the game was over. I want to go with Rohit Sharma, his record is amazing, but I want to watch Adam Gilchrist open with Virender Sehwag, hence I would pick Gilchrist,” Finch said.
“I will go with Ricky Ponting at no. 3 and then Virat Kohli at 4. It’s such a tough position to bat at no. five. I would probably pick Hardik Pandya at no. 5 and Andrew Symonds at no. 6 position,” the Aussie captain said.
The right-handed batsman then went on to pick former India captain MS Dhoni at no. 7 position. On being asked who would be the wicketkeeper in his team - Gilchrist or Dhoni - Finch said it does not matter.
“Dhoni is a cool head under pressure, he takes the team over the line, be it in IPL or international cricket. If the team is 3 for 10, he comes out and get the runs. If the team is chasing, he finds a way the team to get there,” Finch said.
Also read: ‘Them wristy flicks’: Mohammad Azharuddin brings back memories as he has a knock after ages
While deciding his bowling unit, Finch struggled to decided on a spinner. “I would pick Glenn Mcgrath, Brett Lee, and Jasprit Bumrah as my pace trio,” he said.While thinking of a spinner, he said: “Brad Hogg has such a great record, should I go with Harbhajan Singh or maybe Ravindra Jadeja to bat at eight to get extra batting option... I am unable to decide, who would I pick, I am saying players who I loved to watch, but I am unable to decide. It’s too hard to decide,” he said.
Aaron Finch all-time India-Australia XI: Virender Sehwag, Adam Gilchrist, Ricky Ponting, Virat Kohli, Hardik Pandya, Andrew Symonds, MS Dhoni, Brett Lee, (Undecided spin bowling option), Glenn McGrath and Jasprit Bumrah