As part of our Hot Seat series, in which we present our writers with tricky scenarios to captain their way out of, we've asked readers to send in their responses as well. Some of the best responses to our most recent scenario are below. You can check out our writers' responses for the same here and this week's Hot Seat here.
Scenario
You are captaining a Rest of World XI against world champions England in an ODI at Lord's. Chasing 340, you are left with 110 needed from ten overs with five wickets in hand. You have one set batsman at the crease and one who has just arrived. Which two batsmen would you pick?
Ten overs is longer than you might think. To chase this target down, you'll need nous as well as explosive hitting. Therefore, I would pick Virat Kohli and Hardik Pandya. Kohli has made chasing in ODIs a fine art and would keep his cool while rotating the strike and picking off the occasional boundary. This would allow his India team-mate Pandya to be his explosive self. The two are also good athletes and would run hard between the wickets. With Pandya clearing the ropes and Kohli masterminding the rest, England would be in real trouble. - Alex Thomas
I'd pick Imad Wasim because he averages 41.39 in ODIs but mostly because he has a strike rate of 109.62, which improves to 116.2 when batting at Lord's. With him, I'd have Carlos Brathwaite. He strikes at 106.20 in England, and we know he has some experience in conjuring late heroics against England. - Rhys Knott
I've been screaming at the top of my lungs that KL Rahul should be India's No. 5 since before the 2019 World Cup. Finally, India have listened. He is an attacking player with 360-degree strokeplay (the best late cut since Inzamam-ul-Haq?). In this scenario, he has come in after three early wickets and is on 70, set for the late charge. Joining him is MS Dhoni, refreshed after his long break from cricket. Dhoni has been finishing games since he was an 18-year-old in Ranchi. He does it for fun. Rahul plays upper-cuts, flicks and off drives for six. Dhoni keeps running the twos and threes before using raw power to bunt Jofra Archer's slower balls over the boundary. The game ends in the 49th over with both men not out. Rahul gets recognised as the next big thing, Dhoni gets redemption for the World Cup semi-final. - Sabyasachi Ghosh
Getting 110 from ten overs is going to be extremely difficult against the death bowlers England possess. You're not going to do it with slogging. You need batsmen with strong technique, who can hit it clean. Ravindra Jadeja will be the new man in. He seems unaffected by pressure and can both hit the big shots and run hard between the wickets. The set batsman is Kohli. You cannot afford dot balls in this scenario, and these two will run even when the ball goes to a fielder, putting them under pressure and perhaps even creating overthrows. Plus, they are a left-hand, right-hand combination. - Raghav Gautam
While many of the ESPNcricinfo writers picked Rohit Sharma for the set batsman, I'd go for Kohli. While Rohit can hit sixes at will, we need to remember that fitness is important in the last ten overs. We've sometimes seen Sharma getting tired at the end of an innings. Kohli is a beast when it comes to fitness and he's the best chaser around today, with his ability to break the chase down over by over and take calculated risks. For the new batsman, I'd pick Andre Russell, who can hit sixes even off yorker-length balls and has a presence that seems to unnerve bowlers. - Varun Aneet Singh
The task is nigh impossible, so you need someone who with a 'let's have a go, and if we perish so be it' attitude. Therefore, I'd pick Chris Gayle, who has a gear no one else - not even Sharma - has. To accompany him, who else but Dhoni, who, I am going to assume, has not lost his powers. - Ankit Daga
For my No. 7, I'd go with Jimmy Neesham, who can hit sixes against quality pace bowling - remember how he held his nerve in the World Cup final Super Over and tied the match. With him, I'd pick Kohli, whose name immediately comes to mind when you say the word chase. Though Sharma is a tempting pick, his double-centuries have all come in India. In England, he tends to get out soon after reaching a ton. - Sudeept Dwivedi
When it comes to finishing a game, there is one name you cannot ignore: MS Dhoni. His vast experience in finishing games is the reason I would pick him. My other pick is Russell because of his six-hitting ability. - Sakib Memon
AB de Villiers averages 82.77 in successful chases and has the ability to stun the opposition with stinging attacks. With him, I'd pick Dhoni, who averages 102.71 in successful chases. With ten overs left, you can expect a few twists and turns before the end, so you need a cool head out there. Someone who has done it many, many times before. de Villiers will get 50 off 25 and then get out. Meanwhile, Dhoni has strolled to 17 off 17 balls. With 40 needed off three, he turns it on, finishing the game off the last ball with a hit to cow corner. - Amritanshu Singh Airy
To read more in the series, click here.