A combination of India’s great One-Day International stars

Saurav Ganguly: A magnificent off-side player, he has become more forceful of late and still improving. Ideal foil for Srikkanth’s slaughtering style as he is totally unaffected by what his partner is doing. He also provides the ideal left-hand, right-handcombination. A more than useful seam bowler.

Sachin Tendulkar: Currently the best batsman in cricket, he has a full range of shots and always plays them with intent. He is one of the few current batsmen who looks to "take a bowler out" by murdering him and forcing the opposition skipper to make a change. A handy change bowler with a wide variety of deliveries.

Mohammed Azharuddin: A fine strokemaker, he is now back to playing at his best with strong shots through the off-side to complement his wristy on-side play. A good runner between wickets and still one of the best fielders inside the circle.

Ajay Jadeja: Lately, he has improved his shot making by playing through the off-side with a full, flowing follow through. Jadeja has a good range of shots, employs them sensibly and runs well between wickets. He paces his innings well and is brilliant at pouring on the power in the final few overs.

Kapil Dev: India’s finest all-rounder, his ability to swing the ball always providedan opportunity for an early breakthrough. He was also one of the best timers of the ball and his career strike is up their with the best of them. A great athlete, Kapil was good in the field and he would captain the side.

Ravi Shastri: Another good all-rounder with his left-arm orthodox spinners and ability to strike the ball firmly. Shastri could bat anywhere in the order and his six sixes in an over is a testimony to his ability to hit long.

Syed Kirmani: A good wicket-keeper either standing back or up to the wickets, he was agile and had a soft pair of hands. The ideal foil for some of the middle-order hitters as he could work the ball around and keep the score moving.

Anil Kumble: Gets the nod just ahead of Bhagwat Chandrasekhar on the basis of his good fielding and ability to provide valuable runs in the final overs. Kumble is accurate and is very handy in the first 15 overs when a couple of catching men are in place. A good competitor.

Manoj Prabhakar: A good new ballbowler with the ability to swing it both ways and later in the innings, Prabhakar varied his pace well. He is another who could bat anywhere in the order, although he wasn’t really a hitter. Rather an accumulator.

Mohinder Amarnath: An excellent top-order batsman, who was prepared to challenge the pace bowlers, and a cagey seam bowler. His inclusion in the 11 adds a little more flexibility.

I was tempted to include Laxman Sivaramakrishnan on his form in the World Championship of Cricket on the basis that he was a top-class traditional leggie.

However, Tendulkar’s emergence as a big turner of the ball from the leg, covers that need. I also thought long and hard about Sunil Gavaskar because you don’t discard class easily. In the end I didn’t punish him for his slow batting at Lord’s in 1975. It’s just that there were other all-round options in the opening position. Overall it’s a good team which only lacks a brilliant run out specialist inside the circle.