Team India is currently preparing for the upcoming white-ball tour of Sri Lanka and will also be looking to get their combination right for the T20 World Cup 2021 that is scheduled to be played later this year in UAE.
Former Australia spinner Brad Hogg in his latest YouTube video addressed this and went on to pick ideal India playing XI that he believes the Men in Blue should go with for the ICC tournament in October.
“My Indian team going into the T20 World Cup would have Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma opening the batting. I might be a bit harsh on Shikhar Dhawan but they need some attacking players in the middle-order and so they need to push Kohli up the order,” Hogg said in his YouTube video.
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The Aussie then further picked Suryakumar Yadav at No.3 with KL Rahul at No.4. Hogg selected wicket-keeper batsman Rishabh Pant as a floater with all-rounder Hardik Pandya coming to come out at No.6.
He added, "I have Suryakumar Yadav, a youngster to international cricket, at No.3. I think his versatility is going to add a bit of spice to that batting line-up. KL Rahul is the prime runner for the No.4 spot. Coming in at No.5 is Rishabh Pant and I would keep him as a floater. If there is a wicket falling in the seventh over, I would send him up the order at dominate against spin. I would have Hardik Pandya at No.6 and Ravindra Jadeja at No.7."
“Coming in at No.5 is Rishabh Pant and I would keep him as a floater. If there is a wicket falling in the seventh over, I would send him up the order at dominate against spin. I would have Hardik Pandya at No.6 and Ravindra Jadeja at No.7,” he added.
The 50-year-old then made it clear that Kuldeep Yadav’s inclusion will depend on his performance in Sri Lanka and thus went with Yuzvendra Chahal as the only spinner followed by Thakur, Bumrah and Bhuvneshwar Kumar as the three pacers.
"If Kuldeep Yadav does well in Sri Lanka, having a left-arm wrist-spinner could be a point of difference. But at the moment, Chahal is the number one spinner. Someone like a Thakur could get an opportunity due to his explosive batting and he is also good in the powerplay and at the death. Then you got Bhuvi and then Bumrah," Hogg pointed out.
