Border Gavaskar Trophy All-Time XI: With the five-match Border-Gavaskar Trophy between India and Australia just a day away, we have compiled the all-time XI list in the history of this historic rivalry.
The Indian Cricket Team has traveled to Australia to compete in the most high-profile and watched Test cricket series in the world. The first match of the five-game series will commence on November 22 at the Optus Stadium in Perth.
As a reminder, while India and Australia have been facing Test cricket since 1947, right after India found its independence, the series was named ‘Border-Gavaskar Trophy’ for the 1996-97 series after successful Australian and Indian captains Allan Border and Sunil Gavaskar. The name has stuck since.
In celebration of the highly anticipated India vs Australia series, here is the Border Gavaskar Trophy All-Time XI. This list will include legends and superstars from past and present, players who have dominated the series at home, and those who have helped their team win these difficult Tests away.
Border Gavaskar Trophy All-Time XI
Openers –
Matthew Hayden and Steve Smith: The Australian pair of Matthew Hayden and Steve Smith will be the openers for this all-time XI. While Hayden was a crucial member of the dominant Aussie side in the 2000s, Smith emerged as arguably the greatest Test batter of this generation.
Matthew Hayden was consistently great for the Kangaroos, especially against India. In the 18 games he has played in the BGT, Hayden has 1888 runs with an average of 59. He is the most successful regular opener in series history.
On the other hand, Steve Smith never regularly opened for Australia in Tests until recently, having never done so against India. However, his inclusion in the team is quite obvious, with him being the most effective current batter in the BGT with 1887 runs in 18 games and an average of 65.06. He also scored the most runs in a single India vs Australia series, scoring 769 in just four games in 2014-15.
Check Out: Border Gavaskar Trophy All-Time XI
Middle Order
Ricky Ponting, Sachin Tendulkar, Virat Kohli: this might be the most stacked middle order for an all-time XI side ever. Ricky Ponting, Sachin Tendulkar, and Virat Kohli will all be on the list of top 10 batters of all time and might just be in the top five.
Ricky Ponting will enter this squad not only for his captaincy of the most dominant team in cricket (Australia in the 2000s) but also for being among the best cricketers of his generation. Ponting is the second-highest run-scorer in BGt history with 2555 runs in 29 games with an average of 54.36.
Sachin Tendulkar is the most successful batter in India vs Australia Test matches. In 34 games, the Master Blaster has scored 3262 runs at an average of 56.24. He also has the most 100s and 50s in the BGT, with nine and 16, respectively.
Virat Kohli will captain this side. He was the skipper of the Indian Cricket Team for the latter half of the 2010s when the Test rivalry between the two nations started tilting towards India. He captained the Men in Blue to their first-ever Test series win in Australia in 2017-18. As a better, he has 1979 runs in 24 games against the Aussies with an average of 48.26.
Wicketkeeper and All-Rounder
Rishabh Pant (wk), Ravindra Jadeja: Rishabh Pant and Ravindra Jadeja’s inclusion in the squad might raise some eyebrows. But if we look past whatever the opposite of the recency bias is, these two have been excellent in Test cricket against the Baggy Greens.
Rishabh Pant is not the highest run scorer in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, but he sure is the most impactful. While the likes of MS Dhoni and Adam Gilchrist might have had longer legacies and more runs in this series, but Rishabh Pant, in only the seven matches he has played against Australia, has left an indelible mark on the BGT. Who could forget his 89 not out in the fourth Test at the Gabba in 2021 or his 97 in the third Test at Sydney that saved India from a draw? In just seven BGT matches, Pant has scored 624 runs at an average of 62.40.
As for Ravindra Jadeja, he is part of a legendary class of spinners who have done well in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. His 85 scalps in 16 games are the fifth most in series history, and he has done so at an incredible average of 18.85. He is also the best all-rounder in BGT history, scoring 522 runs in those 16 games with an average of 29 as well.
Spinners
Ravichandran Ashwin and Nathan Lyon: These two might be the greatest spinners at home for their countries and the greatest of this generation as a whole.
Ravichandran Ashwin might not have played a lot of Test cricket or have done too well in Australia, but he is the best bowler in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy in India. His 114 wickets in just 22 matches are the second most in BGT history. He also has an average of 28.36 and might just become the highest wicket-taker in series history in the next five games. Ashwin has also scored 543 runs in those 22 matches, making him a solid No. 8.
Nathan Lyon is the highest wicket-taker in BGT history, taking 116 wickets in 26 matches. And unlike Ashwin, he has been dominant both home and away. The most successful Aussie spinner since Shane Warne, Lyon has taken 116 wickets against India with an average of 32.40.
Fast-Bowlers
Glenn McGrath and Josh Hazelwood: These might have been the easiest selections in this all-time XI. While Glenn McGrath and Josh Hazelwood might not be the pacers with the most wickets in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, they have certainly been the most effective.
McGrath, who is the second-highest wicket-taking fast-bowler in international cricket, is also the bowler with the lowest average for any bowler in the BGT. In only 11 games against India, Glenn McGrath took 51 wickets with an average of 18.64 and was consistently brilliant whenever he faced the Men in Blue.
As for Josh Hazelwood, he has been among the greatest pacers in international cricket over the last decade for Australia across all formats. Having played 15 matches in the BGT, he too has taken 51 wickets, with an average of 26.94. He Hazelwood was also the architect of India’s dismantling in the first Test of the 2020-21 series, where he took five wickets for eight runs in five overs and helped to bowl India out for 36.
The Remaining Members Of The 15-Man Squad – Cheteshwar Pujara, Michael Clarke, Harbhajan Singh, Brett Lee
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