New Delhi: Australia ODI skipper Aaron Finch had to rack up his brains to pull off quite the tough challenge by putting on the selectors hat and name his combined India-Australia ODI XI team. Finch selected a world beating team by picking up some of modern day greats who have doned the jersey for the 'Men in Blue' and the 'Baggy Greens' in the game's modern era.


While Finch picked some of the modern day greats like Virat Kohli, MS Dhoni, Adam Gilchrist and Brett Lee , there was one surprise omission in the form of India's opening batsman Rohit Sharma. Rohit has been in breathtaking form in ODIs over the past five odd seasons ,scoring five centuries at the ODI World Cup last year, becoming the first batsman to do so in a single edition of the tournament.

Instead of picking Rohit as an opener, Finch choose to go with India batting legend Virender Sehwag and Australia great Adam Gilchrist.

“Sehwag is my number one pick. He was so dominant. As soon he was on, the game was over. I want to go with Rohit Sharma, his record is amazing, but I want to watch Adam Gilchrist open with Virender Sehwag, hence I would pick Gilchrist,” Finch said.

“I will go with Ricky Ponting at no. 3 and then Virat Kohli at 4. It’s such a tough position to bat at no. five. I would probably pick Hardik Pandya at no. 5 and Andrew Symonds at no. 6 position,” the Aussie captain said.

The right-handed batsman selected former India captain MS Dhoni at no. 7 position. On being asked who would be the wicketkeeper in his team - Gilchrist or Dhoni - Finch said it does not matter.

“Dhoni is a cool head under pressure, he takes the team over the line, be it in IPL or international cricket. If the team is 3 for 10, he comes out and get the runs. If the team is chasing, he finds a way the team to get there,” Finch said.

While deciding his bowling unit, Finch struggled to decided on a spinner. “I would pick Glenn Mcgrath, Brett Lee, and Jasprit Bumrah as my pace trio,” he said.While thinking of a spinner, he said: “Brad Hogg has such a great record, should I go with Harbhajan Singh or maybe Ravindra Jadeja to bat at eight to get extra batting option... I am unable to decide, who would I pick, I am saying players who I loved to watch, but I am unable to decide. It’s too hard to decide,” he said.

Aaron Finch all-time India-Australia XI: Virender Sehwag, Adam Gilchrist, Ricky Ponting, Virat Kohli, Hardik Pandya, Andrew Symonds, MS Dhoni, Brett Lee, (Undecided spin bowling option), Glenn McGrath and Jasprit Bumrah