Tendulkar, Dravid in Ganguly's 'best-ever cricket XI'

Former Indian captain Sourav Ganguly has revealed his all-time cricket XI, with only two Indian players featuring in the team which comprises of four Australians, two Sri Lankans, two South Africans and one England cricketer.

Ganguly revealed his all-time XI on the Lord's Cricket YouTube channel, with the criteria being that he had to have played with or against them, or have been strongly influenced by the players mentioned.

The 44-year-old, who is currently the president of Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB), has decided to go with an opening combination of Australia's Matthew Hayden and England's Alastair Cook.

Ganguly's middle-order includes ever-so-dependable Rahul Dravid, followed by Master Blaster Sachin Tendulkar, South African all-rounder Jacques Kallis, Sri Lankan legend Kumar Sangakkara and former Australian captain Ricky Ponting.

The former Indian skipper picked paceman Dale Steyn as his fast bowling option alongside former Australian legend Glenn McGrath., Sport24 reported.

Reflecting on Steyn's inclusion, Ganguly said that the South African has been named as his second fast bowling option because of the quality of his bowling and his wicket-taking ability.

Meanwhile, spin wizards Shane Warne and Muttiah Muralitharan have been chosen to take care of the spin department.

Ganguly, who bid adieu to international cricket in 2008, appeared in a total of 113 Tests for India scoring 7,212 runs and appeared in 311 ODIs amassing 11,363 runs.

Ganguly's all-time XI:

Matthew Hayden (Australia), Alastair Cook (England), Rahul Dravid (India), Sachin Tendulkar (India), Jacques Kallis (South Africa), Kumar Sangakkara (Sri Lanka - wicketkeeper), Ricky Ponting (Australia - captain), Glenn McGrath (Australia), Dale Steyn (South Africa), Shane Warne (Australia), Muttiah Muralitharan (Sri Lanka).