Best Asian Test XI from the current cricketers

During the early years, Asian teams were easily rolled over and the likes of Australia and England dominated proceedings for years. However, over the last two or three decades, the Asian teams like India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and now, Afghanistan have become powerhouses of world cricket. There is a lot of Test cricket that’s played as well.

Test cricket has largely been at the forefront with the World Test Championship (WTC). Temperament, resilience and technique– any individual has to go through many aspects in order to excel in the longest format of the game. There are various players who are performing consistently on the big stage.

Thus, here we take a look at the best Test XI from Asia among active (current) cricketers only:

Note – Stats considered since 1^st January 2016

1. Dimuth Karunaratne

No other Asian opening batsman has scored more runs than Dimuth Karunaratne in Test cricket since the start of 2016. The Sri Lankan left-handed opener has amassed 2881 runs (as an opener) in the mentioned period. He averages 38.41 but he’s been one player who battled it out.

He is third on the list of leading run-getters Asian batsmen. He’s been by far Sri Lanka’s best batsman in the longest format. Moreover, now that Karunaratne has ascended to the captaincy throne, he’s taken more responsibility. He’s leading from the front and a lot depends on him at the top of the order.

He has the patience and the ability to play big, long innings as well. Thus, it’s tough to look past Karunaratne and he will be one of the top choices among Asian opening batters.

2. Azhar Ali

The current Pakistan Test captain has constantly shuffled his place between opening and No. 3 in the recent past. At the moment, Azhar Ali is batting at No. 3 for Pakistan but he can open the batting too. In fact, he’s done well at the top of the order.

As an opener, Ali has scored 1442 runs at an average of 49.72 since January 2016. He has registered four hundreds and six half-centuries batting at the top of the order. Moreover, he is the only player other than Karunaratne to have played more than 3000 balls as a Test opener since the start of 2016. He has even scored a triple ton as an opener.

Overall, Ali has made 2458 runs since 2016 and averages 41.66 in Test cricket. There were a couple of other candidates like Tamim Iqbal, Rohit Sharma and Mayank Agarwal but Ali’s consistency and a great number of games gets him the nod.

3. Cheteshwar Pujara

In Asia, there may not be a better No. 3 in Test cricket than Cheteshwar Pujara. The Saurashtra lad has been the rock at the one-drop spot for the Indian Test team. He is absolutely vital to the side and is rock-solid at No. 3.

Pujara can bat, bat and bat and he still won’t be tired. He did that in Australia as India registered their maiden Test series win down under. The right-hander has been very consistent and simply piles on the runs as and when he gets an opportunity.

Since 2016, Pujara has the second-most runs among Asian batsmen. He has made 3320 runs at an average of 51.07. He has scored 11 hundreds and 17 fifties in this period as well. No other Asian batsman has faced as many balls as Pujara’s 7370 in Test cricket since January 2016.

4. Virat Kohli (c)

There’s absolutely no doubt about who is in at No. 4 in this best Asian Test XI among the current cricketers. Virat Kohli owns that spot and has dominated world cricket for a few years now. In fact, it was from 2016 that he changed as a Test batsman and became a lot more consistent and he’s churned out runs for fun.

Let along Asia, Kohli is arguably the best all-format batsman in world cricket and he hasn’t let Test cricket behind. His numbers are staggering. Since January 2016, the Indian skipper has amassed 4208 runs which is the most among Asian players. He averages 66.79 and has also made 16 tons in Test cricket alone.

Kohli is also the captain of this side. There have been a couple of hiccups but overall, he’s led India really well over the last few years and the results are there to see. Thus, Kohli will be the first name on this team sheet.

5. Babar Azam

If this team would’ve been made a year ago, Babar Azam would’ve struggled to make it to the XI. However, the Pakistan youngster has taken significant strides in Test cricket over the last 12 to 18 months. He has been Pakistan’s best batsman across formats and has consistently delivered.

If it’s Virat Kohli for India, it’s Babar Azam for Pakistan. His white-ball skills and record were always good but he has upped his Test game as well. He currently averages 42.67 in the longest format while amassing 1707 runs and those numbers are always on the rise.

Babar is a very attractive batsman and has led the charge for Pakistan almost single-handedly on multiple occasions. In the recent past, he’s juggled around the No. 4 and 5 spots but Azam will slot in at No. 5 in this side with Kohli present at 4.

