Former Australian leg spinner Shane Warne recently announced his best team India-XI for Test matches. The most surprising thing in the XI was the exclusion of VVS Laxman, probably the greatest Indian batsman against Australia.
Guessing that most Indians would be furious by that choice, Warne said, “I went for Ganguly because I wanted him to be the captain of my side that is why VVS Laxman missed out.”
Warne has been going LIVE with his Instagram account almost daily in the quarantine and he did yesterday as well. In yesterday’s Insta Live, Warne picked the best India-XI for Test matches and included only those players who played with him.
Warne picked Virender Sehwag and Navjot Singh Sidhu as the openers of his side. “I had to pick Navjot Singh Sidhu because he was the best player against spin I have ever played against, all the other spinners I have played with, they have also told me that Siddhu was brilliant against them,” the leg spinner said.
Warne put Rahul Dravid at number three and Mohammad Azharuddin at five. “Dravid became a friend over the years; I got to know him during a stint with Rajasthan Royals. One of the best knocks was when Hampshire was playing against Kent and Rahul made a terrific hundred,” said the 50-year-old.
Then there was Sachin as the number four and Nayan Mongia as the wicket-keeper. “I have said so much about Sachin, there is nothing more to say. He was just a great player, he is number 4,” Warne said.
Warne’s greatest Indian XI: Virender Sehwag, Navjot Singh Sidhu, Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar, Mohammed Azharuddin, Sourav Ganguly (c), Kapil Dev, Harbhajan Singh, Nayan Mongia, Anil Kumble, Javagal Srinath