Sachin Tendulkar phoned mid-show after Mark Waugh all-time XI snub; David Lloyd chat sparks drama: 'He's gone!' ~ PARN HARIT

India batting legend Sachin Tendulkar received a surprise phone call from David Lloyd in the middle of a podcast after former Australia cricketer Mark Waugh left him out of his all-time XI, and what followed was pure comedy.

Across Tests and ODIs, an all-time XI almost invariably includes Tendulkar. The leading run-scorer in international cricket history and the holder of numerous batting records, he remains one of the first names on such lists even more than a decade after retirement. Tendulkar is the most capped player in international cricket and the only batter to have scored 100 international centuries.

However, during a discussion on an episode of Stick to Cricket, Waugh omitted Tendulkar from his all-time XI, prompting former England captain Michael Vaughan to urge Lloyd to call the Indian great live on the show. Lloyd obliged, dialing Tendulkar and introducing himself repeatedly as “Bumble,” only for the call to be abruptly disconnected. “He’s gone,” Lloyd quipped, triggering laughter from the panel.

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Tendulkar finished his international career with 34,357 runs from 664 matches across formats before retiring in 2013 following a home Test against the West Indies at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai.

India star Virat Kohli is the closest active challenger to Tendulkar’s run tally. Kohli currently sits second with 28,091 international runs, over 6,000 short, and has time until the 2027 World Cup, which is widely speculated to be his international swansong. During a recent ODI game against New Zealand in Vadodara, Kohli went past Kumar Sangakkara's tally of 28016 runs to climb to the second spot.

The Snub

During the show, Mark Waugh revealed his personal all-time XI.³ While the list was packed with icons like Brian Lara, Sir Viv Richards, and Shane Warne, the "Master Blaster"—who holds the record for the most runs and centuries in Test history—was conspicuously missing.⁴

When Michael Vaughan pushed Waugh on the omission, Waugh jokingly suggested he would bat himself at Number 4, effectively replacing Tendulkar in that slot.⁵

The "Bumble" Phone Call

In a bid to stir the pot, Vaughan challenged David Lloyd to call Tendulkar live on air and inform him that he hadn’t made the cut.⁶ Lloyd actually dialed the number and the following exchange occurred:

The Intro: Lloyd repeatedly introduced himself saying, "Sachin, it’s Bumble here... it's Bumble!"⁷
The Reaction: Tendulkar, likely caught off guard by a random call from "Bumble" mid-podcast, didn't say much before the line went quiet.⁸
The Punchline: As the call disconnected, Lloyd looked at the panel and quipped, "He's gone!" which sent the entire studio into fits of laughter.⁹

Mark Waugh's All-Time XI

Waugh’s team prioritized "aggressive intent" over pure statistics, which explains some of his controversial choices:

Openers: Matthew Hayden & Graham Gooch¹⁰
Middle Order: Brian Lara, Mark Waugh (at No. 4), Sir Viv Richards, Jacques Kallis
Bowling Attack: Shane Warne, Wasim Akram, Curtly Ambrose, Glenn McGrath¹¹

Why it's Trending Now

The clip is being widely shared not just for the prank, but because of the current statistical heat in world cricket.

Joe Root is currently fewer than 2,000 runs away from breaking Tendulkar’s all-time Test run record.¹²
Virat Kohli just surpassed Tendulkar's ODI century record recently and is chasing his total international run tally.¹³

The snub has reignited the age-old debate: Can any all-time XI be "legitimate" without the man who scored 100 international hundreds?

Would you like to see a statistical comparison between Sachin's records and the players Mark Waugh chose instead?

PARN HARIT