Poll 3: Playing Selector: Openers for all time subcontinental XI

[AndyZaltzHair]

Saeed Anwar is a good contender in ODIs though

 

[Migara]

Hanif and Sehwag

Marvan Atapattu has a shout as well. Averages 43 with the bat when opening.

 

[Migara]

Openers from Sub continent, at least 500 runs.

Taslim Arif (Pak)	1980-1980	6	10	2	501	210*	62.62	1	2	1
VM Merchant (India)	1936-1951	7	12	0	681	154	56.75	3	2	2
RP Arnold (SL)	1997-2002	9	15	2	679	123	52.23	3	3	2
SM Gavaskar (India)	1971-1987	119	203	12	9607	221	50.29	33	42	11
V Sehwag (India)	2002-2013	98	168	6	8124	319	50.14	22	29	15
ML Apte (India)	1952-1953	7	13	2	542	163*	49.27	1	3	1
Saeed Anwar (Pak)	1990-2001	54	86	2	3957	188*	47.10	11	25	7
RJ Shastri (India)	1982-1992	17	26	1	1101	206	44.04	4	3	2
G Gambhir (India)	2004-2014	55	97	5	4011	206	43.59	9	21	6
M Vijay (India)	2008-2015	29	52	0	2265	167	43.55	6	10	3
MS Atapattu (SL)	1997-2007	79	136	13	5317	249	43.22	16	17	16
Ahmed Shehzad (Pak)	2013-2015	11	21	1	861	176	43.05	3	3	1
NS Sidhu (India)	1983-1999	45	69	1	2911	201	42.80	8	15	9
TM Dilshan (SL)	2009-2013	29	53	2	2170	193	42.54	8	10	5
R Dravid (India)	1996-2011	14	23	4	807	146*	42.47	4	1	0
Majid Khan (Pak)	1973-1979	26	49	2	1985	167	42.23	5	7	3
Hanif Mohammad (Pak)	1952-1969	39	65	2	2638	337	41.87	7	12	4
S Dhawan (India)	2013-2015	14	24	0	996	187	41.50	3	2	2
ST Jayasuriya (SL)	1994-2007	90	152	9	5932	340	41.48	13	25	12
BK Kunderan (India)	1960-1967	12	21	2	782	192	41.15	2	2	1
KD Karthik (India)	2007-2007	8	14	0	572	129	40.85	1	5	0
JK Silva (SL)	2013-2015	16	29	0	1184	139	40.82	2	8	0
MH Mankad (India)	1946-1956	24	40	2	1548	231	40.73	5	4	4
Shoaib Mohammad (Pak)	1983-1995	27	40	5	1423	203*	40.65	4	5	4

 

[OverratedSanity]

Murali Vijay WAG.Massive oversight in the poll options.

 

[Teja.]

The reason why Sehwag is a default pick is not because he was loads better than Hanif overall but because not picking the greatest batsman inside the subcontinent of all-time in a sub-continental XI would be farcical.

 

[G.I.Joe]

Murali Vijay WAG.Massive oversight in the poll options.

Sangakkara had better employ a couple of private dicks to keep watch on his wife.

 

[viriya]

Hanif and Sehwag

Marvan Atapattu has a shout as well. Averages 43 with the bat when opening.

No Sunil? Come on man. Only lock for the opener spot imo.

 

[Howe_zat]

Would Tamim get to open the batting for an Asian XI right now? Not many options unless you make one of Pujara, Rahane or Azhar Ali do it.

 

[Migara]

No Sunil? Come on man. Only lock for the opener spot imo.

Yeah I know, just casting my vote to a forgottom great player of pace bowling.

 

[NUFAN]

Would Tamim get to open the batting for an Asian XI right now? Not many options unless you make one of Pujara, Rahane or Azhar Ali do it.

I would make Azhar Ali open as the middle order depth is strong. If you had to pick openers though I'm going Vijay and Tamin narrowly ahead of Silva. Karunaratne is a fighter who I'm always mildly surprised when he reaches 40, while Masood is too young into his career to be a realistic option.

 

[Coronis]

Went with Sunny and Sehwag, Hanif and Anwar would be opening the second XI.

 

[watson]

Gavaskar and Sehwag fairly comfortably despite Sehwag averaging in the 20s during his 6 Tests in England. But none of the other contenders for his spot did much better, including Hanif.

Soft spot for Majid because of his efforts in the West Indies. But again, there's something about English conditions that upsets the majority of subcontinental openers.

 

[The Battlers Prince]

Of Merchant's ten tests he did six in England at 47 avg.
Sehwag struggled in NZ too

 

[Contra]

Sehwag was such a unique cricketer that the word "struggled" in it's conventional sense never seems to apply to him, or at least I can't bring myself to do so anyway. Still remember him scoring a mid 20's/30's in 09 Napier because he couldn't stand Vettori/Patel bowling to him even though if he had played "normally" there was a double ton there for the taking on that pitch. And then smashing Steyn out of the attack @ Durban 5 overs into the second innings. Sehwag never "struggled" as much as he simply couldn't be bothered to focus that much more outside the SC, which resulted in him not scoring nearly as much outside the SC as he did in the SC.

 

[Bolo]

DWTA.

I would assume this team would be picked to play a ROW XI, and would play 50/50 SC/world. As this team is already going to crush it in the subcontinent, I might pick the best away players. Still picked Sehwag though

 

[bagapath]

Sangakkara had better employ a couple of private dicks to keep watch on his wife.

There is only one Murali Vijay. Will be impossible to find two like him.

 

[Red]

Gavaskar can quite comfortably be mentioned with all the contenders for the second GOAT batsman.

Sehwag just cos I love him and wish I could bat like him.

 

[Shady Slim]

gavaskar, sehwag

 

[kiwiviktor81]

I went with Anwar and Sehwag because I have a particular ATG selection policy which involves heavily prioritising icing over cake. Gavaskar just scored too slow for the brutal strategies of my team.

 

[OverratedSanity]

I went with Anwar and Sehwag because I have a particular ATG selection policy which involves heavily prioritising icing over cake. Gavaskar just scored too slow for the brutal strategies of my team.

This is ironic because Gavaskar has more rapid attacking innings against ATG attacks than almost anyone not named Viv or Lara.