The decade has finally come to an end and everyone is busy making their team of the decade. Indian wicket-keeper batsman Robin Uthappa also joined in and picked his ODI Team of the Decade where he made his countryman MS Dhoni the captain of the side.
Uthappa was a part of India’s 2007 T20 World Cup-winning side under Dhoni. Apart from the captain, he also picked four other players from India in his team of the decade.
He picked up the Indian opener Rohit Sharma, who will open the innings with West Indies’ power-hitter Chris Gayle and current Indian batsman Virat Kohli to bat at number three followed by Steve Smith and AB de Villiers at No. 4 and 5, respectively.
Uthappa also picked the Indian all-rounder Yuvraj Singh in his XI. The all-rounder performed remarkable right at the start of the decade and was also named man of the serious in the 2011 World Cup where India was crowned the champions for the first time since 1983. He will join with the English all-rounder and the current hero of the cricket world Ben Stokes in the middle-order.
Stokes helped his side to win their first-ever World Cup in 2019 and that too at home with his all-round brilliance. He had the year of his life and produced some magical knocks in the longer format of the game as well.
In the bowling department, Uthappa picked the Kiwi veteran Daniel Vettori as the only frontline spinner. He played a crucial part for New Zealand in the 2015 World Cup where they ended up as runners-up. Then comes the yorker specialist Lasith Malinga, who picked up 248 wickets from 2010-19.
Malinga will share the bowl with India’s Zaheer Khan in the pace-attack. The former left-arm Indian pacer was exceptional in the death-overs and was the joint highest wicket-taker in the 2011 World Cup.
Uthappa also named South Africa’s Gary Kirsten as the head coach of the team. The Proteas man guided India to their first-ever World Cup since 1983 in 2011.
Robin Uthappa’s ODI team of the decade:
Rohit Sharma, Chris Gayle, Virat Kohli, Steve Smith, AB de Villiers, Yuvraj Singh, MS Dhoni (c), Ben Stokes, Daniel Vettori, Zaheer Khan, Lasith Malinga.
Head coach: Gary Kirsten
