Brad Hogg picks India's ideal T20 World Cup XI, Virat & Rohit open

Former Australian cricketer Brad Hogg has picked Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma as the openers for Team India for the upcoming T20 World Cup. The duo opened together in the last T20I of a five-match series against England earlier this year.

Brad Hogg believes promoting Kohli up the order will allow India to bring in more attacking players in the middle order. He stated:

"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."

Smashing a half-century on debut, Suryakumar Yadav proved that he is here to stay. His sensational run for Mumbai Indians in the IPL convinced Brad Hogg to select him at No.3.

At No.4, the 50-year-old feels KL Rahul should be backed despite his form of late.

"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," Brad Hogg asserted.

Brad Hogg went with an explosive choice, selecting Rishabh Pant, Hardik Pandya and Ravindra Jadeja in the lower middle-order. He feels there is enough firepower in the trio to provide India with a big finish. He added:

"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."

Brad Hogg picks his bowling attack for India's T20 World Cup XI

Brad Hogg believes only one among Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal would be selected in the playing XI. He feels the tour of Sri Lanka might determine which of the two plays.

As far as the pacers are concerned, Brad Hogg feels India's best new-ball combination would be Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Shardul Thakur as both can swing the ball. He concluded his XI by picking star pacer Jasprit Bumrah as the No.11

"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," Brad Hogg signed off.