[Exclusive] Wayne Parnell picks his all-time Test and ODI XIs

South African pacer Wayne Parnell, who represented the Proteas in six Tests, 73 ODIs, and 56 T20Is, picked some legendary cricketers in his all-time Test and ODI XIs during an exclusive interview with CricTracker.

Parnell kept former South African captain Graeme Smith and ex-Australia opener Matthew Hayden as his openers. Legendary former Australia skipper Ricky Ponting got the No. 3 spot in Parnell’s batting order. South African all-rounder Jaques Kallis, iconic West Indies batter Brian Lara, former Sri Lankan captain Kumar Sangakkara as his middle-order batters. The versatile AB de Villiers was placed at No. 6.

While Kallis was picked as the batting all-rounder at the top of the order, Shaun Pollock made it to the side as the bowling all-rounder. Pakistan’s Wasim Akram and South Africa’s Dale Steyn were picked as the frontline pacers. Shane Warne, on the other hand, was named as the lone spinner in the side.

Wayne Parnell’s all-time Test XI

Graeme Smith , Matthew Hayden, Ricky Ponting, Jacques Kallis, Brain Lara, Kumar Sangakkara, AB De Villiers, Shaun Pollock, Wasim Akram, Shane Warne, Dale Steyn.

While no Indian player made it to Parnell’s all-time Test XI, his ODI XI featured as many as three former India captains.

Parnell, who recently won the World Championship of Legends league with South Africa Champions, picked Sachin Tendulkar and Hashim Amla as his openers. The talismanic Virat Kohli secured the important No. 3 spot in the batting lineup. The middle-order comprises AB de Villiers, Michael Hussey, and Shahid Afridi.

Parnell named MS Dhoni as the captain of the side. In the bowling department, Parnell picked the famous Pakistan pace duo of Wasim Akram and Waqar Younis. The enigmatic Brett Lee also earned a place in the side. While Warne had made the Test XI, in the ODI lineup, Muttiah Muralitharan made the cut as the specialist spinner.

Wayne Parnell’s all-time ODI XI

Sachin Tendulkar, Hashim Amla, Virat Kohli, AB de Villiers, Michael Hussey, Shahid Afridi, MS Dhoni (C), Wasim Akram, Brett Lee, Muttiah Muralitharan, Waqar Younis.

Talking about Parnell’s records as an international cricket, he scored 815 runs with the bat, including one half-century in ODIs. On the other hand, he bagged 173 wickets. The 36-year-old also played 33 Indian Premier League (IPL) games, picking up 35 wickets.