[Exclusive] Tabraiz Shamsi picks his all-time T20 XI, leaves out Rohit Sharma

South African bowler Tabraiz Shamsi has picked his all-time T20 XI during an exclusive conversation with CricTracker. Shamsi's top five comprised three South Africans, namely Quinton de Kock, AB de Villers and Faf de Plessis. The fourth Proteas player, Imran Tahir, was one of the two spinners in the lineup alongside Afghanistan's Rashid Khan.

Shamsi selected the hard-hitting left-handed Chris Gayle as de Kock's opening partner while he chose Virat Kohli for the No. 3 spot. He did not have any hesitation in picking MS Dhoni as his wicketkeeper and skipper. Andre Russell, who recently retired from international cricket, was slotted in as the leading all-rounder while the lethal right hand-left hand bowling pair of Jasprit Bumrah and Mitchell Starc was included as the frontline pacers. 

Interestingly, Shamsi did not include Rohit Sharma in his roster. Rohit has a stellar tally of 4231 runs at an impressive strike rate of 140.89 in 159 T20Is (151 innings). As of August 2025, he stands at top of the run-scoring charts in T20Is. He retired after captaining India to the title triumph in the 2024 T20 World Cup, finishing with 257 runs in eight innings.

Tabraiz Shamsi's all-time T20I XI:

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

Speaking about Shamsi's T20I career, he has 89 wickets in 71 matches at an impressive economy rate of 7.39, including three five-wicket hauls. The 35-year-old last played a T20I in the T20 World Cup. He has not been a part of the Proteas' squad in the shortest format since then. Shamsi's most-recent appearance in the national setup was during the Pakistan Tri-Nation Series involving New Zealand as the third team.