No Saeed Anwar, Shoaib Akhtar in West Indies legend's all-time Pakistan ODI XI

Babar Azam makes the eleven already in the former fast bowler's list, citing the Pakistan captain's legacy as “top class”.

Picking an all-time XI for Pakistan in any format is no easy task due to the rich history of great players that the country has produced over the years. Pakistan are one of five teams who have won the World Cup and their players have set several records in the ODI game, some of which are yet to be broken.

Shoaib Akhtar was among the notable absentees (Getty Images)

This difficulty was acknowledged by former West Indies fast bowler Ian Bishop when he set out to make his all-time ODI XI for Pakistan. “Choosing a greatest team for any nation in any format is difficult,” said Bishop.

Bishop went for Imran Khan as the captain of his team and Zaheer Abbas as his opener. There was no mention of Saeed Anwar who scored 8824 runs in 277 ODIs. Anwar's 194 against India in 1997 remained the highest score in an ODI match until Sachin Tendulkar surpassed it by scoring the first double century in the format in 2010.

“They have won the World Cup under Imran Khan, whom I've got as the captain of team. Zaheer Abbas is opening the batting. He is too good a player to leave out. Although most his career he batter No.3, it isn't too high a jump to go to opening the batting. He has had such a wonderful career that he had to fit in there,” said Bishop in a video on the Pakistan Cricket Board's Youtube page.

Bishop chose Babar Azam, Pakistan's current captain and widely rated among the best batters in the world accross formats, in the team as well. Another notable absentee, however, was fast bowling great Shoaib Akhtar.

"Babar Azam's legacy in a young career is top class so he had to get in there. Inzamam-ul-Haq, the former Pakistan captain and he played a role in that World Cup winning team under Imran Khan. Then you've got Waqar Younis and Wasim Akram. Two stalwarts who have done yeoman's service for Pakistan accross formats.

“I hope there is still some debate. I am not saying that all of it is right by any means. But it is something that can reflect at least some part of the great history of Pakistan cricket.”