Former Australian national cricket team captain Michael Clarke chose his India-Australia joint Test playing XI of the century. What caught the attention of many was that he was not sure about selecting MS Dhoni and kept him as an option with Adam Gilchrist as the goalkeeper.
In the opener, Michael Clarke picked Virender Sehwag and Matthew Hayden. The two were arguably two of the fiercest players to have played for the India national cricket team and the Australia national cricket team respectively. Both played a crucial role in their team's success during the opener.
Ricky Ponting and Sachin Tendulkar will bat at number three and four in the joint 11th Test between India and Australia
Ricky Ponting will be at number three and it's fair to say that there haven't been many better than him in this format. The senior batsman, known for his aggressive nature, was one of the main reasons behind the success of the Australian national cricket team in the longest format of the game.
Sachin Tendulkar will follow two openers, Sehwag and Hayden, and Ponting for Clarke's at 4. The batting great was arguably one of the best to play this format. He finished Test cricket as the leading player with 49 centuries as he played some brilliant innings for the team.
Virat Kohli and Steve Smith are No.5 and No.6 in Michael Clarke's joint India-Australia Test playing XI
Virat Kohli and Steve Smith finished fifth and sixth respectively in Clarke's joint India-Australia Test to play the 11th of the century. Both Kohli and Smith are the backbone of the current Indian and Australian team clashing with each other in the ongoing Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25.
However, when it came to selecting the wicket-keeper for the team, Clarke was spoiled for choice when he made the optional selection. If the team plays in Australia, Adam Gilchrist will be the wicketkeeper-batsman and if the team plays in India, MS Dhoni will wear the gloves.
The late legendary Shane Warne was selected by Michael Clarke as the only specialist player in the team. The bowling great finished his career as the second highest wicket-taker in the Test format with 708 wickets to his name.
For the bowling attack, Clarke went for Glenn McGrath and Jasprit Bumrah. Ryan Harris was the third player included by the former Australia national cricket team. He also named optional selections for the 12th man of his combined team. He picked Mitchell Johnson if the team was to play in Australia, and Zaheer Khan if the team was to play in India.
Michael Clarke picks his India-Australia joint Test to play XI of the century
Michael Clarke's joint Test between India and Australia played the 11th century
Virender Sehwag, Matthew Hayden, Ricky Ponting, Sachin Tendulkar, Virat Kohli, Steve Smith, Adam Gilchrist/MS Dhoni, Shane Warne, Ryan Harris, Jasprit Bumrah, Glenn McGrath.
12th Man: Mitchell Johnson / Zaheer Khan
