Today we discuss Top 50 England Cricket Team players.
England’s rotation policy is well documented. Anderson and Broad have been preserved for more than a decade, while the Woods, Stones, Archers, and Currans rotate. Their bowling depth is quite vast.
After years of mediocre cricket, England’s rise post 2015 has been nothing short of marvelous. 2016 WT20 final, 2017 Champions Trophy semi-finals, winning it all in the 2019 World Cup, and the team to beat at the upcoming 2021 T20 World Cup. Their limited overs bench strength is quite something. In Tests, they have now won a record 6 in a row overseas.
Build FOUR England National Cricket Teams: 2 Test teams, an ODI, and a T20I XI so that (1) each team can field a team (wicketkeeper & 5 bowling options), and (2) a player is not repeated in any of the lists.
The Catch
Would you pick Ben Stokes for the Test team, ODI, or the T20I? How about Jofra Archer? Is Buttler more dangerous ODI middle-order batsman or a T20I opener?
Can you make all 4 teams balanced? The goal is that each team is just as good and competitive on the international stage. The ODI & T20I teams should be good enough for the World Cups and the Test teams for the World Test Championship.
England Cricket Team Players
*uncapped player
Test Team 1
1. Rory Burns
2. Dom Sibley
3. Zak Crawley
4. Joe Root (C)
5. Ollie Pope
6. Ben Foakes (WK)
7. Jofra Archer
8. Stuart Broad
9. Dom Bess
10. Jack Leach
11. James Anderson
Test Team 2
1. Haseeb Hameed
2. Keaton Jennings
3. Joe Denly
4. Dan Lawrence
5. Moeen Ali (C)
6. James Bracey* (WK)
7. Sam Curran
8. Craig Overton
9. Jake Ball
10. Mason Crane
11. Olly Stone
England Cricket Limited Overs Teams
ODI XI
1. Jason Roy
2. Jonny Bairstow (WK)
3. Eoin Morgan (C)
4. Ben Stokes
5. Jos Buttler (WK)
6. Sam Billings
7. Chris Woakes
8. David Willey
9. Adil Rashid
10. Mark Wood
11. Saqib Mahmood
T20I XI
1. Alex Hales
2. James Vince
3. Dawid Malan (C)
4. Tom Banton
5. Liam Livingstone
6. Ben Duckett (WK)
7. Lewis Gregory
8. Liam Dawson
9. Chris Jordan
10. Tom Curran
11. Reece Topley
*Notes:
I made sure Eoin Morgan and Alex Hales were in different teams (ouch).
David Willey narrowly missed out on that World Cup squad, but here, Archer plays for the Test team, while Willey makes the ODI XI. Best of both worlds.
Initially I had Sam Billings as a T20I finisher/captain, but had to fill a space in the ODIs (given Root was picked for the Test squad). Hence, Ben Duckett was added to the T20I XI.
Extended List of Prospects
These are just the 44 that are ready for the international level. Here is an extended list of players for the next decade. These players were either (1) selected for the 55-men ECB training squad when cricket returned from COVID, (2) have recently represented England Lions, or (3) were picked from the recent T10 League.
Youngsters to Watch Out (26 or Below): 48. Jamie Overton, 49. Tom Helm, 50. Tom Moores (WK), 51. George Garton, 52. Tom Abell, 53. Alex Davies (WK), 54. Phil Salt, 55. Pat Brown, 56. Henry Brookes, 57. Tom Kohler-Cardmore, 58. Will Jacks, 59. Sam Hain, 60. Brydon Carse
Ex-International Players Out of Favor(but still dominating T20 or County Circuits): 61. Luke Wright, 62. Liam Plunkett, 63. Samit Patel, 64. Adam Lyth, 65. Ravi Bopara, 66. Gary Ballance, 67. Steven Finn
Others:68. Ben Cox (WK), 69. Laurie Evans, 70. Richard Gleeson, 71. Sam Northeast, 72. Adam Hose, 73. Sam Wisniewski, 74. Daniel Bell-Drummond, 75. Joe Clarke*
*was named in Alex Hepburn rape trial and since been reprimanded. Doubt he will ever be selected for England
The Verdict
England’s ODI, T20I, and first string Test squad are stronger than India’s, but India’s second string Test squad AND depth of reserves is probably higher quality. I even had to pick Haseeb Hameed and Keaton Jennings for the second string Test opening (given that it has taken a decade for England to replace Strauss-Cook in their first string squad, it is no surprise I had trouble in this regard).
England has an abundance of pace bowlers, but the next generation of batsmen have not yet been groomed.
Now, a lot of India’s players (50-75) were the youngsters emerging from the recent U-19 World Cups and IPL 2020 (post-COVID). Since The Hundred was cancelled last year, the English public were robbed of watching exciting young talent. Who knows, after the 2021 edition of The Hundred, maybe England’s depth can overpower India.
What do you think of England cricket team players right now? What will your England XIs be?COMMENT BELOW!
