Virat Kohli was named captain of the Test XI of the decade by Cricket Australia’s official news website while Mahendra Singh Dhoni was chosen as the leader of its One-day International team of the decade.
It is not a surprise that Kohli finds himself in both the Test and ODI teams. The 31-year-old has already amassed 70 international hundreds and is only behind Ricky Ponting (71) and Sachin Tendulkar (100) on the all-time list.
Kohli, who averages more than 50 in all formats, is also third in the list of leading run-scorers of all time with 21,444 runs, behind Ponting (27,483) and Tendulkar (34,357). The India skipper has scored runs all around the world but Australia has bee special, having scored nine hundreds (six in Tests, three in ODIs) Down Under.
Kohli is primed to shatter more records, having ended 2019 as the leading run-getter. The Test XI comprises of Alastair Cook, David Warner, Kane Williamson, Steve Smith, AB de Villiers, Ben Stokes, Dale Steyn, Stuart Broad, Nathan Lyon and James Anderson, according to cricket.com.au.
The website’s ODI team of the decade is led by Dhoni, who captained India to two world titles, in 2007 and 2011, respectively.
Rohit Sharma, who had a memorable 2019 – which included five hundreds in the World Cup – is one of the openers in the team alongside Hashim Amla. Kohli is the undisputed No 3, followed by De Villiers, Shakib Al Hasan, Jos Buttler, Dhoni, Rashid Khan, Mitchell Starc, Trent Boult and Lasith Malinga.