Former Australian spinner Brad Hogg has picked India’s ideal playing XI for the upcoming T20 World Cup. Hogg has backed Indian skipper Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma to open the innings for the Indian team.

Rohit is going to be India’s first choice opener and it would be interesting to note who will be the second opener between Virat Kohli, KL Rahul and Shikhar Dhawan.

Kohli has opened for RCB in the IPL but hasn’t opened a lot while playing for the national team. Hogg picked Suryakumar Yadav to bat at number three as the right-hander has been a consistent performer while playing for Mumbai Indians in the IPL. Yadav also made a good start to his career as he scored a fifty on his T20I debut against England.

Hogg has picked KL Rahul to bat at number four. Rahul has done well in the shortest format of the game and he is also one of the leading performers in the IPL.

Hogg selected Rishabh Pant to bat at number five. Pant has the skills to turn the match on its head with his blistering batting. The former spinner picked Hardik Pandya to bat at number six. Pandya brings great balance to the team as he has also started to bowl and can hit the ground running.

The Australian picked Ravindra Jadeja to bat at number seven. Jadeja has improved his skills manifold in the recent past and he has grabbed his chances.

Hogg added that if Kuldeep Yadav does well in Sri Lanka, he could get a chance in the playing. However, Hogg backed Yuzvendra Chahal as the number one spinner for the team.

Hogg selected Shardul Thakur, Jasprit Bumrah and Bhuvneshwar Kumar as the three fast bowlers of the team.

Brad Hogg picks India’s ideal playing XI for T20 World Cup: Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, Suryakumar Yadav, KL Rahul, Rishabh Pant (wk), Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Yuzvendra Chahal, Shardul Thakur, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Jasprit Bumrah.