India-England Test XI of the modern era (last 25 years)

An overseas tour is always a tough assignment and the upcoming England series will undoubtedly be a very challenging one for India. As the Indians try to acclimatise to the conditions in England, let us take a look at the combined Test XI of the last 25 years.

The criteria for eligibility is - a player should have played most of his cricket in the last 25 years. He should have played a minimum of 50 test matches.

While India is superior in batting, England has the wood on India in the bowling department. Here is our formidable team.

Openers:

#1 Virender Sehwag

The Nawab of Najafgarh was a highly destructive batsman

A crowd favourite. Virender Sehwag's batting style is the antithesis of what the budding batsmen learn from their coaches. He was a swashbuckler who tore the coaching manuals apart and batted in an adventurous fashion that gave the bowlers a hope of dismissing him cheaply.

And then, he tore the bowling attacks apart with a deluge of boundaries.

Even in test cricket, Viru scored runs at a breakneck pace. He smashed two triple hundreds in tests and narrowly missed becoming the first batsman in the history of the game to score three triple centuries when he was dismissed for a magnificent 293 against Sri Lanka.

As long as he was at the crease, it was impossible to keep him quiet, even when he was on the brink of a gigantic milestone such as the 300 run mark.

Without caring for the reputation or the rhythm of the bowlers, he put them to the sword and kept the scoreboard galloping. His intrepid style of batting set him apart from the rest of the batsmen.

Among others, only Australia's legendary Adam Gilchrist scored runs at a similar pace.

Matches: 104, Runs: 8586, Average: 49.34

#2 Alastair Cook (captain)

Alastair Cook's hunger for runs is insatiable

Alistair Cook has a slew of England test records to his name - he is the most capped player, the highest run getter, the highest century maker. Cook has raced so far ahead that the original records now seem to be mere dots on the horizon.

He is already assured of a place in the list of the English batting greats and the only subject of debate is where to put him in the list. As he churns out more hundreds, his place can go only higher and higher.

In his career, Cook compiled many masterful knocks and had a penchant for big scores. One of the major highlights of his career is his stellar record on the turning tracks of India, which have traditionally been graveyards for many English batting line-ups.

With plenty of gas still left in the tank, Cook's chances of overtaking Sachin Tendulkar's tally of 15921 runs look very bright. Cook's solidity will be an ideal foil to Sehwag's daredevilry. He will also take up the captaincy of the side.

Matches: 156, Runs: 12145, Average: 45.65

Middle-order

#3 Rahul Dravid

Rahul Dravid was one of the most technically sound batsmen of his era

If Sachin Tendulkar was destined for greatness, Rahul Dravid seemed to have earned it the hard way. Dravid personified patience, a virtue in test cricket at least according to the school of classical batsmanship.

He possessed immaculate defence and an airtight technique that would delight the lovers of the traditional style of batting.

Blessed with amazing powers of concentration, Dravid wore down bowling attacks and played many marathon innings. Nobody apart from Tendulkar, of course, was more valuable for India during his time.

The overseas tours present a stern test for the Indian batsmen as the conditions there are vastly different to the spin-friendly pitches in the sub-continent.

While many batsmen struggled hopelessly, Dravid was one of the few players who passed the test with flying colours.

Dravid was a perfect team man. He was never reluctant to open the batting when a regular opener was not available. He was always willing to don the gloves if needed. 'The Wall' is a shoo-in for the No.3 slot.

Matches: 164, Runs: 13288, Average: 52.31

#4 Sachin Tendulkar

Tendulkar's career has been one of

milestones

Even before Tendulkar, the Indian cricket history was not short of heroes. There was Sunil Gavaskar who defied the fearsome West Indian bowlers.

There was Kapil Dev, the Haryana Hurricane who mesmerised with his allround ability. But, Tendulkar took the hero-worship to a new level altogether.

Worshipped as 'the God of Cricket', Tendulkar smashed many batting records in the international cricket. He is the highest run-getter in both formats of the game and is the only player to feature in 200 test matches. He excelled against world-class bowling attacks in all conditions.

Tendulkar began his career earlier than most of his contemporary greats and lasted longer. At the half-way stage of his career itself, the Master Blaster had already accomplished enough to earn a permanent place in the pantheon of batting greats. The maestro will occupy the no.4 slot in our line-up. His selection is a no-brainer.

Matches: 200, Runs: 15921, Average: 53.78

#5 Kevin Pietersen

Pietersen has the ability to take the attack to the opposition bowling

England cricket of the modern era suffered from an acute shortage of world-class batsmen and when Kevin Pietersen arrived, it could finally boast of a batsman who could be counted as one of the best in the business. For a considerable period of time till Alistair Cook found his groove, England's batting fortunes relied heavily on this flamboyant cricketer.

He was always in the eye of the storm and had it not been for a dispute with the team management that ended his career prematurely, he could have found his name in the illustrious 10,000 test runs club. While there may be debate on the controversies that surrounded him, the point that he is one of the finest ever batsmen to wear the English jersey is unanimously agreed upon. VVS Laxman is another worthy contender for this slot.

