Shahid Afridi Omits Sachin Tendulkar From His All-Time World Cup XI

Shahid Afridi named his strong all-time World Cup XI team but left out batting legend Sachin Tendulkar from it. Tendulkar has made the most appearances in World Cups after former Australia captain Ricky Ponting. The maestro has 45 matches in World Cups, which is the second-most in the all-time list.

Tendulkar has scored 2278 runs in World Cups at a staggering average of 56.92. He has hit six centuries and 15 half-centuries in the quadrennial besides batting at a strike rate of 88.98. One of the major run-scorer in international cricket, he has also raked up 241 boundaries and 27 sixes in the process.

But still, with all the contribution, it was not enough for Tendulkar to find a place in Shahid Afridi’s World Cup XI.

Shahid Afridi names a strong World Cup XI team

Shahid Afridi named five specialist batsmen in his squad — Saeed Anwar, Adam Gilchrist, Ricky Ponting, Virat Kohli, Inzamam ul-Haq — who have all contributed to the fore for their national team. One of the finest all-rounders ever Jacques Kallis also made it to the side with the onus of pace department handed to Wasim Akram, Glenn McGrath and Shoaib Malik.

Anwar has notched up 915 runs in the World Cups while former wicket-keeper batsman Gilchrist has scored 1085 runs in the marquee tournament. The team also consists of one of the finest captains Ricky Ponting, who led Australia to two World Cup triumphs. Spin legends Shane Warne and Saqlain Mushtaq were the spinners named in his side.