[Exclusive] Tabraiz Shamsi reveals all-time T20 XI, excludes Rohit Sharma

In an exclusive interview with CricTracker, South African bowler Tabraiz Shamsi selected his all-time T20 starting lineup. Three South Africans, Quinton de Kock, AB de Villers, and Faf de Plessis, were among Shamsi’s top five. Alongside Afghanistan’s Rashid Khan, Imran Tahir, the fourth Proteas player, was one of the two spinners in the starting lineup.

Tabraiz Shamsi picked Virat Kohli for the No. 3 position and the hard-hitting left-handed Chris Gayle as de Kock’s opening partner. He chose MS Dhoni as his captain and wicketkeeper without hesitation. The devastating right-hand-left bowling duo of Jasprit Bumrah and Mitchell Starc was included as the front-line pacers, while Andre Russell, who just retired from international cricket, was positioned as the top all-rounder.

It’s interesting that Rohit Sharma was left off of Shamsi’s roster. In 159 Twenty20 Internationals (151 innings), Rohit has amassed an outstanding 4231 runs at a remarkable strike rate of 140.89. He is at the top of the T20I run-scoring charts as of August 2025. After leading India to victory in the 2024 T20 World Cup, he retired after scoring 257 runs in eight innings.

The all-time T20I XI of Tabraiz Shamsi:

Andre Russell, Rashid Khan, Imran Tahir, Jasprit Bumrah, Mitchell Starc, Chris Gayle, Quinton de Kock, Virat Kohli, AB de Villers, Faf du Plessis, and MS Dhoni (c & wk)

With a remarkable economy rate of 7.39, Tabraiz Shamsi has taken 89 wickets in 71 games during his T20I career, including three five-wicket hauls. The T20 World Cup was the last time the 35-year-old participated in a T20I. Since then, he has not played for the Proteas in the shortest format. When New Zealand was the third team in the Pakistan Tri-Nation Series, Shamsi made his most recent appearance in the starting lineup.