Virat Kohli, in a huge surprise, was left out by Matthew Hayden as he named his all-time ICC ODI World Cup XI. However, the two-time World Cup-winning Australian opener included two Indians in his XI.
Virat Kohli is a giant of ODI cricket as he is the only batter to score 50 centuries in the format. He also scored 765 runs in the recent ICC World Cup with 6 fifties and 3 centuries to his name in 11 matches.
Kohli with 13848 runs in ODIs, is second only to Sachin Tendulkar and third overall in the list for highest run-getter in ODIs. And if he can continue playing till the 2027 ODI World Cup and perform the way he has been playing over the years, he would probably go past Tendulkar to lead the list.
Despite his outstanding record in ODIs, former Australia opener Matthew Hayden decided to not include him in the all-time ODI World Cup XI.
Recently, a renowned Pakistani journalist shared an image of Matthew Hayden’s all-time World Cup XI and clearly mentioned that the former opener has left out Virat Kohli from the list.
The list was: Adam Gilchrist (wk), Virender Sehwag, Ricky Ponting, Sachin Tendulkar, Brian Lara, Jacques Kallis, Wasim Akram, Waqar Younis, Shane Warne Muttiah Muralitharan, Glenn McGrath
“No Virat Kohli in Mathew Hayden All time ODI World Cup XI 🙄🙄,” the journalist posted on X (formerly Twitter).
No Virat Kohli in Mathew Hayden All time ODI World Cup XI 🙄🙄 pic.twitter.com/58jLXm0b8i
— ٰImran Siddique (@imransiddique89) July 31, 2024
Matthew Hayden snubs Virat Kohli in his all-time ICC ODI World Cup Xi
Notably, Matthew Hayden shared this all-time ICC World Cup XI in 2014. At that time, Kohli was just starting to establish himself as a legendary batter.
Virat Kohli had only played one ODI World Cup (in 2011), during which he scored 282 runs in nine matches, including one century. He was not the tremendous batter he is today.
As a result, Hayden’s forecast is unquestionable because he identified the correct Playing XI for that era. India went on to win the ODI World Cup for the first time in 28 years.
Since then, Kohli has become a giant of ODI cricket with 13848 runs in 292 ODIs at a blistering average of 58.47 and a strike rate of 93.58. He has 50 centuries to his name as well, and apart from the 2011 World Cup, Kohli has also won the ICC Champions Trophy 2013 in his cabinet.
When it comes to ICC World Cups, Kohli is second on the list of highest run-scorers in the 50-over World Cups, just behind Sachin Tendulkar, who tops the list with 2278 runs in 45 matches. Kohli, on the other hand, has 1795 runs in 37 ODIs at an average of 59.83 and a strike rate of 88.20. He has 5 centuries and 12 half-centuries in the ODI World Cup history.
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