hahaha what a joke ... is it an Indian Eleven or a World Eleven? What happened to Flintoff? On what grounds is Ishant Sharma in the side? Dale Steyn bowled much better then him even today he took 5 wickets against the Ozies. Sehwag and Tendulkar are in the squad because of what ?!?! did they score consistently ?!?! Answer is a big NO .... what else should Chanderpaul do to prove that he is a better batsman?

Here is mine
smith,sehwag,ponting,sachin,pietersen,flintoff,dhoni,
zaheer,ishant,mendis,murali, 12th man-steyn

This reeks of Indian biased. How you could pick Ishant Sharma over Dale Steyn, and then cite inexperience as a reason to include Khan also in favour of Steyn. Are you serious? Amla too has had a fantastic year, more so than Virender Sehwag. And the author has to display his biased even further by promoting 2008 as a fantastic year because Australia lost twice in Perth. I am Australian and I think Mitchell Johnson has had an outstanding year, but I am not so biased as to think he has outperformed Steyn and Khan. This is an unbelieveably one-eyed article.

Ok... not a single Australian in the side. For the best team in the World not to have a single player in a best of squad is quite lame. 6 Indians in the team???

Don't agree with your team. Mahela Jayawardane? what a farce

Kunal, your team is more an asia XI then a world XI

Is this a world XI or an Indian XI. for all the relative success india had this year, remember how their batsmen and bowlers got terribly exposed by Mendis etc. in SL where they were wiped the floor with.

This is the dumbest team ever. You are an Indian yourself and then say you are surprised by picking 6 Indians? Ever heard of cognitive dissonance?
The funny thing is you have picked two spinners, two fast bowlers (one of whom is probably medium pace compared to Steyn), three openers, and three people who bat at No. 4. The batting sounds like you have no ideas about batting order and, from the way you have picked your bowlers, the team might only bowl others out on Indian pitches. Please think before posting such stuff.

9 of the 11 are from India and Sri Lanka. There are no Australians. Also, the top-3 ICC ranked batsmen, Chanderpaul, Sanga, and Yousuf, are absent.

A joke, this list is.

This is why India cannot be the best team. It is not the players, it is the INDIAN PUBLIC that is not mature enough to handle it the way the Australian public was.

Well Ghambir deserves to be in the team, he has been Indias most consistant batsman.

I'm happy other people also believe, as I do, that there is more to cricket than the India team. How can you pick Khan over Steyn when his average is over 34 in tests? Joke.

Inclusion of Virender Sehwag makes sense to a certain extent though Gambhir did slightly better, and maybe you could argue Tendulkar over Amla. To leave out Chanderpaul doesn't make any sense, this year he was probably the worlds best batsmen. Ishant Sharma is close but I preferred the choice of Mitchell Johnson this year. This year had Dale Steyn take ~60 odd wickets with a strike rate in the 30s, there is no way you can leave him out.

Thanks for the responses. I concede Steyn must be in the team, which is why I said it would be a toss up between him and Zak. I put together a team of cricketers who in 2008 got it right in the poignant moments of Test matches. Statistics will show India did get it right more often than the opposition. And that's my broad point: about team composition.

@Fabs: I am actually a huge Australia fan, but this is one year when they just did not get it right at the key moments. I have been following cricket for 16-odd years, and this is the first time I am seeing world-class performances by an Indian team by rising to the occasion when it really matters. Sachin did it too -- a fourth innings hundred after almost 20 years of Test cricket. I love cricket too much to give in to an India-bias. But try thinking of so many world-class performances by Indian cricketers (even on foreign soil) in a single year. 2008 has been that kind of a year.

that was really a bad compilation.please express your views on mine

sehwag
gambhir
hussey
chanderpaul
peiterson
flintoff
dhoni
mendis
zaheer
steyn
johnson

i dont know why indians are going over the top at the recent performances of zaheer and ishant. these 2 have bowled well and restricted runs and nothing more, yes they did get the odd 2 or 3 wickets but never looked like running through a side like mitchell johnson and dale steyn have. even james anderson did it in new zealand, and the left armer ryan sidebottom, WOW, he was a breath of fresh air for england. in my opinion steyn, johnson and sidebottom are all ahead of ishant and zaheer.

I am Indian and I agree with the other observers. If Steyn is inexperienced, they why should Sharma be there too? I think u have put together an Indian XI than a world XI. Chanderpaul is high class and deserves to be there. I agree on you inclusion of Tendulkar however, I disagree with your omission of Johnson. He is a force to be rekoned with. I think keep you should keep your bias aside for once. India are a very good side. But to be number 1, they need to beat Sri Lanka, Australia and South Africa, all on their home turf. Aussies did that for a long period of time. Before India can claim top honours, they need to earn their stripes.

Why don't you just call it an Asian XI and let the rest of the world choose the rest - Zaheer and Ishant over Steyn and Johnson is a joke!

This article embarrasses the author. Tendulkar? Khan? Sharma? Really, on what grounds other than the obvious?
Tendulkar, for example, scored ~170 in a sequence of TEN innings, chasing the world record. Chanderpaul, by contrast has averaged OVER A HUNDRED for the past TWO YEARS!!!

I don't agree with your team...I mean, Zaheer is a good bowler. But I'd rather Dale Steyn coming in. Ishant I'm not sure about. He is really good but he lacks experience...
Tendulkar isn't in that good form, and hasn't been this year. Remember, this is a team based on 2008, not the last fifteen years. It seems like a very biased article. True, I would keep Gambhir in. Great form! Sehwag, however, has been an in and out person. But he does after all have the second most runs this year. I'd get rid of Zaheer for Steyn, Jayawardene for...what about Katich! That reminds me about how well he has been playing. As hard as it is to pick a World XI, it must be said that the one given in this article is very biased.

You might want to rethink this lad. It reeks of bias.

Oh... that is just lame.... I am an Indian.... but just cant digest how obsessed is the author with Indian players.... it is totally biased.... OK.. I would include Sehwag and Gambheer and may be Ishant... but that's pushing it already... and you left out Sangakara.... woha... that's a big big blunder

here is my list

Sehwag
Smith
Gambheer
Ponting
Chanderpaul
Pieterson
Sangakara (Capt)
Flintoff ( Purely for his bowling... )
Ishant or Styne
Murali
Mendis

Like most of my Australian countrymen, I tend to value team performance far above individual statistics. I would probably agree that there has been no stand-out achiever in Australian cricket this year (Michael Clarke has probably been the most consistent performer in the side).

I don't follow intensely what happens in world cricket, but I think that leaving out Steyn and Chanderpaul, by all reports, would be an injustice. Kunal is of course entitled to his opinion, but I think that you'll find most readers will detect a hint of nationalism in his choices.

Kunal, Name it " Maximum Indian XI "

i think this artical, even though a little baised, has raised an important issue that a team may be statistically accurate but not the best for statistics not always speak the truth. Also, in saying that this has been a tremenduous year for cricket, author has not made any mistake. The only thing that australia has lost twice in perth infers is the intense cricket that teams other than australia are playing against them. But the inclusion of jayawardane is as suprising as exclusion of flintoff. As far as zak and ishant are concerned, both have done enough to make it to any team. Same for chanderpaul and this has nothing to take away from sachin's performance. My team is:
Smith
Sehwag
Gambhir
Chanderpaul
Pieterson
Dhoni(Capt.)
Flintoff
Zaheer
Steyn
Mendis
Murali
12th man Ishant

I agree, this is not a neutral or well-informed article. Small bones first - it is not that Pakistan are not producing world class cricketers (Mohammad Yousuf, Younis Khan, Shoaib Akhtar, Mohammad Asif) but that we have had several non-cricketing issues prevent us from playing this year.

