Aakash Chopra makes his picks for the best Test Match eleven for the previous decade with two Indians making the cut

Former Indian opener turned cricket commentator Aakash Chopra recently listed out his favorite fantasy test match eleven for the decade gone by.  Chopra who played ten test matches for India scoring 437 runs with two fifties at an average of 23 was one of the biggest reasons for the great performance of the Indian team when they toured Australia in the 2003=04 season. Aakash Chopra played the role of sheet anchor while his Delhi team mate Virender Sehwag was pulverizing the Australians. The former opener who was known for his sound defense and ability to see out the new ball recently picked his fantasy Test XI for the previous decade.

Cook and Amla combine make the cut for the opening pair

Aakash Chopra has gone with two Test Match legends in former English captain Alistair Cook and South African legend Hashim Amla as his openers and he reasoned out saying “I have picked Alistair Cook as the opener. He has scored 7531 at an average of 44.8 and struck 18 centuries in this decade.”  The former England captain who retired in 2018 was one of the heaviest scorers in the decade between 2010=2020. The second choice for Chopra is the former South African legend Hashim Amla who is the only South African to score a triple hundred in test match cricket.

Three current greats form, a former legend and an all-round powerhouse form the middle order

The number 3 and 4 spot is occupied by batting superstars Steve Smith and Virat Kohli and put in New Zealand captain Kane Williamson at number 5 while Sri Lankan legend Kumar Sangakkara takes the wicket keeping gloves, the middle order is rounded off by the inclusion of England all-rounder Ben Stokes in the fantasy eleven.

The four bowlers according to Aakash Chopra who could be match winners 

Aakash Chopra has gone in with two spinners and two fast bowlers to round of his fantasy eleven. The former Indian opener picked R Ashwin and Rangana Herath as his two spinners while Dale Steyn and James Anderson were his preferred fast bowlers. Speaking about the selections Chopra said “Ravichandran Ashwin, 365 wickets in 71 matches at an average of 25. He has taken 27 five-wicket hauls. The other spinner Rangana Herath has even better numbers. He has taken 355 wickets in 69 matches. He has an average of 26.3 and has taken five or more wickets 30 times. Dale Steyn. There was a lot of competition here as well but I went with him. 207 wickets in 48 matches at an average of 22 with 11 five-wicket hauls. And then James Anderson. He has taken 395 wickets at an average of 24 with five-wicket hauls on 19 occasions,”

The best test XI team of the last decade according to Aakash Chopra is

Alistair Cook, Hashim Amla, Steve Smith, Virat Kohli, Kane Williamson, Kumar Sangakkara, Ben Stokes, Ravichandran Ashwin
Rangana Herath, Dale Steyn, James Anderson