A right-handed Asian ODI XI of the 21st century

The beginning of the 21st century saw a power shift in the cricketing world. India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka established themselves as powerhouses and began exerting their dominance, which was not the case in the 20th century.

Bangladesh too came up trumps at big cricketing events and produced some moments of individual brilliance that signaled the nation's arrival on the big stage.

Asian countries now had match winners, who, on their day, had the potential to win games on their own. These four countries shared a fierce rivalry with each other but how strong would a combined Asian playing XI look?

Well, let us have a look at an XI consisting of legends from these four Asian countries, who bat and bowl right-handed.

Openers

Sachin Tendulkar

Sachin Tendulkar, the little master, would open the batting. He will try to get the team off to electrifying starts. Arguably the greatest of his generation, the right-hander had all the bases covered when it came to batting.

He flourished in testing conditions, as his defence was flawless. He presented a very straight bat while playing strokes and this helped him to make runs all over the world.

Tendulkar had the ability to judge the lenghts of deliveries very early and so, he had a lot of time at his disposal to play strokes, even against the quickest of bowlers.

He is regarded as one of the greats to have ever played the game and he is a role model for the younger generations.

Rohit Sharma

Sharma in Action

Rohit Sharma, the explosive Indian opener, will open the batting for this side as well. He is just the type of player who is required at the top of the batting order to maximize the power-plays and to set the tone for the rest of the innings.

Sharma, who is an exquisite stroke-maker, usually takes some time to get going at the start, but once he gets the feel of the surface, he is quite hard to bowl at.

He is particularly strong of the back foot and he makes batting look incredibly effortless by his natural gift of time. His strokes are truly pleasing to the eye.

Middle Order

Virat Kohli

Kohli is a modern day legend

Virat Kohli, the Indian skipper, will bat at 3 in this lineup, since his style of play is perfect for the position.He gives respect to the good deliveries and punishes the bad ones and he has found a whole new level of consistency.

His game is ideal for any condition in the world and there are only few in the game who can drive like him.

He is arguably the best batsman in the world at the moment and is a master during run chases.

Mahela Jayawardene

Jayawardene is class personified

Mahela Jayawardene will act as an architect in the batting order, and will link up the top order and the lower middle order.

His game was defined by ease and grace and he was very pleasing to the eye. During his prime, he dominated bowling attacks by playing copybook strokes and he was an artist at work.

He paced his innings perfectly and accelerated when the time was right and this makes him the perfect contender to bat at number five.

Inzamam-Ul-Haq

Inzamam in action

Inzamam-ul-Haq was an elegant middle order batsman, who made batting look incredibly easy. One of the most fluent batsmen of his time, Inzamam was a beautiful timer of the cricket ball and he had to put in minimum effort to clear the boundary ropes.

He was brilliant against the spinners, and one main reason for this was his excellent use of feet which forced the bowlers to bowl at a length of his liking.

Pace didn't trouble him either.

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Wicketkeeper and all-rounder

Mahendra Singh Dhoni (Captain & wicketkeeper)

M.S. Dhoni will lead the side

M.S.Dhoni is an ideal batsman to bat in the lower middle order of an ODI team to finish games. In recent times, though, his game has changed.

He is more of an accumulator now but still has the power to clear the boundary ropes. He is the perfect choice to lead this lineup as he is ice-cool in pressure situations.

Dhoni will also be the wicket-keeper in the side as he is very agile behind the stumps and effects stumpings in no time with utmost ease.

Abdul Razzaq

Razzaq Was a utility player

Abdul Razzaq would play the role of the seam-bowling all rounder in the side. He was quite useful with the ball and was a wicket-taker.

Razzaq, who is known to bowl wicket to wicket and swing the ball, troubled a lot of batsmen all around the world with his accuracy.

He was quite handy with the bat lower down the order and often, his cameos were the difference between a good score and an average one. He was a utility player for Pakistan.

Spinners

Shahid Afridi

Boom Boom Afridi

Shahid Afridi will play the role of the wrist-spinner in this team. He will be useful with his leg-breaks by providing wickets in the middle overs. He will also prove to be quite handy with the bat lower down the order with his power hitting that not many can match.

Afridi was perhaps the most enigmatic cricketer Pakistan has ever produced and he had the ability to win games with both bat and ball.

His quick leg breaks were a tough nut to crack for the batsmen, one main reason being the drift he got in the air.

He was deadly with the bat as well and on his day, he had the ability to tear apart even the best bowling lineups.

Muttiah Muralitharan

Muralitharan- The Wizard

Muttiah Muralitharan will lead the spin bowling department of the team. He holds the record of taking the highest number of wickets in ODI cricket history

He had the ability to turn the cricket ball ferociously on any kind of surface and bamboozled opponents throughout his long cricketing career.

Murali, who many think is the greatest spinner ever, had the ability to vary the pace of his deliveries perfectly and he was renowned to bowl long spells with same level of consistency throughout.

Fast Bowlers

Waqar Younis

Younis is a legend

Waqar Younis will spearhead the pace attack. He is arguably the best exponent of reverse swing the game has ever witnessed.

He was best known for his deadly yorkers and his subtle changes of pace but he could also bowl a lovely outswinger with the new ball, which was highly under-rated.

He was deadly with the old ball and was an out an out wicket-taker. Most of his dismissals were LBW or bowled, which is a testimony to his accuracy and consistency.

Shoaib Akhtar

Akhtar was quick as lightning

Shoaib Akhtar will start with the new ball and with his quick out-swing, he would prove to be deadly. He would also be quite handy with the old ball with his ability to exploit reverse swing.

Arguably the quickest bowler ever to play the game, Akhtar possessed the ability to decimate any batting lineup with sheer pace.

He had a lovely outswinger, a sharp bouncer and a deceiving slower ball- all these attributes combined made him a complete package and a privilege for any captain.