More importantly, Dale Steyn is one of the two best pace bowlers in the world right now, without a doubt. You could make a case for including Zaheer Khan in the side, but not Ishant over Steyn. Why does Chanderpaul have to give way? He has made runs consistently in a side that has depended on him heavily - so he has scored (and scored more than Tendulkar) under pressure.

Although stats don't tell the story, you can't just go with your gut because your gut is in fact YOUR gut and will remind you only of YOUR personal preferences.

I'm an Indian cricket fan but this is seriously biased. The biggest omissions are the South Africans and there should be at least one Australian in there. Mitchell Johnson has only performed in one Test this year (the Perth one). It is hard to choose which if any Australians should be in the XI because many have been in form only in patches. For example, looking at the India-Australia series, I would have to include Watson as the all-rounder. But then there is the likes of Flintoff etc. A tough choice to make.

Me again. This is Roebuck's actual team of the year:

TEAM OF THE YEAR
Graeme Smith (South Africa) Matches: 10 Runs: 1031 Average: 64.44

Gautam Gambhir (India)Matches 8: Runs: 1134 Average: 70.88

Hashim Amla (South Africa)Matches: 10 Runs: 820 Average: 51.25

Kevin Pietersen (England)Matches: 12 Runs: 1015 Average: 50.75

Shivnarine Chanderpaul (West Indies)Matches: 9 Runs: 909 Average: 101

AB de Villiers (South Africa)Matches: 10 Runs: 985 Average: 75.77

Mahendra Dhoni (c) (India)Matches: 12 Runs: 633 Average: 35.16

Ryan Sidebottom (England)Matches: 8 Wickets: 47 Average: 20.25

Dale Steyn (South Africa)Matches: 8 Wickets: 42 Average: 22.60

Mitchell Johnson (Australia)Matches: 13 Wickets: 61 Average: 27.29

Ajantha Mendis (Sri Lanka)Matches: 3 Wickets: 26 Average: 18.38

Now this leaves a few interesting questions, I think. Mainly to do with the balance of the side. I'm leaning towards no sidebottom, for Zaheer and some other thigns. Any thoughts?

1st off, how is it staggering that there are 6 indians in the squad of 12, you wrote the article.
Second of all as others have said, how do you leave Steyn out for Ishant, saying "he builds pressure" allowing the other bowler more space, ishant has done moderately at best this year and what your justification of his position in this side is like one trying to argue a car is faster because it is red. Next is your inclusion of Dhoni as not only keeper, but also captain, Brad Haddin has had a better batting performance with the bat. Smith I feel has earned the captains spot for this years team regardless of what happens at the MCG as he has achieved more this year than previous RSA captains could've dreamed of. One also seems to Overlook Vettori, who i feel at least deserves a 12 man position
My team 2008:
1-G.Smith(c) 2-V.Sehwag 3-G.Gambhir 4-H.Amla 5-K.Pietersen 6-S.Chanderpaul 7-B.Haddin 8-Z.Khan 9-A.Mendis 10-D.Steyn 11-M.Muralitharan 12-D.Vettori

Gambhir instead of Ponting,dont be silly!!

I wonder how does cricinfo allow such farce to publish on its website!!!!!

Kunal...zaheer and ishant before Steyn?and Tendulkar in your XI?Why not put in Dravid or GANGSTERguly, Kumble, Yuvraj and Harbajan?Hmmm.Might as well make it a INDIAN XI...

Pathetic team that you have picked.

It should have been -
1) Virender Sewhag
2) Greame Smith
3) Chanderpaul
4) Pieterson
5) Sachin
6) Mike Hussey
7) M.S.Dhoni
8) Shane Watson
9) D.Steyn
10) Zaheer Khan
11) Mendis

Here's one thats a little more balanced:
Sehwag, Smith, Gambhir, Tendulkar, Pietersen, Chanderpaul, Dhoni, Johnson, Khan, Steyn, Mendis.
Feel free to debate the fact that I have 5 Indians in the team, but would you grudge any of them their positions?

Mine:
Smith, Katich, Gambhir, Sachin, Hussey, Chanderpaul, Dhoni, Mendis, Zaheer, Ishant, Steyn 12th Man-Mitchell johnson

not a single west indian, besides the mediocre performances i still believe gayle, chanders and may be bravo as 12th man should have been included.

How about sehwag, smith, gambhir, chanderpaul, pieterson, flintoff, dhoni, zaheer, steyn, murali and mendis.

6 of these people are pretty much undisputed (murali, mendis, dhoni, zaheer, pieterson and smith). Chanderpaul HAS to get in given his numbers this year. You really can't keep him out just because he hasn't won enough because that's possibly because of the team he plays on.

Sehwag has saved (against australia) and won (against England in Chennai) test matches this year almost single-handedly. He's also put up a number of very big scores. Gambhir has had an amazing year, scoring in pretty much every match he's played in. Flintoff provides balance to the team in terms of an extra (quick) bowling option and steyn is good enough and has been sucessful enough for his inexperience to not count against him

I don't think any of the Aussies have had a stunning year, though 12th man for me would be either micheal clarke or ricky ponting.
Also, Dhoni to captain over Smith

Why don't you just include all the current indian players! It would not make difference to your team! And about Pakistan team, Misbah-ul-haq is there, and bowling is quite good with Umer gul, Shoaib akhtar and Sohail tanveer. Pakistan played less cricket this year. Now SriLanka is playing Pakistan, watch out for Pakistan! The boys in green are back!

If ever there was a year to get carried away for an indian, this was it. Finally performances are catching up with expectations. Dhoni's attitude of team before individual is paying off.

"Pakistan doesn't produce world-class cricketers anymore" well it's hard to say that when Pakistan hasn't played a test all year. I agree this is a completely blinkered article

Bwahahahahahahahaha... Wat a joke. Great 12 dude, why didn't Dravid, Harbhajan, Mishra, Yuvraj, Laxman make the final team. You could even have resurrected Ganguly's career and made him 12th man!
I've got the Quick Crawlers vs the Slow Smashers, an AJAX &#copy; match
Quick Crawlers: Kattich, Gambhir, Sangakkara, Chanderpaul, Tendulkar, Hussey, Johnson, Steyn, Sidebottom, Sharma and Mendis 12th man - Edwards
Slow Smashers: Sehwag, Gayle, Pietersen, Yuvraj, Symonds, Flintoff, McCullum, Vaas, O'Brien, Muralitharan, Harris 12th man - Ryder

Talgeri, what are you smoking? Zaheer?? He shouldn't make it into an Asia XI. Just 27 wickets in 9 tests at average of 37. And Gambhir?? He's a flat track bully who's been very lucky to have played on SOOO many featherbeds this year.

Although the performances of all the Indians listed in the team have been impressive throughout the year, it still does not warrant the selection of 6 Indians in a world XI team. I reckon you need to read into performances of players from other teams as deeply as you have analyzed the stats of the Indian players. Without bothering to name any other players at this stage, there are quite a few Indian faces in your list which can make way for others.

