Mushfiq in Fox Sports Test XI of the decade

Bangladesh wicketkeeper batsman Mushfiqur Rahim made Fox Sports Test XI of the decade.

The team includes two Aussies, two Indians, three South Africans. Mushfiq slot in at seven in the batting order formed by JACOB KURIYPE.

It’s been picked on a loose set of selection criteria. The first is that they have to have played a good chunk of the decade. The remainder is far less stringent. Entertainment, sentimentality and stats, stats and more stats.

Probably the most controversial selection in this XI, Mushfiqur’s name would not have come to the mind of many in the conversation for keeper-batsman of the decade. 

His selection is equal parts symbolic and earned. No side has improved more than Bangladesh this decade. Once the easy beats of world cricket, Bangladesh became a genuine force at home and fierce competitor away this decade, registering its first ever wins over Australia, England and Sri Lanka.

Alongside Tamim Iqbal and Shakib Al Hasan, Mushfiqur has been central to that transformation. Tamim was never going to make the side ahead of Cook and Warner, while Shakib was suspended at the time of selection.

There’s more than sentiment to this selection however. 

Mushfiqur finished third among run-scoring wicket-keepers, while only de Villiers (1970 at 59.69), Dinesh Chandimal (1602 at 41.07) and BJ Watling (3195 at 42.60) had better averages among those with more than 1000 runs.

Neither de Villiers nor Chandimal kept for the majority of the decade, ruling them out of selection in my loose set of criteria. In retrospect, Watling would probably have made more sense but in a tight run thing, sentiment won over.

Fox Sports’ Test team of the decade

1.    Alastair Cook (8818 runs, at 46.51, 23 centuries)
2.    David Warner (7009 runs at 48.33, 23 centuries)
3.    Kumar Sangakkara (4851 runs at 61.40, 17 centuries)
4.    Steve Smith (7072 runs at 63.14, 26 centuries)
5.    Virat Kohli (7202 runs at 54.97, 27 centuries)
6.    AB de Villiers (5059 runs at 57.48, 13 centuries)
7.    Mushfiqur Rahim (2860 at 40.85, Six centuries)
8.    Ravichandran Ashwin (362 wickets at 25.36, 27 five-wicket hauls)
9.    Dale Steyn (267 wickets at 22.29, 15 five-wicket hauls)
10.    James Anderson (427 wickets at 24.19, 20 five-wicket hauls)
11.    Kagiso Rabada (183 wickets at 22.50, SR of 40.2)
Dhaka/AKA