Cricket All-Stars 2015: An XI of legends who missed out

There were several legendary names which the organisers of the Cricket All Stars Series 2015 had missed out on.

The Cricket All Stars Series 2015 came to a conclusion with the third Twenty20 (T20) match being played at the iconic Dodgers Stadium in Los Angeles on Sunday. Warne’s Warriors completed a 3-0 clean sweep over Sachin’s Blasters in the series. While the tournament saw many legends entertain fans all over the world with their sheer presence, there were quite a few legends of the game who missed out. Amit Banerjee comprises a team of eleven such players, which might actually give a tough contest to the two sides led by Sachin Tendulkar and Shane Warne that clashed in America. UPDATES: Sachin’s Blasters vs Warne’s Warriors, 3rd T20 at Los Angeles

Cricket’s latest extravagant adventure has just come to an end, with USA witnessing its first brush with international cricket (given the fact that Uncle Sam’s position in the world of cricket is about the same as India’s in the FIFA rankings). Around 30 of the finest cricketers from the 1990s and 2000s played alongside and against each other. Former bitter rivals were now team-mates (such as Sachin Tendulkar and Shoaib Akhtar), while the best of mates were pitted against each other (as in the cases of Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene).

In the course of a week, fans of the sport all over the world got to witness the fabulous form of Sangakkara and Ricky Ponting, the guile of Shane Warne, the reverse-swing of Wasim Akram, the tunes of Virender Sehwag as well as the appearance of Ajit Agarkar (to his credit, he managed to castle Sehwag in the second game!). While the likes of Courtney Walsh and Curtly Ambrose may have been the first among the stars to let age get the better of their physique, the series itself wasn’t exactly about serious cricket; it was a chance for the fans, as well as for the cricketers, to transport themselves back in time, which they did.

Many would have, and indeed did, raise an eyebrow over the selection of Agarkar among the legends (although 349 international wickets is no mean feat). Still, one does wonder about the players who were not part of the recently-concluded cricketing festival. Following is an XI comprising of the players the author feels could’ve featured alongside Tendulkar and Warne:

1. Sanath Jayasuriya: The ‘Matara Mauler’ is perhaps one of the first names that pops to mind when it comes to thinking of players missing out on the recent tournament. The man who had revolutionised the opening stand in One-Day International (ODI) cricket along with Romesh Kaluwitharana, is still among the highest run-getters in the 50-over format, and one of the greatest limited-overs batsmen of all time. Not to forget his canny left-arm spin as well.

2. Adam Gilchrist: Imagine the destruction that the new-ball bowlers await when they find out Jayasuriya’s opening partner is none other than ‘Churchy.’ Gilchrist, who famously blew the Sri Lankans out of the park in the 2007 World Cup final with his blazing 104-ball 149, would be a dream opening combination alongside Jayasuriya, as well as fill in the wicketkeeper’s slot (beating South African legend Mark Boucher in this regard due to his superior batting skills).

3. Graeme Smith: One of the greatest South African captains of all time will be the obvious choice for the skipper’s role. The gritty left-handed batsman is known for his courage, having once walked out to bat with a broken hand against the likes of Mitchell Johnson. Although having primarily batted at the opening slot, he might have to push himself down the order due to the power-hitting abilities of Jayasuriya and Gilchrist.

4. Herschelle Gibbs: The former South African batsman, best remembered for his match-winning 175 in South Africa’s iconic chase of 434 at the Wanderers, comes in at No. 4 in the line-up. Like Smith, Gibbs too has opened the innings for the most part in his career, but had batted in the middle order as well. Gibbs’ spectacular fielding will be a treat to watch as well.

5. Rahul Dravid: The absence of ‘The Wall’ from the Cricket All Stars tournament set the fans, especially in the subcontinent, abuzz with discussions. A vital member of ‘Fab Four’ of the Indian batting line-up around the turn of the millennium, Dravid has also established himself in the 20-over format. He did well with Royal Challenger Bangalore (RCB) and Rajasthan Royals (RR) in the Indian Premier League (IPL), and in his Twenty20 International (T20I) appearance he smashed three sixes in his innings of 31 against England at the age of 38. He will be the rock in the line-up to guard against sudden collapses.

6. Inzamam-ul-Haq: ‘Inzy’ is arguably the greatest Pakistani batsman of all time alongside Javed Miandad, and was also known for the sheer power with which he would pull off some of his big hits. With nearly 20,000 international runs under his belt, Inzamam would be an asset for any side, even at the age of 45 with a beard that would rival WG Grace’s. His presence at No. 6 also lends stability to the middle-order, with Inzy having batted at various positions in the middle order throughout his illustrious career.

7. Andrew Flintoff: ‘Freddie,’ as he is popularly known among the cricket circles, is one of the greatest all-rounders in the last two decades. His hard-hitting ability down the order, as well as double-up as a useful first-change bowler for his captain, will make him an asset for a T20 side. What adds to his bowling credentials is his ability to extract bounce even from non-supportive pitches due to sheer height being one of his primary weapons with the ball.

8. Chaminda Vaas: The Sri Lankan medium-pacer, who currently holds the record for the best ODI bowling figures (8/19), will be one of the leaders of the pace attack. The left-arm swing bowler gave wonderful support to Muttiah Muralitharan in their playing days, much like Glenn McGrath had done for Warne. Vaas is also a useful batsman down the order. Vaas has scored over 5,000 international runs, with one century and 13 fifties in Tests, and thus would be the first of the tail-enders to walk out to bat.

9. Brett Lee: ‘Binga’ was another surprising exclusion from the All Stars series, given the fact that he only bid goodbye to all forms of the game a year ago. The dashing speedster, who enjoyed a healthy rivalry with Pakistani pacer Shoaib Akhtar for the tag of the ‘fastest bowler of the era,’ is known to whack the ball out of the park quite often thanks to his clean-hitting abilities. Who knows, he could have given Shoaib some tough competition in the recent series in terms of aggressive bowling.

10. Anil Kumble: While Warne and Muttiah Muralitharan, two of the highest wicket-takers of all time, were battling it out against each other, the third-highest in the list was missing from all the action. Jumbo had more than 950 international dismissals to his credit, and had a few memorable spells in IPL as well. He memorably took 5 for 5 against a Warne-led Rajasthan Royals in 2009.

11. Waqar Younis: One of the two W’s of Pakistani cricket (the other being Wasim), many of the fans present at the American  venues as well as those glued to their television sets, would have feasted on the prospect of Waqar and his toe-crushing, reverse-swinging yorkers that used to send the stumps cart-wheeling back in the good old days. Unfortunately for his fans, his role as the head coach of the Pakistan cricket team, especially when it is on national duty against a visiting England side in the UAE, would have made it next-to-impossible for Waqar to feature in this match.

Cricket All Stars Absentee XI (or Graeme’s Gangsters, if the skipper had his way!) in batting order: Sanath Jayasuriya, Adam Gilchrist (wk), Graeme Smith (c), Herschelle Gibbs, Rahul Dravid, Inzamam-ul-Haq, Andrew Flintoff, Chaminda Vaas, Brett Lee, Anil Kumble, Waqar Younis.

(Amit Banerjee, a reporter at CricketCountry, takes keen interest in photography, travelling, technology, automobiles, food and, of course, cricket. He can be followed on Twitter via his handle @akb287)