There is not a single Australian in his team coz right from 1 to 11, the Aus players have been outclassed by players from other countries this year.Quite reasonable.In the fast bowling dept, i think Steyn is missing. He has had a phenomenal year and more importantly has bowled match winning spells for RSA.Otherwise i thought his pick was reasonable except for Jayawardena who should have been replaced by Flintoff.Just because its a world XI, its not mandatory that players from all parts of the world should be included in the team. Strictly, players who have performed should only be there. In that regard i think his team is more than acceptable.

@ Asim: Go and watch cricket mate. I dont know if u have watched sufficient amount of cricket. Sehwag, Gambhir, Sachin, Laxman,have all crossed 1000 run mark this year.

Sehwag - 1463 runs including a triple century.
Sachin - Equals record for scoring more than 1000 runs in a year - 5 times.Go and watch cricket to become a fan of it.

Can you tell me why Tendulkar is in side. Ok he has an average of 48 this year but he has been very inconsistent. In the total of 4 test played against Sri Lanka and South Africa he have made 95 runs at an average of about 13.

Why is Amla not there and is Strauss who has made 4 hundred this year. Shivnaraine Chanderpual who scored 900 runs at an average of over 100 doesnot get chance in the side. It got to be one of the worst article in Cricinfo.

It is wrong to say "Pakistan doesn't produce world-class cricketers anymore". As you have mentioned earlier "It's one of cricket's oldest propositions: numbers don't supply the complete picture". Paksitan has not played a single test match the whole year, thanx to Australia, ICC and their hostile neighbor India's refusal to come and play their players didn't got a chance to show their talents, hence, the result that no Paksitani has been able to pick a spot on this world eleven.

Ridiculous team and ridiculous of cricinfo to publish such immature pieces. There should be some screening before general stuff is published on a reputed site.

I don't see any bias at all ! If Kunal's squad has so many Indians, it is because India has so many great players. Are we picking the ‘Best Team’, or a ‘United Nations-equally represented by all Nations’ Team ? Surely this is not a ‘cake-dividing, equal shares for all countries’ exercise ?
But I would switch Jayawardene with Ponting, and Dravid for Pietersen ! Yes, the so-called ‘out of form’, ‘staid’ Dravid, for the switch-hitting KP !
When it comes to fast bowlers, Mitchell Johnson would make it at Zaheer’s expense.

I think the writer is not aware that there are other countries playing cricket. Please do not forget that Sri Lanka BEAT India in the Asia Cup Final (with Dhoni captaining the Indian side).
Remove your blinkers and accept the fact that there are better cricketers around the world!

The list doesn't take into account South Africans, Australians and other good players.

Lets do some selecting.

Openers: Sehwag, Gambhir, Katich, Smith
Middle Order: Chanderpaul, Hussey, Sangakarra, AB DeVilliers, Sachin, Pietersen, Boucher, Dhoni.
Bowlers: Steyn, Johnson, Flintoff, Mendis, Muralitharan, Lee, Ishant, Zaheer, Ntini, Vettori.

Lets pick XI.

Sehwag
Smith (Gambhir has yet to prove overseas)
Chanderpaul
Pietersen
Hussey
AB DeViliers
Boucher
Johnson
Mendis
Steyn
Ishant Sharma

Tendulkar averages 49 this year, less than his career average. He did well from last year, but that doesnt mean he gets a place in Top XI.

Moreover, Zaheer and Ishant did not take 10 wickets in a match or 6 wickets in an innings to win a game singlehandedly.

There maybe a chance to include Murali or Flintoff as they performed well.

I think AB DeVilliers was fantastic.

LOL! The Aussie fans are up in arms. Did anyone notice that some chap picked Hussey in the 11? What a joke. Hussey has an average of LESS than 40 this year and has scored 4 DUCKS this year alone. Given a choice, the Aussie fans would pick Haydos, Punter and Lee as well. We English fans are the best. We know the limitations of our team and don't hide from reality!

Anyway, my team:

1) G Smith
2) V Sehwag
3) H Amla
4) S Tendulkar
5) S Chanderpaul
6) K Pietersen
7) A Flintoff
8) M Johnson
9) D Steyn
10)A Mendis
11)R Sidebottom

12th man: D Vettori

You are a muppet

3 openers? That's not a eleven, that's BS.

I wonder why is there so much fuss about picking Zaheer in th team. Ishant may be left out because of inexperience but both of them possess more skill than steyn and johnson will ever possess. If zaheer and Ishant would have been playing most of the year on south african or australian pitches instead of srilankan and indian featherbeds they would have scared the living daylights out of any batsman from any team in the world. the team should include chanderpaul, katich,steyn instead of sachin, mahela and ishant.

Comaparing Steyn with Ishant? Well , that guy was sent "your" world XI packing for 70 odd. And Chanderpaul to give way for Tendulkar or Pietersen! You are joking , right ? This is not Tendulkar of '98 or Pietersen of '05. But we are certainly talking about Chanderpaul of '08. And as far as Captaincy is concerned, I think smith should get it hands down (he is unbeaten in 9 series not in 9 tests). Flint"off"! Humm no!
I think more appropriate lineup would be:

Smith (C)
Gambhir/Sehwag
Amla
Chanderpaul [stand out man]
Hussey
Sangakara(wk)
AB de Villiers/Jayawardane
Zaheer
Steyn
Mendis
Murali/Mitchell Johnson (depending upon conditions)

Thats a poor list and so many Asians in there? You can't leave Shiv Chanderpaul out, he has been the most consistent bastman over the last two years.

My XI would be:

Smith (C)
Sehwag
Sangakkara
Pietersen
Chanderpaul
AB DeVilliers
Boucher
Steyn
Murali
Johnson
Z Khan

A 2008 team that does not include Mendis, Chanderpaul, or any Australian is a joke. If this is the standard that cricinfo blogs have fallen to, then cricinfo should reduce the number of blogs.

Some people will include Sachin in their world XI even 2 years after he retires. This is why India can never be the #1 team. The INDIAN PUBLIC is too immature to be a host of the #1 team.

I think Kunal's goal is to show a population-weighted side. 6 out of 11 Indians, but no Australians, West Indians, Kiwis, etc.

Then, it suddenly makes sense. This is not a team based on merit, but rather based on which players have the most people rooting for them. No Pakistanis since there are more Indians and Bangladeshis rooting against a Pak player than there are Pakis rooting for them. Hence, a Pakistani cricketer has less net support than even an Ireland and Bermuda cricketer (which Indian audiences are indifferent to).

This team seems to be a bit biased, but Steyn and Johnson have to be included instead of Zaheer and Ishant. Both these guys have had a great year, and have been the main wicket takers for their teams. Along with Murali & Mendis, the bowling looks complete. Anyways this is my full team as follows,
Openers - Smith (Capt) & Shewag
Middle Order - Sangakkarra (who else to keep to Murali & Mendis), Pieterson, Chandrepaul & M Clarke.
All Rounder - Flintoff (Perfect to complement the opening bowlers)
Low Order (Bowlers) - Johnson, Mendis, Steyn & Murali.
I think this would be a well balanced World XI, with plenty options in bowling although not enough of specialist fielders.

2 seamers?
Always playing in India then.
Completely biased selection with no consistent logic (Steyn Inexperienced but Ishant isnt?).

