Robin Uthappa picks his ODI team of the decade; MS Dhoni to lead the side

Kerala One-Day and T20 Skipper skipper Robin Uthappa named his ODI team of the last decade. He picked MS Dhoni as the captain of his team. The former India player named the destructive opening combination of Rohit Sharma and Chris Gayle as his team’s openers. Both players dominated white-ball cricket in the last decade. Rohit and Gayle have four double hundreds between them and on their day, they can dominate any bowling attack.

Not surprisingly he picked the current Indian captain Virat Kohli to bat at number 3. Kohli in the 2010s emerged as one of the greatest ODI batsmen of all time. His numbers are staggering, nobody comes close to his tally of runs and hundreds. With more than 11,000 runs at an average of more than 60 including 42 hundreds, Kohli will walk into any squad.

Steve Smith of Australia was his next pick to bat at number 4. The run machine of the Australian team wasn’t as consistent as some of the other picks, but he is a big match player. Mr. 360 AB de Villiers will bat at number 5 as he dominated ODI cricket in the last decade.

Indian firepower in the lower middle order

The two Indian legends Yuvraj Singh who was the man of the tournament in the 2011 World Cup and MS Dhoni, the wicketkeeper and captain, will bat in the lower middle order followed by the star of the World Cup 2019 final, Ben Stokes from England as the all-rounder of the squad.

As far as the bowling is concerned, Robin Uthappa Uthappa picked New Zealand’s left-arm spinner as the sole frontline spinner in the squad. Vettori played an integral role in the 2015 World Cup when New Zealand reached the finals for the very first time. He along with Yuvraj singh will be two spinners in Uthappa’s squad.

Lasith Malinga the highest wicket-taker in the last decade in one-day internationals was an automatic choice. Malinga, in his prime, was lethal. He scalped 248 wickets in the 2010s. Zaheer Khan will share the new ball with Malinga. The left-arm seamer from India was exceptional in the death-overs and was the joint highest wicket-taker in the 2011 World Cup.

The side consisted of 5 Indian players and one each from West Indies, South Africa, Sri Lanka, England, Australia, and New Zealand. Gary Kirsten who was the coach of Team India in the 2011 World Cup edition, which India won, was selected as the head coach of the squad.

Robin Uthappa’s ODI team of the decade picked for Manorama Online:

Rohit Sharma, Chris Gayle, Virat Kohli, Steve Smith, AB de Villiers, Yuvraj Singh, MS Dhoni (C & WK), Ben Stokes, Daniel Vettori, Zaheer Khan, Lasith Malinga

Head coach: Gary Kirsten