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

South African bowler Tabraiz Shamsi revealed his all-time T20 XI during an exclusive interview with CricTracker. Shamsi’s top five featured three South Africans: Quinton de Kock, AB de Villers, and Faf de Plessis. Imran Tahir, the fourth Proteas player, was one of two spinners in the squad, alongside Afghanistan’s Rashid Khan.

Shamsi chose Chris Gayle, a hard-hitting left-hander, as de Kock’s opening partner, with Virat Kohli at No. 3. He had no problem in selecting MS Dhoni as his wicketkeeper and captain. Andre Russell, who just resigned from international cricket, was named the main all-rounder, with Jasprit Bumrah and Mitchell Starc as frontline pacers.

Interestingly, Shamsi did not include Rohit Sharma on his roster. Rohit has scored 4231 runs at a strike rate of 140.89 in 159 T20Is (151 innings). As of August 2025, he leads the run-scoring lists in T20Is. He retired after leading India to a title victory in the 2024 T20 World Cup, scoring 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