Asia has produced a number of Test legends in the history of the game, and here we take a look at the all-time Asia XI in Test cricket based on the ICC all-time player rankings.

As has been the case with our XIs in the past, we have stuck with a few basic rules for this team too: We have picked the five highest ranked batsman, the highest ranked keeper in the batting rankings, the top all-rounder, and the top four bowlers, ensuring there is at least one spinner and at least three quicks.

The all-time Asia Test XI based on the ICC rankings is as follows:

Sunil Gavaskar – India

All-time batting ranking: 25
All-time batting rating: 916
125 Tests, 10,122 runs @ 51.12

The opener was a run-machine and is one of the greats of the game. Gavaskar has the record of scoring the most hundreds as an opener and is one of just two players to average more than 50 while opening in more than 100 Tests. Gavaskar is also one of the two players from India to have an all-time rating of 900+.

Rahul Dravid – India

All-time batting ranking: 37
All-time batting rating: 892
164 Tests, 13,288 runs @ 52.31

Normally a No.3, Rahul Dravid has been pushed up to open in this team. He made four hundreds in the top spot, including carrying his bat against England during the ill-fated 2011 whitewash which saw India lose their No.1 ranking. Nicknamed ‘The Wall’ for his impassability, no one has faced more deliveries in the history of Test cricket

Kumar Sangakkara (wk) – Sri Lanka

All-time batting ranking: 7
All-time batting rating: 938
134 Tests, 12,400 runs @ 57.40

The only Asian in the top ten of the all-time ICC batting ratings, Kumar Sangakkara ended with the sixth-most Test runs by a player. He hit 11 double hundreds in his career, the second-highest from any country, and was the fastest to 8,000, 9,000, 10,000, 11,000, and 12,000 career runs. He will also be the wicketkeeper of the side.

Sachin Tendulkar – India

All-time batting ranking: 39
All-time batting rating: 898
200 Tests, 15,921 runs @ 53.78

The Little Master had to get in somewhere. No one has scored more runs or made more centuries, but then you know all that already.

Virat Kohli – India

All-time batting ranking: 11
All-time batting rating: 937
92 Tests, 7,547 runs @ 52.04

The only active batsman on the list, Virat Kohli has redefined the game with his consistency across conditions and formats. Averaging over 50 whilst leading the side, the Indian has seven double tons since 2016 and is the highest-rated batsman from the country. We’ve pushed him down to No.5 to accommodate Sachin, however

Mohammad Yousuf – Pakistan

All-time batting ranking: 15
All-time batting rating: 933
90 Tests, 7,530 runs @ 52.29

Mohammad Yousuf is the highest-ranked Pakistani in the ICC all-time list of batters, and the only one with more than 885 rating points. He enjoyed playing against England and West Indies in particular, averaging 62 against the former and over 100 against the latter, with 13 of his 24 Test hundreds coming against the two oppositions.

Imran Khan – Pakistan

All-time bowling ranking: 3
All-time bowling rating: 922
88 Tests, 362 wickets @ 22.81

Imran Khan is the number six ranked all-rounder in the ICC all-time list, as well as third in the bowling list, and is the perfect player to have at number seven. One of the greatest leaders to grace the game, Imran took Pakistan to new heights. He ended with eight Player of the Series awards in the format — the third-highest of all time — and is just one of the four cricketers to score a hundred and pick up 10 wickets in the same game. He averaged 52 with the bat and 20 with the ball when he led Pakistan, which he did so in 48 Tests.

Ravichandran Ashwin – India

All-time bowling ranking: 19
All-time bowling rating: 904
79 Tests, 413 wickets @ 24.56

Ravichandran Ashwin can already be termed as one of the greatest spinners to have turned out for India. He has massively improved his batting in the last few years as well, which coincides with his wickets surge since 2016. The fastest to 250, 300 and 350 Test wickets, Ashwin has managed to end with an average of less than 28 in each calendar year since 2015.

Fazal Mahmood – Pakistan

All-time bowling ranking: 32
All-time bowling rating: 895
34 Tests, 139 wickets @ 24.70

Another slightly surprising inclusion, given he only played 38 Tests, Fazal Mahmood is regarded as Pakistan’s first great fast bowler. Described as ‘”the torch bearer” by Shoaib Akhtar, he was instrumental in handing Pakistan their maiden Test victory in only their second-ever game, taking 12 wickets, including 7-42 in the second innings to down India. Another similarly inspired spell downed England at The Oval in 1954. The hosts were 109-2 chasing 168 to win when he claimed the last eight wickets to hand Pakistan a stunning victory. He has been picked over Ravindra Jadeja, despite the latter having a higher peak rating, in order to balance the attack.

Muttiah Muralitharan – Sri Lanka

All-time bowling ranking: 4
All-time bowling rating: 920
133 Tests, 800 wickets @ 22.72

It comes as no surprise that Muralitharan makes the list. The Sri Lankan revolutionized the art of spin bowling and set landmarks that seem impossible to breach. The only bowler to take 800 Test wickets, he was a part of the golden generation of Sri Lanka.

Waqar Younis – Pakistan

All-time bowling ranking: 12
All-time bowling rating: 909
87 Tests, 373 wickets @ 23.56

The Pakistani was a champion swing bowler, and won the team a number of games alongside Wasim Akram. Waqar became the captain of Pakistan when he was just 22 years old, and has the joint-best Test figures in a match as skipper — 13-135 against Zimbabwe.

This piece has been updated in order to bring it in to line with the selection criteria for our previous ICC rankings XIs.