As we approach the end of 2021, renowned sports broadcaster Harsha Bhogle has picked his T20 XI of the year. Surprisingly only one Indian cricketer made it to the list of Bhogle’s XI for the year in the shortest format.
The veteran went with England’s Jos Buttler and Pakistan’s wicket-keeper batsman Mohammad Rizwan as his openers. Harsha Bhogle revealed that it was a toss-up between Rizwan and his captain Babar Azam but he settled for the former because of his better strike rate in the powerplay as compared to Azam.
“Look at the numbers for Azam and Rizwan. They were scripting their own tale. Look at the strike rate. Both of them around 130. Both of them had a fantastic year because Pakistan had a fantastic bowling side. But I looked at the powerplay strike rates and there I got my tiebreaker,” said Bhogle while speaking on Cricbuzz.
Australia’s Mitchell Marsh, who redefined his T20 career in 2021 and Glenn Maxwell formed the middle-order alongside England’s Moeen Ali, who will bat at No.5 in Harsha Bhogle’s T20 XI.
Harsha Bhogle picks Andre Russell, Sunil Narine in his T20 XI
The 60-year-old went with 2 West Indian all-rounders in Andre Russell and Sunil Narine. And, the 4 specialist bowlers that the Indian commentator went with are Rashid Khan, Shaheen Afridi, Anrich Nortje, and Jasprit Bumrah.
Harsha Bhogle revealed that Sri Lanka’s Wanindu Hasaranga gave a tough fight to Rashid Khan with his consistent performance, but Rashid prevailed over him because of his ability to contribute with the bat.
“There was a choice between Wanindu Hasaranga and Rashid Khan, but then who would a batter want to see less of, and I went with Rashid Khan,” stated Bhogle.
Harsha Bhogle also picked four other players, to make a squad of 15, and the 4 players are KL Rahul, Lockie Ferguson, Wanindu Hasaranga, and Jonny Bairstow.
Harsha Bhogle T20 XI of 2021: Jos Buttler, Mohammad Rizwan, Mitchell Marsh, Moeen Ali, Glenn Maxwell, Andre Russell, Sunil Narine, Rashid Khan, Shaheen Afridi, Anrich Nortje, Jasprit Bumrah
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