Robin Uthappa makes place for his IPL 2020 captain Steve Smith in ODI team of 2010s

The year 2019 ended on Tuesday and with it ended a decade. A lot of people from the cricketing community came forward and picked their teams of the decade across formats. Another addition to this list is Kerala ODI and T20 captain Robin Uthappa. The right-handed batsman has gone on to pick 5 Indians in his ODI team of the decade.

ALSO READ | IPL Auction LIve Updates: Robin Uthappa to move from KKR to Rajasthan Royals for Rs. 3 cr

Rohit Sharma and Chris Gayle to open

Robin Uthappa picked MS Dhoni as the captain of his team. The former India player named the destructive opening combination of Rohit Sharma and Chris Gayle as his team’s openers. Both players have been the champions of white-ball cricket in the last decade. Rohit and Gayle have four double hundreds between them and on their day, they can dominate any bowling attack. Surprisingly, Uthappa picked Gayle ahead of Australian opener David Warner, who has been more consistent in the past decade.

Virat Kohli, Steve Smith and AB de Villiers form the middle order

Uthappa picked Indian captain Virat Kohli to bat at No.3, which was the obvious choice. Kohli in the 2010s emerged as one of the greatest ODI batsmen of all time. His numbers are mind-boggling and nobody comes close to his tally of runs and hundreds. The Indian skipper has amassed more than 11,000 runs at an average of more than 60, including 42 hundreds.

ALSO READ | IPL Auction 2020: 3 teams likely to bid the highest for KKR keeper-batsman Robin Uthappa

Steve Smith of Australia was his next pick to bat at number 4. It comes as a surprise because Smith wasn’t as consistent as some of the other picks, but he is a big match player. Co-incidentally, the Australian batsman is the captain of the Indian Premier League (IPL) franchise Rajasthan Royals, the team which Uthappa is set represent for the first time in the 2020 season. 'Mr. 360' AB de Villiers will bat at number 5 as he dominated ODI cricket in the last decade.

Yuvraj Singh and MS Dhoni along with Ben Stokes will don the finishers' role

The man of the tournament in the 2011 World Cup, Yuvraj Singh and MS Dhoni, the wicketkeeper and former India captain who led India in that tournament on home soil, will bat in the lower middle order followed by the star of the World Cup 2019 final, Ben Stokes from England as the all-rounder of the squad.

ALSO READ | Robin Uthappa turns 34: The batsman's top 4 IPL innings of all time

Daniel Vettori the only spinner

Robin Uthappa picked New Zealand’s left-arm spinner Daniel Vettori as the only frontline spinner in the squad. He along with Yuvraj Singh will be two spinners in Uthappa’s squad. This comes as a surprise since Uthappa had other options such as Saeed Ajmal of Pakistan, Shakib al Hasan of Bangladesh and Imran Tahir of South Africa.

Lasith Malinga, Zaheer Khan to form the pace attack

Lasith Malinga, the highest wicket-taker in the last decade in one-day internationals, was an automatic choice. Malinga, in his prime, was lethal. He scalped 248 wickets in the 2010s. Zaheer Khan will share the new ball with Malinga. The left-arm seamer from India was exceptional in the death overs and was the joint highest wicket-taker in the 2011 World Cup. Robin Uthappa picked Gary Kirsten who coached India to 2011 WC glory as the head coach of the squad.

ALSO READ | Harbhajan Singh turns 39, Sachin Tendulkar sends fantastic birthday wish for Bhajji; Yuvraj Singh, Robin Uthappa and Yusuf Pathan also hail the Turbanator