My team would be
V Sehwag
GS Smith
S Chanderpaul
SR Tendulkar
K Peitersen
DMPD Jayawardene
MS Dhoni
D Steyn
A Flintoff
A Mendis
M Muralitharan
12th man: R Sidebottom
and this is the world XI for tests.
Unfortunately no Australian in this side but it is very clear from the trend that South Africa and India were most improved sides. Gambhir misses out sadly and GS Smith comes in as Smith scored two outstanding 4th innings 100s although two of his big centuries came against Bangladesh. Flintoff bowled really as well as Zaheer and Ishant or M Johnson but the fact that he can bat is also weighed in. SR Tendulkar has played some good 100s and match winning 70 odd at Perth should be considered. Players who miss out narrowly are: A Strauss, A Prince, AB De Villiers, I Sharma and M Johnson. K Sangakkara will be the reserve wicket keeper to MS Dhoni who will captain the side.

Of all the alterations you made to Roebuck's team the only one I can agree with is Sehwag. He should not come in at the expense of Smith but rather Gambhir.

Why is Sehwag a better choice than Gambhir when the statistics say otherwise. Well because we are only looking at certain statistics, i.e. runs and average. If we were to include strike rate as well then Sehwag becomes much more attractive. Sehwag is an aggressive batsman and it is this aggression that has won India games they may not otherwise have. Everyone is raving about Sachin's 4th innings hundred but the far more important score in that 4th innings was Sehwag's 83 - without it India may well have played for a draw. Only because Sehwag scored so rapidly was there time for India to go for the win.

Perspective: Simon Katich has a better average this year than Sachin Tendulkar.

It is interesting to see so many comments about what is the best team of the year. Some have taken statistical yardstick others some thing else. I have posted my side as well previously and then decided to post this team mainly consisting of splendid performers in the past who were jaded or not had a great 2008.
My HELP team is (HELP- High on Expectation, Low on Performance)
1) M Hayden
2) A Cook
3) R Dravid
4) J Kallis
5) M Vaughan ©
6) MEK Hussey
7) M Boucher (Wk)
8) B Lee
9) S Harmison
10) M Panesar
11) A Kumble

My analysis strictly pertains to their performances in 2008. Some have scored centuries in 2008 although their performances have been largely inconsistent. I hope there are no arguments on my HELP team.

I fail to see what all the hoopla is about as far as Zaheer Khan and Ishant Sharma are concerned. Zaheer Khan has 27 wickets from 9 matches at an average of 36.9 and strike rate of 68.8; Ishant Sharma has 38 wickets from 13 matches at an average of 31.6 and SR of 62. If you actually beleive that a bowler with these figures (and I'm reffering specifically to Zaheer Khan here) even deserves to play first class cricket (unless he is an exceptionally good batsman), I seriously doubt that you know anything about cricket. Not only are these figures unimpressive, they are downright terrible. And you actually have the audacity to say that you'd rather have one of them instead of Dale Steyn.

I agree that this team is a little asian heavy and without reason..I would not have Jayawardene in the team or Tendulkar. Mahela was struggling against the zims (ok, those were ODIs, I know) but that speaks volumes of his current form...
My team is Virender Sehwag, Graeame Smith, Gautam Gambhir, Kevin Pietersen, Michael Hussey, Shiv Chanderpaul, Brendon McCullum, Andrew Flintoff, Dale Steyn, Ajantha Mendis, Ishant Sharma

Ishant Sharma is undoubtedly talented and will develop into a destructive bowler, but you i think that your exposure to him as in India has made you impartial. I'm Australian, and despite some average spells here in Australia so far, it would be a joke to leave Steyn as 12th man after ripping apart every batting order he has come accross. Ishant would be my 12th man for effort, threat and talent, but not on performance in either the statistical or real performance sense.

Dale Steyn is the best fast bowler currently. And then there is Ishant to replace any off the bowlers.

Iam an Indian living in Melbourne.
My pick is:-
Sehwag
Smith(Capt)
J.Kallis
Tendulkar
Chanderpaul
MJ.Clarke
Dhoni(he might not perform unless he is the captin, though)
A.Flintoff
Zaheer Khan
D.steyn
Muralitharan
12thman: A.Mendis or Chris Gayle
This is based on the recent performances only. Otherwise, Ponting will lead my team.

6 Indians out of 11 by the Indian reader? I'm afraid I can't take that seriously.

Taking Chanderpaul out? That must be some silly joke!

How can you leave the TOP BATSMAN FOR THE PAST TWO YEARS out of the side? You toss Chanderpaul aside for Tendulkar? Sharma and Khan over Steyn? Jayawardene i don't think merits selection on a world 11 THIS YEAR, altho last year mayb.....SMITH should obviously be the captain, as he has finally matured as a world class leader.
I think the writer has been bamboozled by the "magic" of the Indian team this year while reality goes right over his head.

Considering Vettori, Steyn, and Chanderpauls form over the last year it seems criminal to not have them. Vettori this year it has to be said has shined as the best all rounder in world cricket, Flintoff hasnt seen enough test cricket yet and Kallis's numbers have been down. Smith is captain, Dhoni i do not believe is not the best captain in world cricket. Once pressure builds he sets offside fields and makes bowlers bowl wide of off stump then wonders why people are getting sick of test cricket. His decision to let Yuvraj and Gambhir chance pointless centuries rather than try for a win is poor captaincy from a side that lacks the ruthless touch that defines a world best team, India are not there, and i believe will be pipped by SA. De Villiars gets number 6 as he has matured brilliantly as a player and a world beating team needs an able wicket-keeper, and while Dhoni and recently Haddin have scored a few McCullum and Jayawardene are far better keepers, and McCullum is a better batsman

In continuation of my last post, the world 11 i believe should be as follows

Smith (c)
Gambhir
Amla
Pieterson
Chanderpaul
De Villiars
McCullum
Vettori
Johnson
Steyn
Mendis

Only 1 indian...

How about a worst 11 for the year? not just full of players from New Zealand, Bangladesh and Zimbabwe but players who have faile to live up to expectation.

How
Tamin Iqbal
Dravid
Kallis
Bell
McCullum (funnily in both worst and best, great keeper, but since his stunning series against England and his 158 hes really disappointed, and for that reason, he plays as batsman only
Ambrose (keeper)
Lee
Kumble (c)
Panesar
Mark Gillespie

Anyone else i forgot that has had a year to forget?

You surely meant to headline your post as "Asian XI" didnt you?

What cricket have you been following? Whose world are they going to represent? Not including Chanderpaul? Ridiculous! Names do not win games! End story

Roebuck's XI is pretty close to dead on, South Africa are the premier team in world cricket at the moment and deserve to have the players they have got in that line up. The only players I have qualms about are Johnson and Dhoni. Dhoni has had a good year but not a great year with the bat. He still has a lot to do to convince me he is a test batsman, including making runs on unfriendly wickets. I think it is also quite harsh to give him the captiancy instead of Smith. Smith hasn't lost a series all year and is currently shredding Australia in Australia. He gets that nod.

As for Johnson, I'm still not convinced. Perhaps Zaheer or Ishant would be a better choice in that spot.

Steyn has 140 wickets in 28 matches. Sharma has 44 in 15. Inexperience? What about experience at taking wickets?

