Brad Hogg released his current ODI XI, selecting five Indians in the team led by Indian captain Virat Kohli.
Former Australia spinner Brad Hogg on Friday released his ODI XI on his official YouTube channel. Hogg has been significantly active on his social media profiles and has been interacting with fans on his Twitter handle. Last month, he also released his IPL XI of all-time.
There are five Indians in Hogg's current ODI XI. They include opener Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli (who is also the captain of Hogg's side), Ravindra Jadeja, Mohammed Shami and Yuzvendra Chahal.
Calling Rohit the "sleeping giant," Hogg says that he plays with ease and grace. He selected Australia's David Warner to partner Rohit at the opening order.
While Virat is at number three in the side, Pakistan's Babar Azam, who has often drawn comparisons with the Indian skipper, comes at four.
England's Ben Stokes, who had a stellar 2019 for the side with both bat and ball, is at number five in Brad Hogg's side. Stokes' fellow teammate Jos Buttler is the wicketkeeper-batsman in the side.
Hogg opted for a spinning all-rounder in Ravindra Jadeja at number seven, while Mitchell Starc is at number eight.
New Zealand quick Lockie Ferguson partners Starc in the pace bowling attack in Hogg's team, while Mohammed Shami and Yuzvendra Chahal are the two Indian bowlers which complete the lineup. (ALSO READ: India's oldest first-class cricketer Vasant Raiji passes away at 100)
Explaining his selection for the side, Hogg said that he had to take the tough decisions to keep some quality players out of the side.
"The top six will make 290 in generally every game they go out to bat, with the stats that they have," Hogg said.
"Two unlucky batsman are Aaron Finch, who had a wonderful last year but his conversation rate of scores over 50 per-innings weren't as good as the other top four. Another batsman is Kane Williamson who nearly got in front of Kohli because he had a better average but it was only the lower strike rate which kept him out of the team," explained Hogg.
Among bowlers, Hogg said that he could've selected Boult and Cummins, but reasoned why he didn't go for the two.
"I could've gone with Boult and Cummins, they are lot more economical than the bowler I chose. But they don't have strong strike-rates. These particular powers will bowl teams out for under 200-250 every game," said Hogg.
Brag Hogg's Current ODI XI: Rohit Sharma, David Warner, Virat Kohli (c), Babar Azam, Ben Stokes, Jos Buttler, Ravindra Jadeja, Mitchell Starc, Lockie Ferguson, Mohammed Shami, Yuzvendra Chahal
