With Test cricket entering its 16th decade in 2021, we look back at the best players at the start of the previous decade, picking the strongest world XI according to ICC Test rankings in January 2010.

To keep the team balanced, we have stuck to a few rules while choosing the XI. We’ve picked the top five batsmen in the ICC batting rankings on January 1, 2010, the top batter who was also a pure wicketkeeper, the top all-rounder, and then the top four bowlers, ensuring there are at least two seamers and at least one spinner.

Here’s how the World Test XI looked at the start of 2010, based on the ICC rankings

Gautam Gambhir

Batting ranking: 1st (877 points)

The best batsman in the world at that stage, Gautam Gambhir was at the peak of his Test career at the beginning of the 2010s. He had accumulated 858 runs in seven games at the end of 2008, including a double century against Australia in Delhi. Between March 2009 and December 2010, he slapped five centuries in five Tests, claiming the joint second position for hundreds scored in consecutive Tests. He also holds a similar spot in the fifties in consecutive matches list, with 11 half-centuries in 11 Tests between 2008 and 2010.

Virender Sehwag

Batting ranking: 4th (805 points)

Virender Sehwag, Gambhir’s opening partner for Delhi and India, was just as lethal during this time. By the start of the 2010s, he had already scored  6,248 Test runs at 52.50, with 17 hundreds and 19 fifties to his name. He had also picked up 30 wickets with his right-arm off-spin. Both of his triple centuries came before 2010 – 309 against Pakistan in Multan in 2004 and 319 against South Africa in Chennai in 2008. The Gambhir-Sehwag opening partnership had racked up 2,504 runs at 59.61 at this point, with six century stands.

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

Kumar Sangakkara

Batting ranking: 3rd (835 points)

The elegant left-hander from Sri Lanka was already a Test legend in the early 2010s. By January 1 2010, he had scored 7,549 runs at 55.10 in Test cricket, with 21 centuries and 32 half-centuries. He was Sri Lanka’s second-most prolific Test batter at that point, with just Mahela Jayawardene ahead of him. In December 2007, Sangakkara rose to the top of the ICC batting rankings with 938 rating points, the highest-ever tally for a Sri Lankan. In 2006, Jayawardene and Sangakkara posted a whopping 624 runs against South Africa in Colombo – the highest stand in first-class history.

Mahela Jayawardene

Batting ranking: 2nd (836 points)

Sri Lanka’s highest run-scorer in Test cricket at this point, Mahela Jayawardene was incredible in the 2000s. He had reached 9,120 Test runs by January 2010, batting at an average of 53.96 while also captaining the side between 2006 and 2009. In the 2006 Test against South Africa, Jayawardene scored 374 runs in 752 balls – the first triple century by a Sri Lankan skipper and the highest-ever score at No.4 in Tests.

Mohammad Yousuf

Batting ranking: 5th (793 points)

The glue that held Pakistan’s middle order together, Mohammad Yousuf had already accumulated 7,336 Test runs at 53.94 by January 2010. He had registered 24 centuries in the format, including a career-best 223 against England in Lahore in 2005. His incredible tally of 1,788 Test runs in 2006 remains the highest sum achieved in a calendar year in the history of the sport. Yousuf also notched up nine centuries in 2006, also breaking the record for the most hundreds in a calendar year.

Jacques Kallis

All-rounder ranking: 1st (452 points)

By the late 2000s, Jacques Kallis had already established himself as one of the greatest all-rounders in the history of the game. By January 1, 2010, had already crossed the 10,000 run mark in Test cricket, averaging over 54 with 32 centuries and 52 half-centuries. He had also picked up 258 wickets at 31.27 and claimed 150 catches in the field. With his all-round brilliance, Kallis was a major catalyst for South Africa’s rise in the 2000s. In 2002, he rose to the top of the all-rounder charts with 615 rating points – the highest tally for a South African and the third-highest overall. In 2005, Kallis was declared the ICC Player of the Year and Test Player of the Year.

MS Dhoni (wk)

Batting ranking: 29th (618 points)

The highest-ranked pure wicketkeeper in the ICC batting rankings at the time. He had scored 2,176 Test runs at 40.29 by January 2010, with three centuries and 16 half-centuries to his name. Dhoni had already become India’s third-most successful Test wicketkeeper in terms of dismissals, with 120 wickets claimed with the help of his glovework.

Mitchell Johnson

Bowling ranking: 2nd (809 points)

At his best, Mitchell Johnson was among the most feared bowlers in world cricket, with the ability to make the best batsmen quiver at the crease.  While his best came after 2010, he was still incredibly impressive in the previous decade, picking up 137 wickets in just 30 Tests. Against South Africa in Perth in 2008, Johnson gave the world a hint of his brilliance, picking up seven wickets for just 12 runs. 2009 was a brilliant year for the – he picked up more Test wickets than anyone else (63) and became the first Australian to score 300 runs and pick up 30 scalps in a calendar year.

Dale Steyn

Bowling ranking: 1st (836 points)

One of the greatest Test bowlers of all time, Dale Steyn’s dominance over the ICC Rankings began in the late 2000s and went on until the mid-2010s. He rose to the top of the ICC Bowling Rankings in 2008 and kept the position for a record 263 weeks, until 2014. On January 1, 2010, he was already South Africa’s fourth-highest Test wicket-taker with 172 scalps, despite only playing 34 matches.

 

Muttiah Muralitharan

Bowling ranking: 3rd  (752 points)

The most prolific Test wicket-taker of all time, Muttiah Muralitharan first took spot spot by the end of the 2000s. By January 1, 2010, he had picked up 792 wickets in 132 Tests with an excellent bowling average of 22.71 and 66 five-wicket hauls. In 2007, he achieved 920 rating points in the ICC bowling rankings – the highest-ever tally for a spin bowler.

Makhaya Ntini

Bowling ranking: 4th (722 points)

At this point, Makhaya Ntini became South Africa’s second-highest wicket-taker in the format, picking up 390 scalps in 101 games. Between 2002 and 2008, Ntini picked up 40 or more wickets in a calendar year five times, while never falling under 35.

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