<p>Ben Stokes, the costliest buy in this year's Indian Premier League (IPL) auction at Rs 14.5 crore, has picked Sachin Tendulkar and Virender Sehwag in his dream XI.<br /><br />The England all-rounder, who is expected to be a key member of the Rising Pune Supergiants franchise, kept Tendulkar for the No.5 spot and Sehwag as the opener in his XI, which included a mix of present and former players.<br /><br />Stokes, a Red Bull athlete, was quoted as saying in a press release, "I'd have Sehwag as one of my openers. I reckon he averaged about 50 in his career (49.34), and his strike rate was probably in the 80s (82.23).<br /><br />"To have that as an opening batsman in Test match cricket if you were an opening bowler would be pretty scary, I reckon."<br /><br />He chose former Australian captain Ricky Ponting at No.4 and Tendulkar at No.5 and said, "Ricky and Sachin could swap between four and five, and they can have a fight to see who goes in – whichever one's got their pads on."<br /><br />Stokes' team also included the legendary West Indian all-rounder Garfield Sobers and Australian spin great Shane Warne.<br /><br />He chose Alastair Cook, who recently gave up Test captaincy, to lead his dream XI.<br /><br />Ben Stokes's dream XI: Virender Sehwag, Alastair Cook (captain), Hashim Amla, Ricky Ponting, Sachin Tendulkar, Garfield Sobers, Adam Gilchrist, Shane Warne, Dale Steyn, Curtly Ambrose, Jimmy Anderson. <br /></p>
<p>Ben Stokes, the costliest buy in this year's Indian Premier League (IPL) auction at Rs 14.5 crore, has picked Sachin Tendulkar and Virender Sehwag in his dream XI.<br /><br />The England all-rounder, who is expected to be a key member of the Rising Pune Supergiants franchise, kept Tendulkar for the No.5 spot and Sehwag as the opener in his XI, which included a mix of present and former players.<br /><br />Stokes, a Red Bull athlete, was quoted as saying in a press release, "I'd have Sehwag as one of my openers. I reckon he averaged about 50 in his career (49.34), and his strike rate was probably in the 80s (82.23).<br /><br />"To have that as an opening batsman in Test match cricket if you were an opening bowler would be pretty scary, I reckon."<br /><br />He chose former Australian captain Ricky Ponting at No.4 and Tendulkar at No.5 and said, "Ricky and Sachin could swap between four and five, and they can have a fight to see who goes in – whichever one's got their pads on."<br /><br />Stokes' team also included the legendary West Indian all-rounder Garfield Sobers and Australian spin great Shane Warne.<br /><br />He chose Alastair Cook, who recently gave up Test captaincy, to lead his dream XI.<br /><br />Ben Stokes's dream XI: Virender Sehwag, Alastair Cook (captain), Hashim Amla, Ricky Ponting, Sachin Tendulkar, Garfield Sobers, Adam Gilchrist, Shane Warne, Dale Steyn, Curtly Ambrose, Jimmy Anderson. <br /></p>