"He’s very smart" - Brad Hogg announces a dark horse as India's future captain

Former Australia cricketer Brad Hogg has picked the young batter Tilak Varma to become India's future captain in the T20I format. Hogg is highly impressed by Tilak's smartness and feels that he can lead India in the future.

Hogg also hailed the young opener Abhishek Sharma for his heroics in the first T20I against England in Kolkata. Abhishek slammed a fiery half-century to help India win the match and take a 1-0 lead in the five-match T20I series.

Also read: Virat Kohli's wife Anushka Sharma and kids blamed for Indian superstar's downfall

Brad Hogg picks Tilak Varma as India's future T20I captain

Brad Hogg revealed on his YouTube channel that he was impressed with Tilak Varma. Hogg feels that the youngster has a "good cricketing brain" and could become India's future T20I captain.

"Tilak Varma is a player that I absolutely loved and I think he’s going to be a future captain of India in this shorter form of the game. He’s very smart, got a very good cricket brain," Hogg said.

Tilak Varma scored an unbeaten 19 off 16 balls while batting at No. 4 during the first T20I of the series against England. He struck 3 fours during his knock. Tilak didn't do much as the bulk of the work was done by Abhishek Sharma.

Abhishek Sharma and Tilak Varma stitched a crucial 84-run partnership for the third wicket which put India on the cusp of a win. Even if India lost Abhishek towards the back end, Tilak stayed till the end to steer his side to victory.

Tilak Varma's T20I numbers

Tilak Varma has an excellent T20I record with 635 runs in 21 matches at an average of 52.91 and a strike rate of 159.54. He already has two hundreds and two fifties to his name in T20I cricket.

Tilak Varma struck hundreds in two consecutive matches in South Africa. He emerged as the Player of the Series with 280 runs in four matches at an average of 140 and a strike rate of 198.58.

Brad Hogg lauds Abhishek Sharma

Further speaking in the video, Brad Hogg heaped praises on Abhishek Sharma for his excellent knock. He also spoke about the importance of backing such a player and lauded the youngster for expressing himself.

"Yes, he’s had a few times where he has missed out and it’s good that he’s got the backing of the coach and captain because in T20 cricket, especially when you’re batting at the top of the order and you bat like Abhishek Sharma," Hogg noted.

"They want him to express himself, go after the bowling, you are going to get out for low scores, cheaply, because every now and then the ball is gonna do a little bit and you just can’t control that moment," he added.

Abhishek Sharma smashed 79 off just 34 balls with 5 fours and 8 sixes to his name. Abhishek was devastating against both the fast bowlers and the spinners and fully expressed his attacking instincts.