1. JB Hobbs
2. SM Gavaskar
3. DG Bradman*
4. IVA Richards
5. GA Headley
6. GS Sobers
7. AC Gilchrist+
8. SK Warne
9. MD Marshall
10. SF Barnes
11. GD McGrath
12th Man: Imran Khan
Openers I believe select themselves, have excellent records against a variety of attacks in varying conditions. Gavaskar particularly distinguished himself at the top of the order and provided an inconsistant Indian batting line up with consistent performances at the top of the order.
Bradman is always a certainty in any all time XI and best suited to batting at number three. Number four was difficult since there are many great batsman in history who can bat at four however I chose Richards for his brilliant ability to counter-attack and accelerate the pace of the game. Whilst not as consistent as others in the line up, its strength gives me the opportunity to place an attacking batsman up the order.
Headley at five gives the middle order further strength. Headley was probably underrated by many and believe he deserves a spot in a World XI and narrowly beat Graeme Pollock for this spot. Garfield Sobers is the best all-rounder the game has seen, solid batting and great variety in his bowling from spin to pace.
With a strong batting line up, I could have probably chosen a more traditional wicket keeper like Taylor, Healy etc however I find Gilchrist's batting irresistable and I believe his 'keeping is of a high enough standard to warrant a place in the side.
With regards to the bowlers, I wanted to have one spinner and three pacemen. I chose Warne as my spinner over Muralitharin for a variety of reasons. Whilst both have great records as bowlers, Warne offers more through being a superb slips fielder, handy lower order bat and an intelligent cricketer when it comes to setting fields and the like.
Malcom Marshall I believe is the most complete fast bowler, good economy rate and average and perfect to open the attack. The next too are tricky with so many great fast bowlers to choose from. However I chose McGrath for his unerring consistency over many years on flat subcontinental tracks to seaming wickets and has a knack of consistently removing the oppositions best batsmen. Whilst McGrath and Marshall are excellent bowlers, Barnes probably exceeded them all when it came to making a ball move with mastery over the seam.
The 12th Man, Imran Khan was straightforward for me, I chose a cricketer that I believed offered a great deal in all aspects of cricket from bowling, batting, fielding and as a captain.
Sorry for the length of the post, but thought I should explain the reasoning behind my selections