Former South Africa cricketer Hashim Amla snubbed as he named his all-time Test XI. Kohli is often rated as one of the greatest Test captains, but his performance in the format, especially in the last five years, wasn’t great.
The series of disappointments led to his retirement from the format before the England tour earlier this year. But Amla didn’t leave out just Kohli, and the other three members of the Fab 4 – Steve Smith, and Kane Williamson – also were ignored.
Amla picked former teammate Graeme Smith and Australia’s Matthew Hayden as openers. Smith is one of the greatest South Africans to play the game, and scored 9225 runs in the format. Hayden, on the other hand, scored 8625 runs. Rahul Dravid was picked as the No.3 batter by Hashim Amla, and he was followed by Ricky Ponting. Dravid is the fifth-highest run getter in the format, with 13288 runs, while Ponting has 13378 runs to his name.
Jacques Kallis was slotted at No.5 in Hashim Amla’s team, while Sachin Tendulkar also made a cut to the side. Kallis is arguably the greatest all-rounder in Test cricket, with 13289 runs and 292 wickets to his name. Not much needs to be said about Tendulkar, who is the leading run scorer in Test cricket, with 15921 runs. Amla picked AB De Villiers as the wicketkeeper of the side.
Muttiah Muralitharan (800) and Shane Warne (708), the top two wicket-takers in Test cricket history, along with pacers Glenn McGrath, who took 563 wickets, and Dale Steyn (439), comprised a strong bowling attack of the all-time Test XI by Hashim Amla
Hashim Amla’s All-Time best XI
Matthew Hayden, Graeme Smith, Rahul Dravid, Ricky Ponting, Jacques Kallis, Sachin Tendulkar, AB De Villiers, Muttiah Muralitharan, Shane Warne, Glenn McGrath, and Dale Steyn