India are No. 1 in the International Cricket Council Test rankings as well as the World Cup holders. One of their five players in the Wisden Test XI is M.S. Dhoni, who has been their captain for a few years — and India still have not lost a Test series under him. Dhoni is joined by Virender Sehwag, V.V.S. Laxman, Zaheer Khan and Sachin Tendulkar, who is also Wisden's Leading Cricketer in the World.
At the other extreme: no Australian in this year's Test XI, no Pakistani, no West Indian and no New Zealander. And this is not narrow-minded, UK-based myopia.
The selectors are the Australian Ian Chappell, the Pakistani Ramiz Raja and the West Indian Ian Bishop. The editor is simply the convener, with no vote except a casting one in the event of a tie. No Australian indeed. When Jacques Kallis gets too old to bowl quick, Shane Watson is set to be his successor as the only top-order Test batsman who can bowl pace. Only a couple of days ago he showed what a striker he is by hitting 15 sixes and 15 fours from the 96 balls he faced in scoring 185 in a One-day international against Bangladesh. Still, it is a bit reminiscent of the fate of West Indies.
Bright future
One decade the world champions and a side packed with great cricketers, the next decade floundering without a great cricketer — or a succession strategy — in sight. In a way the future looks brighter for Pakistan than Australia.
No Australian or Pakistani in the Test XI, but for the first time a Bangladeshi.
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