Ajinkya Rahane kicks Virat Kohli aside as he names all-time right-handed T20 XI

The 2026 T20 World Cup is underway, and the competition has been exciting so far. Former India captain Ajinkya Rahane has picked his all-time right-handed T20 XI. There has been some shocking inclusion and exclusion from the team he has picked while speaking on Cricbuzz. Despite the team being of right hander, he had been shockingly excluded from the team.

Former India captain Virat Kohli has not made it to the all-time right-handed XI picked by Ajinkya Rahane. The latter has included six Indian cricketers in the side; however, Kohli found no place. Virat Kohli has been the best batter for India across formats over the years. Despite his match-winning knocks in the T20 World Cup and other T20 series, he failed to be in the XI.

Virat Kohli snubbed off from Rahane's XI

Virat Kohli is the all-time leading run-scorer in T20 World Cups and the TATA Indian Premier League (IPL) with 1292 runs and 8661* runs respectively. He is also the third-highest overall in T20Is with 4188 runs in the format. The Chase Master was the Player of the Final in India's 2024 T20 World Cup win and the Player of the Tournament in the 2014 and 2016 T20 World Cups, respectively.

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Ajinkya Rahane picked Rohit Sharma and Jos Buttler as his openers, and current team India captain Suryakumar Yadav found a place at No.3. Buttler and Rohit are the two T20 World Cup-winning captains in the previous two editions of the league. Former South Africa captain AB de Villiers found a place at No.4.

Here's the video

@ajinkyarahane88 picks his all-time right-handed T20 XI

NO Kohli? 😮 Watch HERE! pic.twitter.com/h6uVb2OGIU

— Cricbuzz (@cricbuzz) February 11, 2026

Ajinkya Rahane picks two Indian spinners

While MS Dhoni, who has been one of the best finishers in world cricket, has been put in No.5 and was picked as captain and wicket-keeper for the best right-handed T20 XI. Andre Russell and Dwayne Bravo are the two all-rounders he has gone with.

Coming to the Bowlers he picked two pacers and two spinners. With Harbhajan Singh at No.8, Jasprit Bumrah and Lasith Malinga in at No.9 and 10 respectively. Finally, he picked Yuzvendra Chahal as his final spinner and completed his XI.

While speaking on Cricbuzz Instagram, Ajinkya Rahane said, “So I’ll go with Rohit Sharma and Jos Buttler. Number three is our Indian team captain at this moment, Surya. We all know how dangerous he is — he plays shots everywhere, a true 360-degree player who can change the game from anywhere. So that’s number three, Suryakumar Yadav.”

“Number four, the original 360 player, AB de Villiers. A very dangerous player who can change the game from any situation, and we have seen that many times. Number five for me is MS Dhoni. He’ll be the captain of the right-handed playing XI. I’ll talk about him as a captain — a very sharp leader, a great thinker, and someone who remains very calm under pressure. So, MS Dhoni.”

“Number six for me is Andre Russell, an all-rounder. An explosive batter and hard hitter — bowlers are basically terrified of him. Number seven, another all-rounder, Dwayne Bravo. Number eight for me, Harbhajan Singh — a quality off-spinner and a wicket-taker.”

Ajinkya Rahane finally concluded saying, “At numbers nine and ten, no batsman wants to face them: Jasprit Bumrah and Lasith Malinga. Both can bowl with the new ball, in the middle overs, and in the death overs. Number eleven, Chahal — a quality leg-spinner, I feel, and a very brave bowler.”

Ajinkya Rahane’s all-time right-handed XI

Rohit Sharma, Jos Buttler, Suryakumar Yadav, AB de Villiers, MS Dhoni (c/wk), Andre Russell, Dwayne Bravo, Harbhajan Singh, Jasprit Bumrah, Lasith Malinga, Yuzvendra Chahal.

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