This is a list for 2008 and NOT OVER 10 OR 15 YEARS

But why are the NewZealanders missing, there had been some tremendous performances. Why is Mendis there with only 24 wickets in 3 Test Matches played in SRILANKA

My list goes here

1. Smith (Captain) - He along with Chanderpaul, stands out this year
2. Sehwag
3. Gambhir
4. Chanderpaul
5. de Villiers - Averages 58+, 1000+ runs
6. Katich - Averages 59+, 1000+ runs

Other batsmen who narrowly missed were Amla, Clarke, Pieterson, McKenzie and Prince

7. McCullum (Has a better keeping and batting records than Dhoni or Haddin or Boucher in 2008

8. Steyn - Exceptional
9. Sidebottom - Again a standout performer
10. Vettori - (Murali has less wickets and Harbhajan has poor average. Mendis, is not at all qualified with his inexperience)
11. O'Brien - having played 10 matches this year with an average of 21.57, makes him the deserving candidate

So that makes
3 from SA
3 from NZ
2 Indians
1 Aussie
1 English
1 WI

Interesting comments. Noticed so many of the whites say "Six Indians? You must be joking!" It would have been valid if they merely pointed out that these guys did not deserve a place on merit. For all those espousing South Africa's cause as the best team in the world- AND saying that their fast bowlers are the best-let me remind you that SA twice "prepared" fast wickets against India, and it booomeranged spectacularly on them. They were out-bowled by the Indian fast bowlers both times.(in SA!) One occasion was the 2020 world championship, and the other was the first test in the last series between these 2 in SA.
My World XI for 2008: Sehwag, Smith, Chanderpaul, Tendulkar, Pieterson, Dhoni (Capt), Vettori, Steyn, Zaheer, Johnson, Mendis.
I would NOT pick Gambhir over the other 2 openers, and also remember that he is still a HOPELESS fielder.(dropped alot of close-in catches). I picked Johnson because he was the best of a bad Aussie side. N fairness, no Aussie deserves to be in this year

Mathew I seem to like your team, it has great composition. De Velliers has had stunning performances in the field to, so he's inclusion is not solely on batting performances. How could kunal leave Steyn and Vettori out? as for your worst players, what about hayden?

Mathew I seem to like your team, it has great composition. De Velliers has had stunning performances in the field to, so he's inclusion is not solely on batting performances. How could kunal leave Steyn and Vettori out? as for your worst players, what about hayden?

Piaree Mina Anand - you have contradicted yourself.

Absurd, absolutely absurd. how do u pick such a line up. Dale Steyn out? bias. My line up has to hav consistency n variations. It is 1. Smith© 2. Sehwag 3. Chanderpaul 4. Pieterson 5. De Velliers 6. Sangakhara 7. Flintoff 8. Steyn 9. Mendis 10. Johnson 11. Murali

Lots of good players in that side, but you didn't have to mention you were from India mate, that's pretty obvious from the team you picked.

They're all good players, but if you're talking simply about 2008 performances, how can you leave out Steyn & Chanderpaul for Sharma & Tendulkar?! Not 100% sure about Jayawardene or Sehwag either, but I guess that depends on if you're talking about a consistently good 2008, or a few great performances in 2008.

Matthew, that 'Worst XI' was pretty accurate, maybe Michael Vaughan for Jamie How though?!

My eleven based on 2008 performances only has to exclude Pakistani players. There is no evidence that Yousuf etc would continue their form after such a long break. I would have no Australians. Ponting etc were carried by McGrath, Warne and Gilchrist, since their retirement they are mediocre at best. Losing more than they win.

Smith
Sehwag
Gambhir
Tendulkar
Chanderpaul
De Villiers
Flintoff
Dhoni
Steyn
Zaheer
Mendis

Well done Mr Talgeri. The best way to get your blog noticed is to write a load of rubbish that is sure to inflame sensibilities. If you had written a serious piece, you might have had half a dozen respondents nitpicking and fine tuning your choices. Instead you are approaching a century of incredulous (and angry) fans.
Well done to you. I will soon put up a blog about how crap a batsman Tendulkar is and why he should be dropped summarily. THAT should garner me a few thousand replies.

my best of 2008 world XI is as follows:
sunil gavaskar
deep dasgupta (wk)
vinod kambli
sanjay manjrekar
yashpal sharma
vijay bharadwaj
ajit agarkar
l balaji
harbhajan singh
murali kartik
narendra hirwani
12th man mohinder arminath

I think this is the best unbiased and balanced side (note the 3 specialist spinners plus bharadwaj the all rounder also bowling spin)

LOL

It has to be said that Kunal Talgeri's article is not a surprise and is completely consistent with the majority of rubbish written by Indian's about cricket.

An interesting thing to note is that bowlers such as Zaheer Khan & Ishant Sharma are excused for poor figures because they bowl on pitches that are a batsman's paradise etc, yet no mention of these featherbed pitches are made when the inflated averages of India's flat track bully batting lineup are talked about.

Absolutely terrible article- it is mind boggling that cricinfo would post such inane garbage :|

It is good to see people are finally recognising Daniel Vettori who is the best all rounder of 2008, has the 4th most wickets for 2008 and has had to play in Aussie, England, Bangladesh and New Zealand. The Sri Lankan duo have played little test match cricket and lack decent performances abroad this year.

Good that the writer didn't include the former captain (for want of a better word) of India, who I'm told was a left handed batsman but always went missing when there was grass on the wicket or there were a few fast bowlers! What a poor sportsman he was!

The SMH world XI have six walk-up starters, Smith (who should be captain), Chanderpaul, de Villiers, Sidebottom, Johnson and Steyn.

Sehwag is miles ahead of Gambhir because he bats aggressively and can bowl. Amla and Pietersen have guys like Sangakkara, Ponting, Tendulkar, Clarke and Jayawardene who've had a great year.

With the top 6 like it is, you'd look at the best keeper to bat at 7. Boucher and McCullum have the most dismissals yet Haddin is the better batsman, the point being Dhoni shouldn't be in the XI.

Omitting Muralidaran is questionable, he is the number 1 ranked test bowler and strikes at under 50 for 2008. Not forgetting that Dan Vettori is ranked number 2 for test all rounders, have 672 runs and 54 wickets this year.

So having explained myself, here's my test XI.

1. G. Smith (C)
2. V. Sehwag
3. K. Sangakkara
4. K. Pietersen
5. S. Chanderpaul
6. AB. de Villiers
7. B. McCullum
8. M. Johnson
9. R. Sidebottom
10. D. Steyn
11. M. Muralidaran

12. D. Vettori

what is this? A joke? That team wouldnt even be my asian XI. Clearly a biased selection.

My XI:

Smith
Cook
Amla
Peitersen
Misbah-ul-Haq
Chanderpaul
Sangakarra
Mendis
Shoaib Ahtar
Umar Gul
Steyn
12th man: Sohail Tanvir

I dont accept this.
Shewag is only a striker of the ball noone cant trust him.Here's my squad

1) S.Katich
2) G.Smith( C )
3) K.Sangakkara ( wk )
4) M.Jayawardena
5) S.Chandrapaul
6) S.Tendulkar
7) M.Clarke
8) Z.Khan
9) D.Steyn
10)A.Mendis
11)M.Muralidaran
12 th man : D. Vettori

"Statistics don't show how well Tendulkar played in 2008."

So you tell us with some balance....match the relative successes with abysmal failures in Sri Lanka as well where SL vanquished India and Tendulkar was just a passenger.

