Throwback: When Shane Warne picked his greatest India XI with Sourav Ganguly as skipper

Former Australia cricketer Shane Warne shockingly passed away on March 4 due to a suspected heart attack. The cricketing fraternity is still coming to the terms that the legendary cricketer is no more and the tributes for him continue to flow. Along with it, some of his on-field and off-field memories are also coming to the fore. Shane Warne, in 2020, had picked India’s greatest playing XI on his Instagram handle.

Interestingly, he had named Sourav Ganguly as the captain of his team ahead of MS Dhoni and Virat Kohli. However, the 50-year-old had clarified that he has only picked the players whom he has played against during his illustrious international career.

“I am only picking players that I played against and that’s why M S Dhoni and Virat Kohli are not going to be a part of the side. While Dhoni is probably the greatest wicketkeeper-batsman to have played the game, Kohli is one of the greatest batsmen across formats,” he had said.

Sehwag and Sidhu make it to Shane Warne’s XI

Shane Warne picked Virender Sehwag and Navjot Singh Sidhu at the top of the order for his team. Speaking about the latter’s inclusion, he had lauded Sidhu for playing well against spin. “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 Sidhu was brilliant against them,” he had added.

Apart from Ganguly, the middle-order comprised of the legendary players like Sachin Tendulkar and Mohammad Azharuddin while Nayan Mongia was picked as the wicketkeeper. Shane Warne’s India XI’s bowling attack comprised of Kapil Dev, one of the best all-rounders the country has ever produced, Javagal Srinath, and the spin twins Harbhajan Singh and Anil Kumble who together gave nightmares to Australia during their best years as well.

Here’s Shane Warne’s Greatest India XI: Sourav Ganguly (captain), Virender Sehwag, Navjot Singh Sidhu, Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar, Mohammad Azharuddin, Kapil Dev, Nayan Mongia (wicketkeeper), Harbhajan Singh, Javagal Srinath, Anil Kumble