Former England cricketer Nick Knight did not include big names like Virat Kohli and Jasprit Bumrah in his India-England combined Test XI. On ESPN Cricinfo’s segment ‘The Draft‘, he chose players from both sides, forming a team from the 21st century.

Nick Knight went with former openers Alastair Cook and Virender Sehwag at the top. The duo, with Cook’s ability to build the innings and Sehwag’s attacking approach, form a solid opening pair. He stacked up his middle order with former England captain Michael Vaughan, the legendary Sachin Tendulkar, and Kevin Pietersen.

Further, he included former batter Graham Thorpe and former Indian captain MS Dhoni. With that, Knight picked a formidable top seven in the batting order. He then added three quality pacers and Graeme Swann as the spinner. His pace attack includes Zaheer Khan and the legendary English duo of Stuart Broad and James Anderson. Zaheer played 92 Tests and bagged 311 wickets with 11 five-fers.

Broad picked up 607 wickets from 167 Tests while Anderson grabbed 704 scalps from 188 games. Knight’s team comprises a deadly pace attack, particularly with the new ball. However, his team lacks a certain balance with no all-rounders present. He picked the great former Indian spinner Anil Kumble as his 12th man.

Knight played 17 Tests, scoring 719 runs with a hundred and four half-centuries, making his debut in 1995.

Nick Knight’s combined India-England Test XI (21st century): Alastair Cook, Virender Sehwag, Michael Vaughan, Sachin Tendulkar, Kevin Pietersen, Graham Thorpe, MS Dhoni (wk), Zaheer Khan, Stuart Broad, James Anderson, Anil Kumble (12th man).

England will look to seal the series in the fourth Test against India

Meanwhile, the fourth Test between England and India begins on Wednesday, July 23, at Old Trafford, Manchester. India are visiting for a five-match series. Three Tests have concluded so far.

The hosts began positively, winning the first Test at Headingley by five wickets. They suffered a huge 336-run defeat in the second match at Birmingham, where they were completely outplayed by India. However, Ben Stokes and his men bounced back with a narrow 22-run victory in the third Test at Lord’s.

Defending a small target of 193 in the final innings, they bundled India out for 170 on the fifth day. With that, they are now 2-1 up in the series with two games remaining.

Therefore, they have an opportunity to seal the series with a win in the fourth Test at Old Trafford. By doing so, they will take an unassailable 3-1 lead.