Harsha Bhogle picks T20 Team of the Year 2024, snubs Rohit Sharma, Suryakumar Yadav

Veteran commentator Harsha Bhogle has revealed his T20 Team of the Year 2024, leaving out Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, and Suryakumar Yadav. Harsha Bhogle’s T20 Team of the Year 2024 includes five Indians, two players from the West Indies, and one each from Australia, England, Afghanistan, and South Africa.

The well-known broadcaster included Travis Head and Phil Salt as openers. Salt has scored 467 runs in 17 T20Is at an average of 38.92 and a strike rate of 164.44, including one century and two fifties. Head has scored 539 runs in 15 T20Is at an average of 38.5 and a strike rate of 178.47, with a top score of 80.

Harsha Bhogle Reveals His T20 Team of the Year 2024

Speaking on Cricbuzz, Harsha Bhogle praised Travis Head for his exceptional white-ball season. Bhogle also commended Phil Salt for his performances. He added that both players were recognized for their crucial role in setting a strong foundation during power plays.

"He had an astonishing white-ball season, is Travis Head. He's a left-hander, which makes such a lot of difference. He demolished power plays and often got to 50, more than anybody else within the power play. It was just a great white-ball season for Travis Head," Bhogle said.

"Then another - he played for KKR in the IPL but did well everywhere - and I'm talking about Phil Salt. There was always a sense of excitement when both Travis Head and Phil Salt batted. The way the T20 game is going, you have to demolish the power play and then build after that," he added.

Harsha Bhogle Excludes Suryakumar Yadav from Lineup

Harsha Bhogle selected Sanju Samson at No. 3, praising his versatility as an opener or top-order batter. Nicholas Pooran was Bhogle's choice for No. 4, calling him one of the best middle-order players currently. Bhogle opted for Heinrich Klaasen at No. 5, who edged out Tristan Stubbs for the spot.

"I've got big batters at 3-4-5, and here's something interesting—there's not a huge lot to choose from. My number 4 selected himself because I think there are very few better middle-order players than Nicholas Pooran now. The temptation is to put him at 3, but I just think he plays the middle overs so well that Nicholas Pooran is my number 4."

"Not just for Nicholas Pooran but for a person I just absolutely love watching, and that's Heinrich Klaasen. He is my number 5, just edging out Tristan Stubbs. Sanju Samson can be an opener or a number 3, and that's why he's in my team at number 3. I just love watching him. If you've got Head, Salt, and Sanju Samson, you're guaranteed an audience straight away. It's been a peculiar year, though, for Sanju Samson."

Harsha Bhogle Selects Hardik Pandya and Andre Russell as All-Rounders

Harsha Bhogle selected Hardik Pandya and Andre Russell as his seam-bowling all-rounders in the lineup. He noted that there aren't many spin-bowling all-rounders for those spots, aside from Axar Patel.

"I want seam-bowling all-rounders at 6 and 7. There's not a lot of spin-bowling all-rounders for those positions, other than Axar Patel. So, I looked at two seam-bowling all-rounders out of the three I had to choose from - Hardik Pandya, Marcus Stoinis, and Andre Russell," Bhogle explained.

"I think at 7, Andre Russell is fearless. It doesn't matter what the target is; if he comes in with 10 balls left, he can change a game in that short span. He's also started bowling more, and while he can be expensive, you really only need him to bowl two overs."

The commentator concluded by picking Rashid Khan, Varun Chakravarthy, Arshdeep Singh, and Jasprit Bumrah as his four bowlers in the lineup. Bumrah and Arshdeep played a crucial role in helping India win the T20 World Cup 2024.

Harsha Bhogle’s T20 Team of the Year 2024: Travis Head, Phil Salt, Sanju Samson, Nicholas Pooran, Heinrich Klaasen, Hardik Pandya, Andre Russell, Rashid Khan, Varun Chakravarthy, Arshdeep Singh, and Jasprit Bumrah.

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