Former Australia skipper Brad Hogg revealed his all-time Indian Premier League XI team and there were a few surprise picks. Speaking on his Youtube channel, Hogg picked a team following the same criteria that any IPL team has to use while selecting their playing XI for a match – only four overseas players allowed. In the team, Hogg picked Australia’s David Warner and India’s Rohit Sharma to start the batting, with India captain Virat Kohli leading the side and coming down to bat at no.3.
“Opening the batting is David Warner. Good strike, good average, always gets his team to a good start. He is a quality batsman. The one who opens with him is Rohit Sharma – I think he will be the first person to score a double hundred in the T20 match. Coming in at no. 3 is the captain and the most consistent batter in IPL cricket is Virat Kohli,” Hogg said.
The former Aussie all-rounder went on to include Rishabh Pant at no. 4 and explained the reasons for his pick. “A little bit of surprise here – Rishabh Pant. Entertainment value plus he does the job in the middle overs. Exceptionally well, just go out there and play with freedom because you got quality batsman around you, Mr. Pant,” he said.
Hogg further went on to include heavy hitters AB de Villiers and MS Dhoni in his side, with the latter being the wicket-keeper of his team XI. “Coming in at 5 is AB de Villiers. I just like the way he controls the game in the middle overs and then takes the game on in those final five overs. The best finisher of the game comes in at no. 6, MS Dhoni. Gotta have him in the team as the keeper. Mr, Pant, you are going to have to do the fielding.”
Hogg went on to pick five bowlers in his team, which included two spinners and three seamers – one of which was a surprise selection of former Mumbai Indians seamer Munaf Patel, who has only played only six IPL games since 2012. “But I am only going with six batters, because I want five quality bowlers. The first bowler I have in my list is very economical one in the powerplay with the ball, but also very handy with the bat, and that’s Narine. He comes in at no. 7. Coming in at 8 is Rashid Khan, the leg spinner. He controls the middle period with the ball, he is very economical, and he picks up wickets,” Hog said.
“Munaf Patel comes in at 9 But he is only going to be opening the bowling, and bowling in the middle overs. I don’t want him to bowl at the death. He is dynamite with the new ball, and very economical in the middle overs with an oldish ball. The other bolwer I have got coming at no. 10 is Bhuvneshwar. I like the fact that when he opens up the attack, he swings the ball, he puts pressure on the opposition’s opening batters, but he is also very good at the death overs. I am going to use him with the new ball, and those final four overs. Joining those two quicks is Jasprit Bumrah. He can be used in any phase of the game. He is going to be my versatile bowler. Mainly, he is going to finish up bowling two overs, in the death,” he added.
There were three players who missed out by small margins in Hogg’s team. “The players who are very unlucky to miss out on my team are Suresh Raina, Lasith Malinga, and Dale Steyn. Those two fast bowlers are the most consistent bowlers in the IPL. And I could have used them in any phase of the game. So, these three are very unlucky to miss out,” he said.
