All-time ODI all-rounders XI?

#6 Mahendra Singh Dhoni (WK)

MS Dhoni is one of India's most charismatic cricketers ever

Does a wicket-keeper count as an allrounder or is this slot the only non all-rounder's slot in the team? In any case, we cannot have a team without a wicket-keeper. Strictly speaking, a wicket-keeper too must be considered as an allrounder as he is proficient in more than one department. India's ice-cool Mahendra Singh Dhoni will be our gloveman.

There are countless instances of the unflappable Dhoni steering India to victory in extremely tense situations. Along with the lower-order, he often makes valuable runs. Fittingly, he is regarded as the greatest finisher in the entire history of ODI cricket and his numerous last over heroics will be a part of the Indian cricket folklore.

In limited overs cricket, Dhoni boasts of a magnificent record as captain and it is therefore tempting to entrust him with the responsibility of captaincy. But, he will be spared that burden as it tends to curb his aggression in batting. It is pertinent to bear in mind that Dhoni's relentless assaults on the bowlers were more frequent in his pre-captaincy days than when he became the skipper. Although he mostly batted at No.7 for India to shore up its lower-order, he will be placed at 6 here. This gives the 'Jharkhand dynamite' many more overs and allows him to have more impact on the game.

Lower-order

#7 Shakib Al Hasan

Shakib is by far the best player to emerge from Bangladesh

If the credit for the transformation of Bangladesh from perennial underachievers to a formidable unit to be reckoned with must be given to one man, then it would be Shakib-Al-Hasan. For a nation struggling to get rid of the 'minnows' tag and devoid of any great player, the rise of Shakib came as a beacon of hope. And, he continues to be their talisman in both formats of the game.

In 180 matches so far, Shakib has scored more than 5000 runs at an average of 34 and a strike-rate of 81, besides picking up 226 wickets. He played a stellar role in a large number of Bangladeshi victories in the last decade.

With just his batting or bowling alone, Shakib can be an automatic choice in Bangladesh's playing XI on any day. While many of today's leading ODI allrounders failed to replicate their success in Test cricket, Shakib had no such problems whatsoever.

#8 Lance Klusener

Lance Klusener was a devastating batsman and an extremely capable bowler

In his heyday, Lance Klusener was the best all-rounder in the ODI format. It is impossible to write about him without mentioning his breathtaking all-round feats in the 1999 World Cup that nearly won the tournament for South Africa. He scored almost 300 runs at a blistering pace and took 17 wickets, a performance which ranks easily as the greatest ever in a World Cup.

In the semi-final against Australia, a rampaging Klusener bludgeoned two consecutive boundaries in the last over. When the victory seemed certain, Allan Donald was run-out. The result was a heart-breaking tie and ended the rainbow nation's hopes of playing in its first World Cup final. But, there was never any doubt as to who the hero of the tournament was.

In ODIs, Klusener made his runs at a splendid average of 41 and a strike-rate of almost 90. Among the lower-order batsmen of his time, one would be hard-pressed to find out a player who averaged more. As a bowler too, he was a dangerous customer. His canny medium pace, laced with off-cutters, fetched him 192 wickets in 171 matches.

#9 Shahid Afridi

Shahid Afridi walloped the ball in a way nobody else did

There may be many famed power hitters in cricket like Sanath Jayasuriya and Adam Gilchrist but Pakistan's Shahid Afridi was always a cut above the rest. He battered the ball as if his life depended on it. It did not take long for him to proclaim his hard-hitting prowess to the world. In his very first ODI innings, he smashed a record-breaking 37-ball hundred, as a 16-year-old, against Sri Lanka in 1996.

Afridi started mainly as a batsman who could bowl occasional leg-spin but ended his career as one of the greatest ODI allrounders ever. His quick leg spin often caught the batsmen unawares and became so reliable that he became indispensable to the team purely as a bowler, even when his batting skills totally deserted him.

Since Afridi bats in the riskiest manner possible, his stays at the crease are often short. But, even those short ones can be very brutal. At No.8, Afridi may not get more than fifteen or twenty balls to face but that is all he needs to turn the match on its head.