The World Championship of Legends 2025 has already delivered several headlines, and the clash between India and South Africa on July 22 at Northampton’s County Ground was no exception. South Africa, led by AB de Villiers, batted first and posted a strong 208/6 in their 20 overs.
AB de Villiers was the star of the show with a blistering 63 not out off 30 balls. India, chasing a revised target of 200 under the Duckworth-Lewis method, collapsed and suffered a massive 88-run defeat.
De Villiers’ All-Time World XI Raises Eyebrows
In a post-match moment that caught everyone’s attention, AB de Villiers revealed his All-Time World XI in a video shared by presenter Shefali Bagga on Instagram on July 23. The South African legend surprised many with his choices.
“𝑰𝒕’𝒔 𝒂 𝒕𝒆𝒂𝒎 𝒃𝒖𝒊𝒍𝒕 𝒐𝒏 𝒅𝒐𝒎𝒊𝒏𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒆, 𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒎𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒆, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒔𝒉𝒆𝒆𝒓 𝒄𝒓𝒊𝒄𝒌𝒆𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒄𝒍𝒂𝒔𝒔,” 𝒔𝒂𝒊𝒅 𝒅𝒆 𝑽𝒊𝒍𝒍𝒊𝒆𝒓𝒔.
Opening the batting are Graeme Smith and Matthew Hayden, both known for their aggressive starts. At number three, he slotted in Ricky Ponting, followed by Virat Kohli at number four.
The middle-order featured modern legends Steve Smith and Kane Williamson, occupying the fifth and sixth positions. At number seven and donning the gloves is India’s own MS Dhoni.
The bowling attack packs a punch with speedsters Mitchell Johnson and Mohammad Asif, while the spin department features two of the game’s greatest – Muttiah Muralitharan and Shane Warne. As a bonus, Glenn McGrath was selected as the 12th man.
No Place for Tendulkar or Rohit
The exclusion of Indian greats like Sachin Tendulkar, Rohit Sharma, and Rahul Dravid from the squad raised plenty of eyebrows. Even Jasprit Bumrah, one of the top modern pacers, was left out.
“𝑰 𝒉𝒂𝒅 𝒕𝒐 𝒎𝒂𝒌𝒆 𝒔𝒐𝒎𝒆 𝒕𝒐𝒖𝒈𝒉 𝒄𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒔. 𝑻𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒕𝒆𝒂𝒎 𝒓𝒆𝒇𝒍𝒆𝒄𝒕𝒔 𝒎𝒚 𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒔𝒐𝒏𝒂𝒍 𝒄𝒉𝒐𝒊𝒄𝒆𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒎𝒆𝒎𝒐𝒓𝒊𝒆𝒔,” 𝒅𝒆 𝑽𝒊𝒍𝒍𝒊𝒆𝒓𝒔 𝒆𝒙𝒑𝒍𝒂𝒊𝒏𝒆𝒅.
Surprisingly, no players from England or the West Indies made the cut, further fueling debate among fans and pundits.
AB de Villiers’ World XI
Graeme Smith, Matthew Hayden, Ricky Ponting, Virat Kohli, Steve Smith, Kane Williamson, MS Dhoni (wk), Mitchell Johnson, Mohammad Asif, Muttiah Muralitharan, Shane Warne.
12th Man: Glenn McGrath
Also Read: The Three Major Losses That Led to Virat Kohli’s Exit as Captain