Here's mine:

Sehwag
Smith
Ponting
Tendulkar
Sangakkarra
Pieterson
Flintoff
Muralitharan
Stuart Clarke
Ishant Sharma
Mitchell Johnson

dhoni over sanga as the wicketkeepers choce in tests, WAT A JOKE. sanga is far and away the best wicket keep batsmen at the moment and how bout smith the captain since hes got over 50 test captancy's under him

In defence of the beleagoured author, and to counter a fast-developing Indian antipathy, here is a passage from Steve James's artcile in the telegraph:

'Team of the Year
India. On and off the field they are now indubitably bossing world cricket, despite what the Australians and South Africans might think. Their 2-0 Test series victory over Australia officially ended their opponents' era of relentless domination. And then England suffered. Talent oozes from their every pore. Retiring legends are being replaced with astonishing ease. There is depth in every department, and in Mahendra Singh Dhoni they possess not just a wonderful leader but a wonderfully impressive man too.'

In addition to test match performances, it also shoul be remembered that India's holds the world 20/20 trophy, and as a one-day team, they thrashed aus in aus, sri lanka in sri lanka, and narrowly avoided thrashing eng 7-0 due to...well you know what. Ishant's spell to Pont in Perth was curtley ambrose-like.

1.Sehwag 2.Smith(c) 3.Gamghir 4.Pieterson 5.Hussey 6.Symmonds 7.Dhoni(wk and vc) 8.Zaheer 9.Jhonson 10.Steyn 12th Man:Ishant Sharma.
Howizzat!!

Kunal,

Please stop ashaming us Indians by posting such ignorance ridden and biased articles. Frankly South Africa has been a far better side than India this year as they have been for many years. Yesterday I checked some stats in which RSA had won 10 of the 14 or 15 matches they had played this year and most of them were overseas. India lost an overseas series in Sri Lanka and even in Australia while they just managed a draw against RSA in India that too thanks to a rank turner in RSA.Zak and Ishant over Steyn no way. Neither of them would be in my XI. Steyn is a superb bowler. And how many matches has Flintoff played this year to merit a selection as some other readers were mentioning. Also no Chanderpaul would be a coup. A really biased and hopeless article.

The writer picked his team mainly considering the recent success India had against Australia and England. So, it does not reflect the true Best World XI. You have to take into account each individual’s contribution for their team’s success throughout the year. Here’s my Best XI for the year 2008. How could the author had forgotten the performances of players like Katich, Haddin, Vettori, Strauss etc. though their teams do not have much success in the year. When selecting the openers Gambhir and Smith out showed others as their consistent dominance throughout the year. In the test arena I always Sanga is the best wicket keeping batsman. No. 7 position was the hardest to pick, there are competition among Hussey, Devilliers, Colingwood etc. But Samaraweera’s ability to occupy the crease when the team needed badly rise above the rest. I used Flintoff purely as a strike bowler with the magnigicient Steyn. Finally, M & M completed the most lethal spin attack the world has seen recently. Here, I have picked two teams for the Test and ODI. When picking the ODI XI, I had taken into account some players performances in the inaugural IPL also.
(Test XI ) Gambhir , Smith , Sanga , Chanderpaul , Peterson , Tendulkar , Samaraweera, Flintoff , Mendis , Murali , Steyn. (Sub: Vettori , Amla , Ponting , Katich)
(ODI XI) Jayasuriya , Sehwag , Sanga , Peterson, Dhoni , Yuvraj , Watson ,Bravo, Flintoff , Mendis , Tanvir (Sub: Shaun Marsh , Tendulkar , Lee , Gambhir , Steyn , Murali)

Hi,
Everyone is entitled to his opinion including the writer of the article. Anybody can include or remove any player from his selected team by giving some valid reasons for inclusion or omission rather than using derogatory remarks or comments about a particular team or a nation.
Here is my team:
Smith
Sehwag
Pietersen
Chanderpaul
Clarke
Dhoni
Steyn
Zaheer
Johnson
Ishant Sharma
Muralidharan
Vettori (12th Man)

What rubbish written by a typical Indian, 6 Indians in a World XI. You would think India are ranked number 1 in the world. Pakistan not producing a world class cricketer!!! Yousuf , Younis, Tanvir and Gul are all world class. Just nobody prepared to play Pakistan. Shame on Cricinfo for publishing such a biased article. Indians would have a use believe cricket starts and begins with them.

Thanks all - this makes great reading. What is most exciting is how many of the names we are all throwing around that simply were not on the cards 18 months to two years ago. It is wonderful to be trying to fit so much talent into XI names. Cricket is about probability - you want to compile a team based on current form (not just the last match) that on any given day, in any given conditions, will deliver the goods.

I've got Smith in as opener and captain. he has been fairly consistent, played some huge innings in chanllenging circumstances - actually delivering on his 'brave' cricket.Personally I regard Sehwag as a bit of a flat-track bully. He burns hot and cold, and simply isn't realiable enough for a world IX. Gambhir on the other hand has been very consistent all year. Sangakarra takes number 3 - he really is the only number 3 to absolutely ooze class at the moment. Pieterson (much as I dislike him) has earnt number 4. This allows Chanderpaul to take 5 for solid reliability...

...de Villiers comes in at 6 to accellerate things again, and to marshall the tail. For my spinner I back Vettori. Kumble is now well past his best, Murali has declined a little, and Mendis has not yet had the opportunity to prove his worth in all conditions. After much thought I've decided to put Flintoff in for his bowling. He missed the start of the year, but now that he is back in the swing he produces stuff out of nowhere. Steyn really is a no brainer (no matter what some say). And then I want to finish with both India's quicks, Khan and Sharma - I really believe it is these two that have put India on the map.

So we have 6 batsmen, 2 all-rounders, and 3 bowlers to produce a combination that will score lots of runs anywhere, and should not struggle to take 20 wickets on even the flattest of tracks.

G.Smith (c), G.Gambhir, K.Sangakarra (wk), K.Pieterson, S.Chanderpaul, AB.de Villiers, A.Flintoff, D.Vettori, D.Steyn, Z.Khan, I.Sharma

Biased! Gambhir has played well this year but still he is unproven overseas. Hussey did well until this summer and has struggled since. Sachin has played well home and away except the Srilankan Series. Ponting has been a bit inconsistent, probably due the flaw in his technique. Sehwag was unpredictable but when he did score, he shited the momentum of the match and looking at his scores in 2008, he has been more consistent this year. Chanderpaul- No.1. AB de Villiers has been outstanding. Hashim Amala has consitently scored runs but hasn't made big contributions. Perhaps Michael Clarke has been Australia's best batsman this year but he also had a bad patch. Smith- 2nd best batsman this year. Kevin Pietersen has either scored big or nothing. I was going to chose Sangakkara as a keeper batsman but after looking at his stats, I have found that he has been alright not great this year. Jayawardene has done well but hasn't played enough matches. Mark boucher- no. Continued into next post-

This is a ridiculous arguement. Agreed the orginal selection is slightly (Captain Obvious strikes again) biased, however how can anybody select an eleven without any context? Who/where are they playing? Is it solely about performances? Or potential? I'd rather see two (conference?) teams picked to play a home & away test/odi series - perhaps Nthn hemisphere vs Sthn? Three matches in each hemisphere (ie: Lords/Calcutta/Jamaica and Sydney/Wellington/Capetown with a 'decider' in the UAE, the US or perhaps on the moon...

That I'd like to see (though sadly I doubt I ever will).

