Sangakkara, Smith, Kohli & de Villiers - How's that for a middle-order? ©Cricbuzz (with inputs from agencies)
Openers - Sir Alastair Cook and David Warner
With standout numbers over the decade - 23 hundreds apiece and 67 fifties combined - the two left-handers accounted for nearly 16000 Test runs and stood above other worthy competitors for these two slots.
Other contenders: Dimuth Karunaratne, Dean Elgar, Graeme Smith, Tom Latham, M Vijay
Middle Order - Kumar Sangakkara, Steve Smith, Virat Kohli
Fighting off tough competition from several other competitors, the three batsmen with outstanding records make the final cut. Until his retirement in 2015, Sangakkara averaged 60.34, including a triple hundred, Steve Smith's Bradmanesque turn saw him average even more than Sangakkara at 62.84 while Virat Kohli's 27 hundreds remained unparalleled over the decade.
Other contenders: Younis Khan, Michael Clarke, Kane Williamson, Misbah-ul-Haq, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Joe Root, Cheteshwar Pujara
Wicketkeeper: AB de Villiers
His record as a batsman in the 23 games that he donned gloves is simply stunning. Hitting 7 hundreds (as many as any wicketkeeper in the decade) and an average of 59.5, the numbers are simply too hard to ignore.
Other contenders: BJ Watling, Quinton de Kock, BJ Haddin, Sarfraz Ahmed, Mushfiqur Rahim
Spinners: R Ashwin and Rangana Herath
57 five-wicket hauls and sixteen 10-wicket hauls between these two in the 2010s. They led their respective teams' spin attack splendidly, particularly in the subcontinent making them near-automatic choices.
Other contenders: Nathan Lyon, Yasir Shah, Ravindra Jadeja, Graeme Swann,, Saeed Ajmal
Pacers: Dale Steyn, James Anderson and Morne Morkel
The sheer number of options in this category put it amongst the toughest choices to make. Dale Steyn, with 15 five-wicket hauls and a strike-rate of 43.93, and James Anderson who has more wickets (429) than anyone else are a cut above the rest. Morne Morkel, an underrated member of the fast bowling community, has a balanced home and away record while also complements the other two with his brand of fast bowling
Other contenders: Stuart Broad, Trent Boult, Ryan Harris, Pat Cummins, Kagiso Rabada, Vernon Philander, Mitchell Starc, Mitchell Johnson, Neil Wagner, Mohammed Shami, Ishant Sharma, Kemar Roach
No all-rounders?
Ben Stokes, Shakib Al Hasan and Jason Holder all had strong cases to make it as an all-rounder. But with none standing out in just one discipline (batting or bowling), it wasn't enough to pip better contenders for the spot.
The eleven (in batting order): Alastair Cook, David Warner, Kumar Sangakkara, Steve Smith, Virat Kohli (c), AB de Villiers (wk), R Ashwin, Dale Steyn, Morne Morkel, James Anderson, Rangana Herath
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