Cheteshwar Pujara picks combined India-England XI, leaves out Rohit Sharma

Cheteshwar Pujara and Rohit Sharma.(Photo Source – Twitter/X)

Cheteshwar Pujara and Nick Knight made some interesting picks as they named a combined XI comprising players from Indian and England who played in the 21st century. Some of the biggest names to miss out was Rohit Sharma, Gautam Gambhir, and Zaheer Khan.

In the fun contest, Pujara won a toss and went first. His first pick was current England captain Ben Stokes. Subsequently, Knight named Alastair Cook and Virender Sehwag as his openers.

While Rohit, Gambhir, and Murali Vijay were available, Pujara went with England’s Alec Stewart as the wicketkeeper-opener. His other opener was Rahul Dravid.

Knight then picked the legendary duo of James Anderson and Stuart Broad as his pace pair, though Zaheer Khan was available to be selected too. Mohammed Shami was Pujara’s pick as his second speedster, though Zaheer was still waiting in the wings.

Knight had no hesitation in picking the iconic Sachin Tendulkar and Kevin Pietersen in his side in the middle order. Pujara then strengthened the spin-bowling department by picking Ravichandran Ashwin. He also named former England captain Joe Root in the lineup. Knight’s following picks were the inspirational wicketkeeper-batter MS Dhoni and former off-spinner Graeme Swann.

Pujara decided to go with an all-Indian bowling attack, picking Saurashtra teammate Ravindra Jadeja in the side. He also included the legendary Virat Kohli and VVS Laxman. From England, he picked former all-rounder Andrew Flintoff. The right-handed batter named former England pacer Matthew Hoggard as the 12th man.

India and England have had a fiery rivalry over the years. The two behemoths of world cricket are currently battling it out in a five-match Test series for the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy. Ben Stokes-led England have a 2-1 lead in the series, with two Tests left to play in Manchester and London.

Cheteshwar Pujara’s India-England combined Test XI (21st century): Alec Stewart (WK), Rahul Dravid, Joe Root, Virat Kohli, VVS Laxman, Ben Stokes, Andrew Flintoff, Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin, Mohammad Shami, Jasprit Bumrah, Matthew Hoggard (12th man).

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