When Sachin Tendulkar, Sunil Gavaskar were ‘Boycott-ed’ by this Englishman
Geoff Boycott had picked his Dream XI in July 2011 and Indian cricket legends Sachin Tendulkar and Sunil Gavaskar did not feature in the former England opener’s shortlist.
Former England opener Geoffrey Boycott has lashed out against the ICC Dream XI stating the team voted by fans from across the globe is nothing but a ‘joke’. The English legend had picked his dream side in July 2011 and there were no Indians in it, not even Sachin Tendulkar or Sunil Gavaskar. Not even his loving Prince of Kolkata, Sourav Ganguly.
Boycott taunted ICC’s Dream XI, saying, “It is so biased it has no credibility. It takes no account of the history of the game and the great players of the past.” (Chennai Test scorecard)
“The team selected by the ICC’s online readers insults the records and achievements of the game’s greats,” Boycott wrote in his column in UK’s Telegraph newspaper.
The ICC Dream XI, which was voted by nearly quarter of a million fans from across the globe, had Virender Sehwag, Sunil Gavaskar, Donald Bradman, Sachin Tendulkar, Brian Lara, Kapil Dev, Adam Gilchrist, Shane Warne, Wasim Akram, Curtly Ambrose, and Glenn McGrath in the line-up.
And the fact that it has four Indians and one Pakistani in the line-up has also infuriated the trenchant commentator.
“I bet the vast majority of the votes were cast by people from the sub-continent because five of the XI are from India and Pakistan,” Boycott wrote.
Players of the past figure prominently in Boycott’s dream XI.
Jack Hobbs, Len Hutton, Donald Bradman, George Headley, Viv Richards, Garry Sobers, Alan Knott, Sydney Barnes, Malcolm Marshall, Shane Warne and Dennis Lillee are member of the former England batsman’s team.
While Donald Bradman and Shane Warne became the only names to find themselves in both the list, there were no place for players even of the stature of Sachin Tendulkar.
And the 76-year-old was upfront with his selection as well as he shot out at the audience stating: “I can’t pick Indians just to please you. I can’t get in myself. Gavaskar was a wonderful player and friend,” Boycott said.
“As our records show, Sunil (Gavaskar) played more matches, scored more runs and centuries than me, but in terms of technique, I consider myself superior to Sunil even if by just half a percentage point.”