Kunal....although im an Indian and a staunch supporter of the indian cricket team i must say that your article seems more like the fond overindulgence of a biased poet..a work so flawed that it looks vulgar in the eyes of all but its self congratulatory maker..ishant sharma doesnt have the wikets to show for it, sachin doesnt have more runs than chanderpaul..leaving out johnson who is amongst the top five bowlers in the world..and HOW ON EARTH CAN YOU LEAVE OUT STEYN??..but my what skilful play of language convenience and over indulgence...you leave out sachin purely on the basis that he spends more time injured then on the pitch these day and this has clearly been his worst year in a long time since he has dropped out of the top ten for the first time in over a decade..READ ALL THE NEGATIVE RESPONSES TO YOUR BLOG FROM INDIANS AND NON INDIANS ALIKE and I pray you never show this kind of indulgence which puts you & your fellow indians in poor light EVER again! Thanks in advance my frnd.

MS Dhoni- didn't do well in Australia but has done well since. Simon Katich- very consistent. Btw, Gambhir did well in Srilanka.
My line up for 2008-

Smith (c)
Sehwag (Gamb/Kati are close but explosiveness wins it for him)
Sangakkara (wk)
Pietersen (Sachin,Amla & Jayawardene are close)
AB de Villiers
Chanderpaul
Daniel Vettori (Flintoff is pretty close)
Steyn
Johnson
Sidebottom (Zaheer just missing out)
Murli/Mendis

Terrible Team! Look Outside the sub continent.

1. G. Smith (Captain)
2. V. Sehwag
3. G. Ghambir
4. K. Pieterson
5. M. Jayawardena
6. K. Sangakarra
7. D. Vettori
8. Z. Khan
9. A. Mendis
10. M. Johnson
11. D. Steyn

12th Man: S. Tendulkar

A typical Indian's selection. Do you remember what happen to India in Sri Lanka few months back? No way that Ishan can get the nod over Steyn. A baised article is all I have to say. Leav out the fact that you are an Indian & look at this from a neutral piont of view. You will realize that only Gambhir deserves a place in the Side. Therefore my side is,
Smith (C)
Gambhir
Ponting
Chanderpaul
Hussey
Flintoff
Boucher
Vettori
Steyn
Johnson
Mendis
12th man- Dhoni

Well these list don't count for anything and only tangiable way to do this was Roubucks way. The list in above article is bit of a joke which Cricki nfo let the mailer showcase, Santabanata is better place for that.
I know India has done much better than past but that does not mean that every player of India is in World 11...I can't stop giggling.

Hi,
I agree that Kunal has put forth an XI that is a bit biased.... however I do agree with one of his selections.... sachin (good against Aus both home and away, good against Eng, and he won the finals for india in the CB series) ahead of Hussey that many people are suggesting.... why shud Hussey be in the team? he hasnt done anything much this year.... or shud he be just there since atleast one assie shud be there??? steyn ahead of ZK and ishant for sure.... flintoff??? what has he done this year apart from two spells (kallis and yuvi)??? and clarke.... well he had 2-3 good innings against NZ..... where he alsmot bored us to death...
My XI wud be
Smith (c)
Gambhir
Sehwag
Sachin
Pietersen
Chanderpaul
Dhoni (coz there are no other good WKs)
Steyn
Mendis
Johnson
Vettori

Cricinfo,
This article is is load of rubbish by all standard. This is defmaing India's image because an idiot wanted to get noticed.
Your selected entry writer seems to live under the rock where only Inidan version of highlights are telcasted. I am embarrassed as an Indian because of fellow citizen.

By the way what are cricinfor editing staff doing, hope they are not having holiday vacations to let something like this sneak thru.

I don't understand why people all the world over are so intent on rubbishing India as a team. India has a much better performance than many teams in the last 2 years, both home and away, yet the attitude is to place even hopeless teams like Pakistan,WI,and NZ ahead of India if possible. Do Indians win tests on featherbeds only? what about Johannesburg, Perth, Trentbridge?has sachin Tendulkar, Rahul dravid, Sourav Ganguly, Sehwag all scored runs only in India and nowhere else?To Richard, I also think that ponting didn't play in India in the 3 test matches in 2004 as he was afraid of Indian spinners. I admit that katich,clarke, amla,pietersen, and all other batsmen in world cricket are far better than tendulkar or Dravid or sehwag can even dream of being, but please have you watched zaheer and Ishant bowl? have you seen their skill with the ball, swinging and seaming it bothways, having Gods like ponting,Hussey and clarke in all sorts of trouble?its not always the number of wickets mate

mate you do know that there are matches that dont involve india going on in the world? chanderpul has to be in any best XI for 2008 for it to have any credit! the fact steyn is 12th man and both ishant and zaheer are in the 11 shows your bias! i personly would have vettori over murili, hes pretty much a one man team at the momment!

There is one glaring ommision i've seen throughout this article and comments. Simon Katich. The man is one of the front runners for the Allan Border Trophy, along with Mitchell Johnson. Would you rather Ishant and Zaheer coming in then Johnson and Steyn? Ishant is a developing bowler, he matches the great innings with ordinary, and he's also just not been taking wickets. Zaheer is only good in combination with Ishant, which is no reasno to include him, as its not as if he's the ONLY one who can bowl well with Ishant. Just not having Johnson, Steyn and Katich, well, Katich at a stretch, is bogus.

But seriously, where is Simon Katich?

HA Ha ha, Kunal, You're a freak. (Benchwarmers)

I am not surprised that not a single Pakistani is there!

There's no point in having so many indian players in a World XI side. Where do others such as Steyn & Jerome Taylor fit in?

Here's my World XI:

1) Chris Gayle (WI)
2) Nasir Jamshed (PAK)
3) Mahela Jayawardene (Captain)(SL)
4) Kevin Peitersen (ENG)
5) Brendon McCullum (WK) (NZ)
6) Owais Shah (ENG)
7) Sohail Tanveer (PAK)
8) Dale Steyn (SA)
9) Jerome Taylor (WI)
10)Ajantha Mendis (SL)
11)Paul Harris (SA)

12th man: Imran Nazir (PAK)

Hello again... Thanks for the brickbats! :-)
Nationality is irrelevant. If you make a 1999 World XI, you'd find Hayden, Ponting, Warne, McGrath and Adam Gilchrist. It would possibly have been captained by Steve Waugh. (I haven't looked up the stats!) Six Aussies in that World XI doesn't show an Australia-bias, considering that they were beginning to peak and really came of age in 2001. I'd return to my point about team composition. This year has been about how the Indian team has managed to collectively produce world-class performances. So, I'd stand by all the Indians barring Zak perhaps. This is because of Steyn, which I clarified was a mistake in my last comment.

Broadly, putting together a World XI is a wonderful pastime. I didn't mean to make a team to post it to the ICC office in Dubai. Neither am I looking to further any India agenda. It was a light-hearted entry, and all of you are welcome to do the same. Surely, there is more to cricket than numbers.

Cricinfo says: And that's why this gent from Cricinfo put it up. After all, as Kunal so rightly says, coming up with World XIs is a global pastime. Cheers.

