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London: Wisden, the highly respected cricket publication, on Wednesday named Virender Sehwag as the Leading Cricketer in the World for 2008 and MS Dhoni captain of its first ever Dream Test XI which has five Indians in the ranks.
Smith is Dhoni''s deputy in the side. The three selectors who picked the squad were former India captain Ravi Shastri, retired West Indian pacer Ian Bishop and former New Zealand wicketkeeper Ian Smith.
India''s rich vein of form found ample reflection in Wisden''s first ever Dream XI which include Sehwag, Dhoni, Sachin Tendulkar, Harbhajan Singh and Zaheer Khan.
"Sehwag is a marvel of modern times, a genius who has confounded conventional wisdom, whose daring is now a part of cricket’s folklore," writes the cricket almanac in its 146th edition.
Last year, the nawab of Najafgarh smashed 319 off 304 balls, the fastest triple century ever, against South Africa. His unbeaten 201 against Sri Lanka gave India its only Test triumph in a nightmarish series.
In the Test XI, Gautam Gambhir''s name was also considered to be Sehwag''s opening partner before the selectors opted for Smith.
India has the largest representation in the Test squad, followed by Australia (Ricky Ponting and Mitchell Johnson) and South Africa (Graeme Smith and Dale Steyn) who have two each.
It gets even better for Indian fans. This year’s Wisden Test XI has five Indians. No other country has more than two.
So does Zaheer Khan, who’s proved lethal with old ball and new, across diverse conditions. And then there’s Harbhajan Singh, proving that he can be a serious threat even when he’s monkeying around.
The Wisden Test XI of 2008: Virender Sehwag (India), Graeme Smith (South Africa), Ricky Ponting (Australia), Sachin Tendulkar (India), Kevin Pietersen (England), Shivnarine Chanderpaul (West Indies), Mahendra Sing Dhoni (India), Harbhajan Singh (India), Mitchell Johnson (Australia), Dale Steyn (South Africa) and Zaheer Khan (India).
