Waqar Younis picks Tendulkar, Kohli and Dhoni in his all-time XI
Waqar Younis named his all-time XI with Tendulkar, Kohli and Dhoni included, while Smriti Mandhana revealed a personal message from Dhoni after India's 2025 World Cup win.
Waqar Younis selected Sachin Tendulkar over Inzamam-ul-Haq, Virat Kohli over Babar Azam and MS Dhoni over Javed Miandad for his all-time Test XI. He chose Saeed Anwar over Virender Sehwag and declined to pick between Vaibhav Sooryavanshi and Sameer Minhas. Smriti Mandhana said Dhoni sent her a WhatsApp message after India's 2025 Women's ODI World Cup win and that she was the only player whose contact he had saved.
Dhoni's message arrived after India beat South Africa by 52 runs on November 2, 2025 to win the tournament. Mandhana added that she remains the only player whose number Dhoni keeps saved on his phone.
Ajinkya Rahane replaced Virat Kohli as India captain and led the side to a 2-1 Test series win in Australia in 2020-21. His first match in charge ended in a 36 all out total in Adelaide.
CricHubb Take
Waqar's choices show how Indian domestic anchors still shape Pakistan's view of greatness decades after the matches ended.