If you like this, check out the rest of our World XIs with TwistsHere – Best Fielding XI, Best Commentators XI, and much more!
During that series, Australia announced a Test & T20I squad that would have been played at the same time (before Australia cancelled the South Africa tour of course).
These two events got me thinking—Can India field two Test XIs at the same time without overlapping players? How about an additional ODI & T20I team?
Today’s Twist
Build FOUR Indian National Cricket Teams Roster: 2 Test teams, an ODI, and a T20I XI so that (1) each team can field a team (wicketkeeper & 5 bowling options), and (2) a player is not repeated in any of the lists.
The Catch
Would you pick Virat Kohli for the Test team, ODI, or the T20I? Bumrah?
Can you make all 4 teams balanced? The goal is that each team is just as good and competitive on the international stage. The ODI & T20I teams should be good enough for the World Cups and the Test teams for the World Test Championship.
With so many spinners in the Indian cricket circuit and given recent history, does Kuldeep Yadav find a place in any of these XI?
India Cricket Teams
*uncapped player
Test Team 1
1. Mayank Agarwal
2. Shubman Gill
3. Cheteshwar Pujara
4. Virat Kohli (C)
5. Rishabh Pant (WK)
6. Hardik Pandya
7. Ravindra Jadeja
8. Ravichandran Ashwin
9. Ishant Sharma
10. Jasprit Bumrah
11. Kuldeep Yadav
Test Team 2
1. Prithvi Shaw
2. Abhimanyu Easwaran*
3. Hanuma Vihari
4. Ajinkya Rahane (C)
5. Karun Nair
6. Wriddhiman Saha (WK)
7. Bhuvneshwar Kumar
8. Umesh Yadav
9. Mohammed Siraj
10. Navdeep Saini
11. Shahbaz Nadeem
Indian Cricket Limited Overs Teams:
ODI XI
1. Shikhar Dhawan
2. Rohit Sharma (C)
3. Sanju Samson (WK)
4. Shreyas Iyer
5. Kedar Jadhav
6. Vijay Shankar
7. Axar Patel
8. Deepak Chahar
9. Mohammed Shami
10. Khaleel Ahmed
11. Yuzvendra Chahal
T20I XI
1. KL Rahul (WK)
2. Ishan Kishan*
3. Suryakumar Yadav*
4. Manish Pandey
5. Shivam Dube
6. Dinesh Karthik (C)
7. Krunal Pandya
8. Shardul Thakur
9. Varun Chakravarthy
10. Washington Sundar
11. Thangarasu Natarajan
India’s most successful Test skipper and the stand-in skipper in Australia are given the Test reins, while the most successful IPL captain & captain of the victorious Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy have been given limited overs captaincy duties. We made sure the limited overs team had plenty of 6th bowling options, an area Indian selection has recently struggled with.
Extended List of Prospects
These are just the 44 that are ready for the international level. Just like IPL 2020 showed, we can further create a squad just of the Emerging Players. Here is an extended list of players for the next decade.
Others:69. Jayant Yadav, 70. Jayadev Unadkat, 71. Siddharth Kaul, 72. Dhawal Kulkarni, 73. Sandeep Sharma, 74. Mandeep Singh (India caps, have age on their side, but out of favor & unlikely to get back in anytime soon)
*Note: Murali Vijay, Ambati Rayudu, and Amit Mishra were not considered because they are almost at the end of the careers and are out of the favor with the selectors.
Conclusion
Problem of plenty for Team India.
We have all criticized Indian cricket selectors at some point in time, but we can clearly see it is difficult to give every player an extended run. Gone are the days where we can find players who play 2 or 3 formats for more than a decade. Virat Kohli maybe the last of his breed in India.
Next week, we will do a similar exercise with the England cricket team. Their limited overs depth is quite something, and they are a rising force in Test cricket as well.
What will your Indian XIs be? What do you think of Indian cricket right now? COMMENT BELOW! Would love to know your thoughts!
If you like this, check out the rest of our World XIs with TwistsHere – Best Fielding XI, Best Commentators XI, and much more!
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) – Indian Cricket Team Squad Depth
How many Indian cricketers are there?
As of 2023, at least 75 Indian cricketers are fighting for a place in the national team. Today the Indian national cricket team player list is one of envy with its massive depth.
How many teams can Indian cricket team field?
At least four professional cricket side can be fielded with the talent of Indian cricket team depth. These includes a separate squad for Test matches, ODI tournaments, and T20 series.
Create an All-time XI with the twist that you can pick only one player from each World Cup. Since we have 12 world cups to choose from, we will create a XI with a 12th player. There are multiple players who have shined in each of cricket’s finest ODI tournament, but who do you pick-the best batsman, bowler, player of the series, or the inspirational captain?
The catch:
How would you go about choosing between Martin Crowe and Wasim Akram in ’92, Lance Klusener and Shane Warne in ’99, or more recently between Kane Williamson, Rohit Sharma, Mitchell Starc, and the infallible Ben Stokes in 2019? Whatever it is, this is bound to be a fun ride.
