While Virat Kohli captains Brad Hogg's IPL XI, Lasith Malinga as well as Suresh Raina were missing in his team.
With the current edition of the IPL being postponed indefinitely due to coronavirus outbreak, many cricketers are taking to social media to reflect on the sport and their lives beyond. Former Australian spinner Brad Hogg took this opportunity to make his all-time IPL XI, which he released on Sunday.
There were a few surprises in store as Brad Hogg named his XI from the tournament. The big one was the omission of Suresh Raina and Lasith Malinga -- while Raina is currently the second-highest run-scorer in the IPL (5,368 runs in 193 matches), Malinga remains its highest wicket-taker to this date (170 wickets in 122 matches).
Mumbai Indians' four-time IPL-winning captain Rohit Sharma opens the innings alongside David Warner, who leads Sunrisers Hyderabad. The duo features among the top-4 run-scorers in the tournament.
Virat Kohli, the captain of Royal Challengers Bangalore -- who is also at the top of the batting charts in the tournament's history (5,412 runs in 177 matches), follows at number three in the lineup. He is also the captain of the team.
Delhi Capitals' wicketkeeper-batsman Rishabh Pant is at number four in Hogg's batting lineup. Pant has been impressive for the Delhi franchise ever since he was signed in 2016. In the 2018 edition, he was the tournament's second-highest run-scorer with 684 runs in 14 matches.
AB de Villiers, another RCB player and an explosive middle-order batsman, follows Pant at five. In 154 matches, de Villiers has scored 4,395 runs at a staggering strike-rate of 151.23. His strike-rate is the highest among the top-10 run-getters of the tournament.
Chennai Super Kings' captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni follows de Villiers at six. Dhoni has led CSK to three IPL titles and is the highest-scoring wicketkeeper-batsman in the tournament (4,432 runs in 190 matches).
Sunil Narine and Rashid Khan were the two overseas bowlers in Brad Hogg's lineup, with the former also performing the role of an all-rounder. Narine has been significantly successful with the ball (109 wickets in 110 matches) but his runs with the bat are underwhelming (771 runs, 110 matches). Rashid Khan, on the other hand, has emerged as one of the most lethal spinners in the IPL over the past few years. Playing in 46 matches in the tournament, he has taken 55 wickets at a brilliant economy rate of 6.65.
The inclusion of Munaf Patel was another surprising decision by Hogg. Calling him a 'dynamite' with the new ball, the former Aussie spinner said that he would bowl Patel in the beginning and in the middle overs.
Munaf Patel has taken 63 wickets in as many matches in the IPL.
SRH's Bhuvneshwar Kumar (117 wickets in 117 matches) and Mumbai Indians' Jasprit Bumrah (77 wickets in 77 matches) complete Hogg's lineup. Both are natural choices for the bowling lineup among Indians, as they are proven match-winners for their respective sides.
Brad Hogg's all-time IPL XI: Rohit Sharma, David Warner, Virat Kohli (c), Rishabh Pant, AB de Villiers, MS Dhoni (wk), Sunil Narine, Rashid Khan, Munaf Patel, Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Jasprit Bumrah.