Here comes a XI which is world beater !!! (not really based on the performances in 2008)

Virender Sehwag
Greame Smith
Kevin Pieterson
Shivnarayan Chanderpaul
Mike Hussy
Andrew Flintoff
Mahender Singh Dhoni (Captain)
Dale Steyn
Michelle Johnson
Ishant Sharma
Ajantha Mendis

1 G Smith C
2 G Gambhir
3 K Sangakkara WK
4 J Kallis
5 AB de Villiers
6 S Chanderpaul
7 A Symonds
8 D Vettori
9 M Johnson
10 D Steyn
11 R Sidebottom

Kallis & Symonds are in as allrounders, which means that I have 4 seamers & 2 spinners in a team that bats down to no 8 as Vettori avg over 30 this year - i would love to hear an argument against this team

You asked for it Pete:

Posted by: Pete McMillan at December 29, 2008 12:38 PM

1 G Smith C (yep)
2 G Gambhir (possibly... but I'd have Gayle)
3 K Sangakkara WK - Your saying he's the worlds best keeper? Seriously... I'd have Ponting at three thanks.
4 J Kallis (yep)
5 AB de Villiers (no, Shiv at five thanks).
6 S Chanderpaul (Pietersen)
7 A Symonds (McCullum - w/k... and he's a handy batsman too lol)
8 D Vettori (I'd have Flintoff for Sidez, and bump the others down one)
9 D Vettori
10 M Johnson
11 D Steyn

Five bowlers (Steyn, MJ, Flintoff, JK and Dan) a proper keeper... and batting down to nine (well, you might argue eleven after the last couple of days lol).

for a 20/20-based team: For a Test Team:

Chris Gayle Graeme Smith(c)
Brendon McCullum(wk) Chris Gayle
Yuvraj Singh Daniel Flynn
Ricky Ponting(c) Michael Clarke
M. Ashraful Sachin Tendulkar
Dimi Mascerenhas Shiv Chanderpaul
Dale Steyn Mitchell Johnson
Brett Lee Dale Steyn
Fidel Edwards Jason Krezja
Ajantha Mendis Ajantha Mendis
Daniel Vettori M. Asif
AB de Villiers (12)

"It is unbelievable that Pakistan doesn't produce world-class cricketers anymore." This just proves how boneheaded Kunal Talgeri is. I'd be tempted to fully buy into all of the obvious comments in response about an Asian bias, which are spot-on, but then he makes this asinine comment. Perhaps we'd know if this comment actually had any basis of truth... if Pakistan actually played a single match in 2008! So while it is correct not to have any Pakistanis in a 2008 World XI side, the statement made as to the reason why is absolutely absurd and shows the depth of ignorance and stupidity in his piece written from an India-centric universe.

i fully agreed with Peter Della Penna.kunal is it possible for u to think out of ur pond?does this comment about Pakistan has any relevency to ur subject of blog?i know u made a test eleven but for ur kind information one of the pakistani regional team (sui southeren gas) won the Nissar trophy in india this year n dont u remember pakistani under 19's team win in india.what about Sohail tanvir ,leading wicket taker in IPL,have u seen 3-0 bashing of West indies in AbuDehbi one days by pakistan.once again i know u selected a test eleven but remember Pakistan didn't play even a single test because of non-cricketing reasons.mate i hope u will be more logical in future.

its so funny to read people commenting that a world XI should not have 6 Indian players. Are we selecting a team based on performance in 2008 or are we selecting some charity XI where its mandatory to include one player from each country. Even more funny thing is pakistani players getting included by some experts when Pakistan didn't even play a single test match in 2008. The only thing that I think wrong in this selection was picking Zaheer ahead of Steyn which the author agreed later. Rest of the selection looks ok. people can have their own favorites but cannot abuse just because they don't agree with the selection

For those people who question Sachin's inclusion, can you guys justify the inclusion of following players based on their performance in 2008?

Sangakara - 6 matches and 434 runs ?
Kallis - 15 matches 665 runs and 31 average ?
Hussey - 14 matches 900 runs and 37 average ?
Gayle - 6 matches and 535 runs ?
Symonds - 10 matches, 762 runs ?

Tendulkar, ishant, zaheer and probably even Dhoni doesnot deserves to be in that list. You say only Steyn deserves to be in the list. So you think even Chanderpaul doesnot deserves to be there. wow another baised indian comment.

To vimalan,

Simon Katich 11 match 1021 run at an average of about 57
Aswell prince 900 runs at an average of 65
Hasim Amla 1161 runs at an average of 53
AB De Villers 1061 runs at an average of 59
Chanderpaul 909 runs at an average of 101

Now how will you justify selection of Tendulkar.

Judging on the original article and subsequent comments, selecting a world 11 is evidently not easy. Before doing so, ask yourself a few questions: Do I stick to 2008 performances or not? Do i blindly pick top players from stats or do I consider the balance in the side. Do I consider the context where in results where obtained? (eg picking up 30 wickets in 4 tests against Bangladesh vs 30 wickets in 4 tests against India...which is better?). Do I succomb to blind patriotism or do I give credit where credit is due? Do I look at the whole year or do I focus on one/two series' results? Do I specify the focus: a test XI, ODI XI, or a 20/20 XI?

Everyone is entitled to their opinion. Don't take this exercise personal, nor critique rendered. It's fun & accept it in that spirit. Also, realise that your opinion is not absolute!!!

My suggestion for World Test 13-man squad:
Smith, Gambir, Ponting (C), Chanderpaul, Tendulkar, Dhoni (WK), Vettori, M Johnson, D Steyn, H Singh, Sidebottom

To Surge:

Obviously you didnt look properly at 2008 - Gayle has not been in v good form in the test match arena, and whilst i would love to put flintoff in there he didnt play enough cricket in 2008. AB de Villiers has a better record that Pietersen in 2008 and i do rate Sangakkara above Dhoni in tests not ODI's. 2008 has not exactly been a great year for Ponting either

Ever thought of this combination:

1.Smith(capt)
2.Gambhir
3.Ponting
4.Chanderpaul
5.Pieterson
6.Dhoni(w/k)
7.Clarke
8.Flintoff
9.Vaas
10.Mendis
11.Steyn

based on just 2008 performances...i'd go:
1. Smith (c)
2. Sehwag (toss up between him and Gambhir, gone for the R/L combo, and also coz Sehwag's such an intimidator)
3. Samaraweera (may come as a surprise, but check his stats)
4. Pieterson
5. Chanderpaul
6. Dhoni (vc) (chosen over Sanga coz apart from that one innings against India, wasnt his best year)
7. Johnson
8. Zaheer
9. Steyn
10. Mendis
11. Muralidaran

I've gone the 3 seamers, 2 spinners balance, which is aided by the fact that Johnson is a really good bat.

Those that missed out:
Tendulkar - poor series against SL counted against him
Ponting - got out for low scores too often
Ishant Sharma - couldnt fit him in
Amla and AB Devilliers - picked Samaraweera over them. Very unlucky.
Flintoff - Johnson had a better allround season than him.
Sakib Al Hasan - maybe next year's the year for him.

So the author thinks that Australia "just did not get it right at the key moments". Didn't India play Sri Lanka in Sri Lanka, and get "cleaned up". Perhaps India "just did not get it right at the key moment" against Sri Lanka.

This is the typical bullshit we hear from some Indian commentators. I know that it doesn't apply to all of them - just vocal pricks like this bloke and Sunny (I'm 5'5", suffer from small man's syndrome, and hate whiteys) Gavaskar.

You should delete three non-Indian players from the 11, and rplace them with Kunal Talgeri's right hand, Peter Roebuck's right hand, and Sunny Gavaskar's right hand - as they have played brilliantly with their dicks throughout 2008!

wht a loads of rubbish in

Andrew, your so called champion team got it wrong 90 times out of 100 while India got it wrong may be 30 times. also you seem to hate Indians more than we hate whites and to be frank, I do hate all aussies.

Where have I said that I hate Indians? I mentioned Peter Roebuck - does that mean I hate Poms as well?

I withdraw my earlier statement