Shahid Afridi ignores Sachin Tendulkar and MS Dhoni in his all-time World Cup XI

The countdown for the 12th edition of the World Cup to be played in England has begun with less than 30 days to go for the tournament to commence. The hosts will lock horns against South Africa in the opener and the extravaganza will culminate at Lord’s on July 14. The mega event has its own history and has witnessed players go down in the good books of the sport with their heroics. The former Pakistan cricketer Shahid Afridi has picked his all-time World Cup XI and has put some light on the past.

This XI will surely raise a lot of eyebrows as Afridi hasn’t included Sachin Tendulkar who is the highest run-scorer in the World Cup ever. Sachin amassed 2278 runs in 44 innings at an average of 56.95 with 16 half-centuries and six centuries. Even MS Dhoni wasn’t able to find a place in Afridi’s XI despite leading India to a memorable title in 2011 and the man being one of the greatest finishers in the world cricket.

Total five Pakistan players and only one Indian

Saeed Anwar and Adam Gilchrist are the openers in Shahid Afridi’s XI according to Hindustan Times while Ricky Ponting, the three-time World Cup winner, will come at number three. Though it hasn’t been mentioned, Ponting will definitely lead this side with so much success at the helm while playing for Australia. India’s current captain Virat Kohli has surprisingly made it into this team and will take up the number four slot.

He is the only Indian in this side while Inzamam-ul-Haq is the next and the legendary South African all-rounder Jacques Kallis follows him. The pace attack of the team looks deadly with the presence of the likes of Wasim Akram, Glenn Mcgrath and Shoaib Akhtar. These bowlers cover all the bases and backing them up are the two spinners Shane Warne and Saqlain Mushtaq.

While the team doesn’t feature two of the top Indian cricketers, the team looks certainly potent to even come up on top in the modern day cricket.

Here’s Afridi’s all-time World Cup XI: Saeed Anwar, Adam Gilchrist, Ricky Ponting, Virat Kohli, Inzamam ul-Haq, Jacques Kallis, Wasim Akram, Glenn McGrath, Shane Warne, Shoaib Akhtar, Saqlain Mushtaq.

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