The all-time India ODI XI, based on the ICC rankings

The team is the stuff of dreams (just like the all-time world XI), filled with both superstars of the yesteryear and some of the world’s current best. Given that most of India’s greatest one-day batsmen have been from the top order, the batting line-up might seem a bit off, with more than one player taking an unusual spot.

It does make the entire exercise fascinating though, with a balanced set of the top four batsmen, top wicketkeeper, top two all-rounders, and top four bowlers in the ICC rankings.

Rohit Sharma

ICC all-time batting ranking: 16 (885 points v Sri Lanka, 06/07/2019)

227 matches, 9,205 runs @ 48.96, SR: 88.90, 29 100s, HS: 264

Who wouldn’t relish a Rohit Sharma-Sachin Tendulkar pairing, even if it means separating one-day cricket’s most iconic opening duo? Rohit’s 14-year-long one-day career essentially got going only post-2013, when his promotion to one-day opening gave birth to a trendsetter in the role. Rohit has crossed 150 in an ODI innings eight times and has averaged over 50 every calendar year since 2013. Surprisingly enough, Rohit has never reached the top of the rankings, his best spot being No.2.

Sachin Tendulkar

ICC all-time batting ranking: 15 (887 v Zimbabwe, 13/11/1998)

463 matches, 18,426 runs @ 44.83, SR: 86.23, 49 100s, HS: 200*

In an impressively long career, Tendulkar stacked up the best numbers by any ODI batsman, but it was his lasting impact on Indian cricket, more than anything else, that highlights his legacy. A run-machine right from his teens, Tendulkar represented India for 22 years, scoring the most centuries, half-centuries and runs in the format, among several other records. From 1998 up until his retirement in 2012, his ODI average never dropped below 40.

Sourav Ganguly

ICC all-time batting ranking: 29 (844 points v South Africa, 17/03/2000)

311 matches, 11,363 runs @ 41.02, SR: 73.70, 22 100s, HS: 183

Ganguly drops down to three, much like he did during certain phases in his career to accommodate other opening pairings with Tendulkar. In the late Nineties and the early half of the 2000s, Ganguly was an integral part of India’s white-ball success, often setting the tone upfront with his glittery stroke play, where he was especially brutal towards spinners. In 2000, a year in which he scored seven ODI hundreds, he reached his career best second spot in the rankings.

Virat Kohli

ICC all-time batting ranking: 6 (911 points v England, 12/07/2018)

254 matches, 12,169 runs @ 59.07, SR: 93.17, 100s: 43, HS: 183

A modern-day great whose run-making prowess is almost mechanical, Kohli might just end up constructing the greatest one-day career of all by the time he signs off. Among his greatest traits are his razor-sharp accuracy at finding gaps, swift running between wickets and timely acceleration of his innings, especially in a chase. Kohli’s century tally is bettered only by Tendulkar, and his current average is the second-highest among all one-day batsmen with at least 20 innings.

MS Dhoni (wk)

ICC all-time batting ranking: 32 (836 points v Australia, 31/10/2009)

350 matches, 10,773 runs @ 50.57, SR: 87.57, 100s: 10, HS: 183*

Whether the score was 50-5 and India needed to be pulled out of a pit, or 250-5 and India wanted to put finishing touches, Dhoni was always the perfect man. Refreshingly brisk with his run-making when he started off, Dhoni mellowed down as years passed, but still remained a calculating one-day beast who would invariably out-think the opposition. He took just 42 ODI innings to reach the top of the ICC rankings for batsmen, the fastest any player has ever managed.

Kapil Dev (c)

ICC all-time all-rounder ranking: 1 (631 points v Pakistan, 22/03/1985)

ICC all-time bowling ranking: 17 (845 points v New Zealand, 10/04/1986)

225 ODIs, 3,783 runs @ 23.79, SR: 95.07, 1 100, HS: 175*; 253 wickets @ 27.45, BBI: 5-43

The man who undoubtedly changed the face of Indian cricket, Kapil Dev was a splendid game-changer with ball and bat (and even in the field). One of the greatest of the game, Kapil, with a rating of 631 points, is the highest-rated all-rounder in one-dayers of all time. Fittingly, he occupies the No.6 position, the same spot from where he played the most impactful innings in Indian cricket: his 175* in the 1983 World Cup. Among all Indian bowlers with 150 or more wickets, his bowling average of 27.45 is the best.

Ravi Shastri

ICC all-time all-rounder ranking: 11 (480 points v Australia, 05/10/1986)

150 matches, 3,108 runs @ 29.04, SR: 61.07, 4 100s, HS: 109; 129 wickets @ 36.04, 1 five-for, BBI: 5-15

Shastri might not be considered a one-day great per se, but he was a consistent presence in the team of the Eighties, earning his spot as an excellent utility all-rounder. His greatest moment came in 1985 when he won the Champion of Champions title in the World Championship of Cricket, and the following year, earned his best rating in the ICC rankings. Between 1985 and 1987, his left-arm spin produced 75 wickets.

Irfan Pathan

ICC all-time bowling ranking: 43 (772 points v England, 03/04/2006)

120 matches, 173 wickets @ 29.72, 2 five-fors, BBI: 5-27

Pathan’s career might have met an abrupt end, but it doesn’t take away any sheen off of an excellent stint in Indian colours. Pathan was a sensation when he first entered the international scene, and was consistently successful with the white ball in the first half of his career. Between 2004 and 2008, he plucked 83 per cent of all his one-day wickets, and in 2006, rose to No.2 in the bowling rankings. And yes, he could bat too.

Anil Kumble

ICC all-time bowling ranking: 30 (798 points v South Africa, 06/11/1996)

271 matches, 337 wickets @ 30.89, 2 five-fors, BBI: 6-12

Kumble’s one-day career might not have been as prolific as his Test showings, but he is still India’s most successful bowler in the format, and the third-most prolific spinner ever. Kumble was the spearhead of India’s bowling transition in the Nineties, although his one-day career trailed off in the early 2000s. Between 1996 and 2000, he captured a whopping 187 one-day wickets.

Maninder Singh

ICC all-time bowling ranking: 14 (851 v West Indies, 02/01/1988)

59 matches, 66 wickets @ 31.30, BBI: 4-22

The least capped player on this list, Maninder Singh is a surprising inclusion, even more so because he is the highest-ranked Indian bowler ever. In 1987, Maninder was on top of his game, using his loopy left-arm spin to emerge as the most successful spinner at the World Cup (14 wickets @ 20). That year, he picked 30 wickets in all, and by the end of the season, had risen to the top of the rankings.

Jasprit Bumrah

ICC all-time bowling ranking; 19 (851 points v West Indies, 01/11/2018)

67 matches, 108 wickets @ 25.33, 1 five-for, BBI: 5-27

Bumrah’s meteoric rise sees has seen him speed past several established quicks to be India’s highest-ranked seamer in the ODI charts after Kapil Dev. He climbed to No.1 within two years of his one-day debut and has remained in and around the spot ever since. From the time he made his ODI debut in 2016, only Trent Boult has taken more wickets among seamers.