XI Assasins for ODIs. Review on Cricket World XI

Being an ardant follower and lover of the game cricket my dream XI would be :

Adam Gilchrist : Perhaps the best wicket keeping batsman in the history of the game today.His batting can alone get him a place in my dream XI as the opening batsman & wicket-Keeper.His record speaks for itself.He has played 252 ODIs and scored more than eight thousand runs which includes 14 centuries at an average of 36.42 and strike rate of 96.76.He had made his ODI debut against South Africa in 1996 at Faridabad.Gilly is 34 now and still has many years of cricket in him.

Virender Sehwag : There is probably only one word which I can use to decribe Veeru,devastating simply devastating.A batsman who can break the morale and confidence of any bowler in the planet when he gets going.His One Day International record can make many cricketers jealous.He has played 152 matches and has scored more than 4500 runs at an average of 32.45 with 7 centuries.He is also a right handed off-break bowler and has in many occasions broken lethal partnerships helping his team to win significant matches.He will be my opener with Adam Gilchrist.

Ricky Ponting : Currently the best captain in the world today, with an awesome batting record Ponting is as we all know also the Wisden Cricketer of The year 2006.Well his One day record after playing 256 matches since his debut against South Africa in 1995 has been remarkable.9210 runs at an average of 42.44 with twenty ODI hundreds and current strike rate 79.25.He will surely be my Dream team's skipper.He is only 31 now and is far from finished.

Andrew Flintoff : He has established himself as one of the greatest english all-rounders since Ian Botham after his beautiful performance in the year 2005 ashes test series when he scored more than 400 runs and took 24 wickets in the five test matches.Made his ODI debut against Pakistan at Sharjah in1999 and Andy has not looked back since that day.Well in 102 ODIs he has scored 2674 runs at an average of 34.28 with three tonnes under his belt,he has also taken 110 wickets and his current econlmy rate is 4.38.

Kevin Pietersen : He is a hard hitting batsman and does not prefer quiet life.In 30 ODIs he is averaging 65.50 and has three centuries already under his name . He has scored about 1200 One day runs since his first ODI against Zimbabwe in November 2004.He is an agressive and dangerous batsman & will surely carve a niche in cricket in the coming years.He will be my Dream XI's no.5.

Jacques Kallis : Made his ODI debut against England at Cape Town in 1996.He is 30 now,has played 231 matches scoring about 8000 runs at an average of 43.92 with 13 centuries under his name.He is arguably the best all rounder in the world today as his bowling stats are equally impressive,with 203 wickets in 231 matches and current economy rate of 4.82 Kallis has proved his bowling abilities..he is not at all agressive but yet is a fear to many batsmen as he is capable of swinging the ball sharply at a surprising pace off a relaxed run up.

Rahul Dravid : Rahul Dravid can be termed as a classic batsman.Many call him 'The Wall" and 'Mr.Depenable' also.Has scored 9528 runs in 292 matches,he averages around 41 with 12 classic centuries and will soon complete 10 thousand One day International runs.He is in his early 30s and already comes under comparision with the other two master batsmen of indian cricket Tendulkar & Gavaskar.He has been appointed Indain captain following the Sourav controversy and india explicitly deafeated Sri-Lanka in the home one day series and also been given the responsiblity for tests.

Yuvraj Singh :154 ODIs,4232 runs,avg 35.26 & 7 centuries.Yuvraj made his debut against Kenya in october 2000.Yuvraj is a perfect middle order batsmen when India is in crisis and he has proved it in more than one occasions .He is natural and loves playing the fast ball,he has been percieved having probs with the spin but then he finally overcomed all odds and today is an inevitable name in the indian squad.Yuvraj bowls as a slow left arm spinner and has put several good batsmen under problem at times.He has also turned many matches with his awesome fielding taking spectacular catches and unbelievable shys at the stumps running many batsmen out.

Brett Lee : Lee made his debut in Jan 2000 against Pakistan.It will be known as a day when one of the most fierce fast bowlers made his debut .His pace is blinding .When he realeases a delivery it can be any thing.A bouncer knocking off a batsman's head,a yorker shattering the stumps,or an out swinger getting the batsman caught behind.So far in 135 matches Lee has taken 237 wickets,wickets of any big batsman he has come across.He currently has an economy rate of 4.70.He is a threat to the biggest batting names in the business and also the upcoming and budding ones.

Shane Bond : He is a rare kind of bowler which New Zealand introduced in ODIs against Austrailia in Jan 2002.His entrance into the New Zealand line up has enhanced their bowling attack.He is the fastest Kiwi to reach 50 ODI wickets and his best of 6 for 22 in the 2003 world cup match Against Austrailia will not be forgotten by his fans for years to come.He is already Listed among the fastest bowlers in the world today & he will be in my dream XI along with Brett Lee a lethal and career threatning combo for any batsman on earth.

Muthiah Murlitharan : The best off spinner as of now in my eyes.Murli's both test and one day record is Mind Blowing.But as this is my ODI Dream XI i m going to pen down for you Murli's ODI bowling stats till date .In 273 ODIs Murli has taken 414 wickets which includes eight 5 wicket hauls and an unbelievable best of 7/30.Murli spin can be puzzling,he has dismissed batsmen in their topmost forms .Muthiah Murlitharan this name makes many stalwarts fearsome .A legend indeed and a part of my dream XI.

Friends I have penned down for you XI cricketers which I believe are XI assasins ...in world cricket .