Why selecting the best Test XI of all time is a futile exercise

While sipping a latte at a coffee shop recently, I couldn't help but overhear two friends passionately debating over who deserved to be included in their best Test XI of all time. One justified his selections on the basis of the overall batting/bowling averages, and the other argued in favor of those who performed better in away Tests.

That got me thinking on what my best XI composition would be like. At first, I was easily able to rattle off names that I thought were obvious shoo-ins. Then the left side of my brain began to debate with the right, and things began to get complicated.

So while the spirited debate between the two friends raged on behind my shoulders, my debate with myself, unconsciously, began to gather pace. At first, I convinced myself that a batsman's batting average and the number of centuries he's scored provided a solid basis for selection.

Just as I began to pen down my choices based on those criteria, creeping doubts in my mind brought the ink flow in my pen to a screeching halt. What about a batsman who has time and again delivered for his team in the second innings? Shouldn't centuries in winning causes be given special consideration?

How about a batsman who has a slightly lower average but a very high century to double century conversion rate?

My head started spinning faster than a tornado. At this point, looking down at the empty latte cup, I decided that a double espresso was what I needed to give a boost to my mental faculties.

The power of the caffeine boost managed to revitalize my thought process. I figured, without evidence yet with conviction, that the process of choosing bowlers first would be a much simpler and fruitful exercise.

So I dived into the bowling records and in relatively short order produced an impressive list of players on the basis of a superior economy rate and bowling average.

That's rock solid, I thought, clearly impressed with my efforts. But then all of a sudden, like the unbearable loud roar of a tsunami wave, a cacophony of voices started percolating through my brain cells.

What about the number of five-wicket or 10-wicket hauls? Isn't the performance of a bowler in unfriendly conditions relevant? How about a bowler who has a disproportionate number of top order wickets?

I realized that the process of selecting an all-time best Test team is purely a subjective exercise. The batting and bowling records are mere guidelines that help differentiate the true greats from the ordinary. But the exercise of sifting through the accomplishments of the greats and then deciding who among them deserves a spot in the roster is akin to climbing a slippery slope.

There is no perfectly accurate method of selecting such a team. Even a supercomputer with the ability to crunch through a complicated set of data cannot produce consensus.

So after a lot of brain-racking, number-crunching and dealing with voices of doubt in my mind, here's my all-time best Test team by position.

Openers: Sunil Gavaskar and Gordon Greenidge

#3 Batsman: Kumar Sangakkara

#4 Batsman: Sachin Tendulkar

#5 Batsman: AB de Villiers

#6 All-Rounder: Imran Khan

#7 Wicket-keeper and Captain: MS Dhoni

Bowlers: Malcolm Marshall, Wasim Akram, Glen McGrath and Muttiah Muralitharan