A panel of three Wisden writers have created their current World Test XI. There were some difficult decisions to be made and some huge names left out as the panel tried to create a team that would be successful in all conditions. We now want to hear what your current world Test XI would be.
There is a wealth of talent to choose from, and fitting everyone in while maintaining equilibrium in the line-up will be difficult. Wisden’s panel opted for Rohit Sharma and Marnus Labuschagne as their openers, leaving out the in-form Dimuth Karunaratne and New Zealand’s Tom Latham. The panel took the big decision to leave out Virat Kohli, but kept in Joe Root, Kane Williamson and Steve Smith.
With Pakistan keeper-batsman Mohammad Rizwan coming in at six, the panel felt they needed the all-round skills of India’s Ravindra Jadeja and Ravichandran Ashwin at seven and eight.
Pat Cummins was an easy choice to lead the pace attack, but Josh Hazlewood and South Africa’s Kagiso Rabada were left out in favour of James Anderson and Jasprit Bumrah to finish off the side.
There were many selection dilemmas facing the Wisden panel. Most notably how to fit Labuschagne, Root, Smith and Williamson into one side. And does Ben Stokes make the team despite his recent break from Test cricket?