Before we reveal our XI, let’s refresh our memory with relevant statistics regarding the highest run-scorer, wicket taker, player of the series, and captain of the winning team from each cricket world cup.
World Cup – Year
Most runs (runs scored)
Most Wickets (wickets taken)
Player of the series
Winning Captain
1975
Glenn Turner (333)
Gary Gilmour (11)
N/A
Clive Lloyd
1979
Gordon Greenidge (253)
Mike Hendrick (10)
N/A
Clive Lloyd
1983
David Gower (384)
Roger Binny, Ashantha de Mel (18)
N/A
Kapil Dev
1987
Graham Gooch (471)
Craig McDermott (18)
N/A
Allan Border
1992
Martin Crowe (456)
Wasim Akram (18)
Martin Crowe
Imran Khan
1996
Sachin Tendulkar (523)
Anil Kumble (15)
Sanath Jayasuriya
Arjuna Ranatunga
1999
Rahul Dravid (461)
Geoff Allott, Shane Warne (20)
Lance Klusener
Steve Waugh
2003
Sachin Tendulkar (461)
Chaminda Vaas (23)
Sachin Tendulkar
Ricky Ponting
2007
Matthew Hayden (659)
Glenn McGrath (26)
Glenn McGrath
Ricky Ponting
2011
Tillakarante Dilshan (500)
Shahid Afridi, Zaheer Khan (21)
Yuvraj Singh
Mahendra Singh Dhoni
2015
Martin Guptill (547)
Mitchell Starc, Trent Boult (22)
Mitchell Starc
Michael Clarke
2019
Rohit Sharma (648)
Mitchell Starc (27)
Kane Williamson
Eoin Morgan
ODI World Cup Statistics
Our All Time XI:
Graham Gooch (1987)
Sachin Tendulkar (2003)
Kane Williamson (2019)
Martin Crowe (1992)
MS Dhoni (2011) – WK
Clive Lloyd (1979) – Captain
Arjuna Ranatunga (1996)
Lance Klusener (1999)
Kapil Dev (1983)
Mitchell Starc (2015)
Glenn McGrath (2007)
Glenn Turner (1975)
Honorable Mentions: Matthew Hayden, Ricky Ponting, Wasim Akram, Kumar Sangakkara (most World Cup dismissals and 4 centuries in 2015)
Note, we chose MS Dhoni at the expense of Yuvraj Singh in order to have a wicket-keeper in the side. We decided not to factor great finals’ innings like Ben Stokes in 2019 and Adam Gilchrist in 2017…’Great World Cup Innings’ would have to wait till a later post.
In any case, choosing from the great 1975-1983 West Indian and 1999-2015 Australian sides was always going to be a difficult task anyway…
Agree? Disagree? In any case, let us know in the comments below what your ideal Cricket World Cup XI would be.
For more articles in our series World XIs – With Twists, check this page out!
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Creating fantasy World XI? We have all been here before. There is just one issue—there are just too many good players across eras. So, here is our new series on creating our World XIs, with a twist of specific constraints. In all of our posts, we will limit the category of players after ODI cricket began.
Today’s twist:
Build a Test and ODI World XI so that (1) there is a maximum of two players per country in the XI and (2) a player is not repeated in both lists.
The catch:
There are some greats that could easily fit in both teams. For example, Sachin Tendulkar, Ricky Ponting, and AB De Villiers are fan favorites and a versatile players, but which list are you going to put them in?
Test World XI:
Sir Alastair Cook (Eng)
Graeme Smith (SA) – Captain
Kumar Sangakkara (SL) – WK
Sachin Tendulkar (Ind)
Brian Lara (WI)
Steven Smith (Aus)
Jacques Kallis (SA)
Kapil Dev (Ind)
Shane Warne (Aus)
James Anderson (Eng)
Muttiah Muralitharan (SL)
Honorable Mentions: Rahul Dravid (Ind) , Dale Steyn (SA), Courtney Walsh (WI), Richard Hadlee (NZ)
ODI World XI:
Sanath Jayasuriya (SL)
Chris Gayle (WI)
Ricky Ponting (Aus) – Captain
Virat Kohli (Ind)
Vivian Richards (WI)
AB De Villiers (SA)
MS Dhoni (Ind) – WK
Shakib Al Hasan (Bang)
Wasim Akram (Pak)
Waqar Younis (Pak)
Glenn McGrath (Aus)
Honorable Mentions: Brett Lee (Aus), Daniel Vettori (NZ), Virender Sehwag (Ind), Adam Gilchrist (Aus)
Well, only choosing two out of Sehwag, Kohli, Tendulkar, and Dhoni or Gilchrist, Ponting, Warne and Mcgrath was always going to be a tough task…
Anyway, send us your World XIs and let us know what you think in the comments section below! Stay tuned for the next fantasy team, where we will build an ODI World XI with exactly one player from each World Cup.