This is only half of the story. Actually, it is just the
one-third. The second bit is that the newly-appointed Test captain is not in
the list of the Test team. And the final third of the news is that it is not
the official XI approved by the International Cricket Council.
Indeed, this is the team selected famous cricket analyst and
commentator, Harsha Bhogle. Bhogle might never have played cricket
professionally, but he is one of the most revered figures in the cricket
fraternity due to his usually spotless analysis.
And according to him, Shakib al-Hasan has done enough this
year in the One-Day International circuit to warrant a place in his team.
However, in the Test circuit, he chose to go with another all-rounder, Ravindra
Jadeja, something that has baffled a lot of fans.
Also, as expected, both his teams were populated with Indian
players in majority as the Men in Blue have had a great year in Tests and ODIs
at home. His final XIs are listed below.
Bhogle’s ODI XI: Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan, Virat Kohli
(C), AB de Villiers, MS Dhoni, Ben Stokes, Shakib Al Hasan, Rashid Khan, Liam
Plunkett, Jasprit Bumrah and Hasan Ali.
Bhogle’s Test XI: Dean Elgar, David Warner, Cheteshwar Pujara, Steven Smith, Virat Kohli, Ben Stokes, Wriddhiman Saha, Ravindra Jadeja, Nathan Lyon, Kagiso Rabada and James Anderson