The Indian Premier League (IPL) 2020 is around the corner, with fans and experts equally excited to see some of the big stars of world cricket back in action after a long time. In the build-up to the tournament, experts have started analysing the strengths and weaknesses of each team and also the players to watch out for. Joining in the trend, former Australia spinner Brad Hogg also came up with his ‘Best XI of IPL 2020’, which had some of the big names missing — with the most notable ones being MS Dhoni, AB de Villiers and Chris Gayle. Explaining the reason behind their exclusion, Hogg said that they are a “little bit old”. However, he added that they could prove him wrong with their performance and maybe find a place in his final XI at the end of the tournament.
“I haven’t got MS Dhoni or AB de Villiers or Chris Gayle in there. They are a little bit long in the tooth. Little bit old. But they can turn things around and be in my final XI at the end of the tournament,” Hogg said in his YouTube vlog.
Another surprising choice in Hogg’s XI was giving the captaincy to New Zealand’s Kane Williamson, who is not a regular skipper of his franchise SunRisers Hyderabad (SRH).
“Good head on his shoulders and great ambassador for the game” is how Hogg described Williamson while naming him the captain of his IPL 2020 XI.
He picked Mumbai Indians skipper Rohit Sharma to open the innings with SRH skipper David Warner, while chose RCB skipper Virat Kohli to bat at number three, followed by Williamson at number four. He entrusted Rishabh Pant with the wicket-keeping duties and number five role.
Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) duo of Andre Russell and Sunil Narine found a place as all-rounders along with CSK’s Ravindra Jadeja.
Indian bowling trio of Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Yuzvendra Chahal and Jasprit Bumrah entered his team as specialist bowlers.
Apart from his best XI, Hogg also mentioned three young Indian players who have great potential to do well in this year’s IPL.
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“The other players that I would like to lift and kick some of these older players out are youngsters like Shubman Gill, Prithvi Shaw and Kuldeep Yadav. I think they have got a lot to offer in this year’s IPL,” Hogg said in the video.
IPL 2020 kick-starts with defending champions Mumbai Indians taking on Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in Abu Dhabi on September 19.
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