Matches: 104, Runs: 8181, Average: 47.28

#6 Andrew Flintoff

Andrew Flintoff put in some memorable performances for England

Had this been an all-time combined XI of India and England, there would have been a fascinating duel between Ian Botham and Kapil Dev to win the allrounder's slot. But, due to this being a team of only the last 25 years, we miss that mouth-watering prospect and that leaves us with not many choices for this slot. Andrew Flintoff wins it hands down.

Flintoff will not be ranked anywhere near Botham in the list of great allrounders. But, there was a short period during his career where the big man delivered some exhilarating performances that gave the English fans serious hopes of seeing another Botham.

He will be remembered fondly by the English fans as the hero of the historic 2005 Ashes series. To merely evoke a comparison with an allrounder of Botham's stature is a notable feat in itself and no English allrounder apart from Flintoff achieved it.

Matches: 79, Runs: 3845, Batting Average: 31.77, Wickets: 226, Bowling Average: 32.78

#7 Alec Stewart (wicket keeper)

Alec Stewart did a praiseworthy job with both the bat and the gloves

Alec Stewart was a vital cog in the England team of the 1990s and the early 2000s. He was a fine wicket-keeper and his batting was far better than that of his wicket-keeping rivals like Jack Russel.

This made him England's no.1 choice for the keeping gloves in both formats. He averaged 39 in test cricket, a number that would have given him a guaranteed place in the England team of his time as a batsman alone.

Stewart is one of the greatest servants of the English cricket and when he hung up his boots, he held England's record for the highest no. of appearances in test cricket. The only other contender for this slot is Mahendra Singh Dhoni.

Stewart edges out Dhoni narrowly by virtue of his slightly superior batting average(39.54 to Dhoni's 38.09).

Matches: 133, Runs: 8463, Average: 39.54, Catches: 263, Stumpings: 14

Spinner

#8 Anil Kumble

Kumble is India's most successful bowler in either format of the game

Anil Kumble was not the ideal definition of a spinner. While Shane Warne and Muttiah Muralitharan mastered the art of turning the ball prodigiously, Kumble lagged far behind in that aspect.

He was even derided at times for not being able to spin the ball. However, all this did not prevent Kumble from becoming one of the most prolific wicket-takers in the history of cricket. He is one of the three bowlers to breach the 600 wicket barrier in tests with the other two being the aforementioned spin greats.

Even his harshest critics will at least grudgingly agree to one point - that this unassuming man from Bengaluru is the country's greatest bowler of all time. In our team, Kumble will have to bear the entire burden of spin on his shoulders.

Other contenders for this role are Harbhajan Singh, Ravichandran Ashwin and Graeme Swann but it takes a cruel heart to go beyond test cricket's third highest wicket-taker.

Matches: 132, Wickets: 619, Average: 29.65.

Pacers

#9 James Anderson

Anderson's swing bowling is poetry in motion

With a tally of 540 wickets, James Anderson is the highest wicket-taker for England in test cricket. On surfaces conducive to swing bowling, Anderson is second to none. He can unleash magical spells replete with viciously swinging deliveries and make life difficult for the batsmen.

Anderson is still going strong and with some more years of international cricket left in him, he is on course for surpassing the legendary Glenn McGrath's tally of 563 wickets, which is the highest for any pace bowler so far. Even the 600 wicket barrier is very much under threat.

It is impossible to argue about the selection of a bowler with more than 500 wickets to his name. The master of the swing will be the spearhead of our pace battery.

Matches: 138, Wickets: 540, Average: 27.23

#10 Stuart Broad

Stuart Broad is likely to enter the exalted 500 wicket club

Getting walloped for six sixes an over - only a handful of bowlers in the entire history of cricket had to suffer this ignominy at the highest level. But early in his career, Broad had to endure that nightmare in the 2007 T20 World Cup because of a rampaging Yuvraj Singh.

At that moment, he looked like a broken man and such a dreadful experience can put an end to the careers of many bowlers. But, England's think-tank had a lot of faith in him and he repaid it in spades. Fast forward to 2018, Broad has more than 400 wickets to his name and only Anderson took greater no. of wickets for England.

Broad can generate disconcerting bounce and is capable of bowling very hostile spells. Along with Anderson, he formed a potent pace bowling combination. Facing the duo at the height of their powers is going to be a daunting task for any batsman.

His magnificent 8/15 that decimated the Australians will remain in the hearts of the English fans for a very long time. Broad can also make some useful runs in the lower order.

Matches: 118, Wickets: 417, Average: 28.89

#11 Zaheer Khan

At his peak, Zaheer troubled the best of the batsmen

The pitches in India can be morale-sapping for the pacers and the nation's pace bowling cupboard is bare. While nobody has been able to replicate the great Kapil Dev's heroics, two pace bowlers can be said to have done at least a decent job. One is Javagal Srinath and the other is Zaheer Khan.

On his day, Zaheer could be a tough nut to crack for the batsmen. He possessed the ability to swing the ball appreciably and deliver inch-perfect yorkers.

In the latter half of his career, he gained mastery over his craft and developed into a world-class bowler. Till his retirement, he led the Indian pace bowling unit with distinction.

Zaheer faces stiff competition from Srinath and Darren Gough for the third pace bowling slot but gets the nod ahead of them by virtue of being a left-hander. A left-hander will add variety to the bowling line-up dominated by right-handers.

Matches: 92, Wickets: 311, Average: 32.94

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Would you have included any other player in this list? Sound off your opinion in the comments section below!