6. Shakib Al Hasan

It was a tough choice to make between two left-arm spinning all-rounders. But Shakib Al Hasan got the nod ahead of Ravindra Jadeja based on the longevity and continued success. Shakib is Bangladesh’s best player and will go down in the history books as one of their greatest.

The Bangladesh left-handed all-rounder has been brilliant for many years now. He is someone who can change the game with both bat and ball. He’s good in the field too. With the bat, he averages nearly 40 in the longest format and has scored nearly 4000 Test runs. With the ball, the left-arm spinner had taken 210 wickets in his Test career.

When we consider numbers from 2016, Shakib has scored 1039 runs at an average of 38.48. To go with that, he has picked up 63 wickets at an average of 26.03 with the ball.

7. Mushfiqur Rahim (wk)

Mushfiqur Rahim has been on and off with the gloves in Test cricket. There have been bursts when he has played as a pure batsman but there’s always a tendency for him to don back the gloves. In fact, since the start of 2016, 12 of Rahim’s 21 Test matches have come as a wicketkeeper.

Moreover, he has the best average among wicket-keepers in the aforementioned period. Rahim has accumulated 1560 runs in this period but 984 of them have come when he donned the gloves.

As a wicketkeeper, he averages 49.20 and all three of his Test tons since 2016 have come when he kept wickets. Thus, he will be the designated wicketkeeper in this side.

8. Ravichandran Ashwin

Ravichandran Ashwin receives a lot of flak for not being able to perform outside Asia. However, that’s a little bit of unnecessary criticism as he’s been among the best Asian spinners across conditions in the modern era. He is pretty underrated but he has some staggering numbers.

No other Asian player has picked up more wickets than Ashwin in Test cricket since the start of 2016. The Tamil Nadu off-spinner has picked up 186 of his 362 Test wickets in this period. In fact, he has a habit of churning out five-wicket hauls. He has picked up 11 fifers in this mentioned period which is the joint second-most among Asians.

Ashwin can bat as well. His ability with the bat is often undermined. He has four Test hundreds. He averages 28.73 in the longest format and has been very good with the bat lower down the order for India.

9. Yasir Shah

If there is one player who has given Ravichandran Ashwin some competition in the spin department, then it is Yasir Shah. In fact, he is the only Asian player who has picked up more five-wicket hauls than Ashwin since January 2016. Moreover, he’s played lesser games as well.

Yasir Shah has picked up 133 wickets from 27 games which include 12 fifers. He tends to be a little expensive at times but he has been Pakistan’s premier spinner and has done well in most conditions. In fact, barring Australia where he has a poor record, the leg-spinner has been a big wicket-taker for Pakistan in all conditions.

Thus, he will be the second spinner alongside Ashwin in this line-up. It becomes a nice combination with Ashwin, the off-spinner, Shakib, the left-arm spinner and Yasir, the leg-spinner.

10. Mohammed Shami

The Indian fast bowling stocks have grown immensely over the last few years. Mohammed Shami has been at the forefront of it. He has been playing both white and red-ball cricket since January 2013 but it’s only in the last couple of years that he has become consistent and lethal.

Shami always used to take time to charge up and up the ante. In fact, he was (or even is) also called second-innings Shami for his ability to produce magic spells in the second innings. However, over the last two years, there’s been a different Shami. He runs in hard right from the start and troubles the batsmen.

The Bengal pacer has been in top form and is India’s premier Test fast bowler. He has taken 128 wickets in Test cricket since the start of 2016 which is the most for an Asian fast bowler. He also has an excellent strike-rate of 46.2.

11. Jasprit Bumrah

When Jasprit Bumrah was picked in the Test side, the selectors, captain, coach and the team management were criticised heavily. Critics felt Bumrah couldn’t crack the code in Test cricket and will go as a flop. However, as time has passed, the Gujarat lad has shut his critics with performances on the field. He has let the ball do all the talking.

Bumrah has quickly become India’s premier fast bowler across formats. He may be the leader of the pack in Test cricket as well and his rise in the last couple of years has been exceptional. The control, the accuracy and the zip that he gets from the surface makes him a lethal bowler.

He has played just 12 Test matches so far in his career but he’s already picked up 62 wickets. He averages 19.24 with the ball and has a strike-rate of 43.7. There’s absolutely no doubt that Bumrah is one of the best Asian pacers at the moment.

Notable mentions – Ravindra Jadeja, Shaheen Afridi, Tamim Iqbal