Former South African captain Hashim Amla recently gave an interview where he named his three best batters of all time. Amla was asked this question on the sidelines of the ongoing World Championship of Legends in England. The 42-year-old is playing for AB de Villiers-led South Africa Champions.
Amla scored 15 off 18 balls against the West Indies Champions on Saturday, July 19. His next match will be against the India Champions on Tuesday, July 22. Before the big game, Amla was asked to pick his three best batters of all time. While many expected him to include Indian legend Sachin Tendulkar, Amla surprised everyone by leaving him out.
Amla’s favourite batters of all time
Amla said that while growing up, his favourite players were West Indies legend Brian Lara, former Australia captain Steve Waugh, and fellow South African Jacques Kallis, who is considered one of the greatest all-rounders of all time. Meanwhile, Amla also picked Virat Kohli, AB de Villiers, and West Indies great Sir Vivian Richards.
“There are so many over the years. Growing up my three favourite players were Brian Lara, Steve Waugh, and Jacques Kallis, also being from South Africa. But also maybe three other names: you’ve got Virat (Kohli) in recent times, AB de Villiers, and I’d say one more old one—Sir Vivian Richards."
Hashim Amla reveals his top 3 batters at the World Championship of Legends… and drops a name he’s got his eyes on! 👀#WCL2025 👉 IND Champions vs SA Champions | TUE, 22nd JULY, 9 PM | LIVE on Star Sports Network pic.twitter.com/P1PtiUrV1h
— Star Sports (@StarSportsIndia) July 20, 2025
Amla’s snub of Tendulkar from the top three batters of all time has surprised Indian fans. Tendulkar, who is widely known as ‘God of Cricket,’ played for India from 1989 to 2013 and still holds records for the most runs and matches in both Tests and ODIs. However, Amla believes Kohli, ABD, and Richards are better than Tendulkar.
Amla himself had a remarkable career, scoring over 18,000 runs across formats for South Africa. Now, he is set to face the India Champions team led by former all-rounder Yuvraj Singh. The match is scheduled to take place at Northampton and will begin at 5:30 PM IST.