Former Australian spinner Brad Hogg named his World Test Championship XI and omitted Indian captain Virat Kohli from the same. Last week, New Zealand comprehensively beat India by eight wickets to become the inaugural World Test Champions. As a result, Brad Hogg named two Kiwis in the eleven and appointed Kane Williamson as captain.
Brad Hogg started with Rohit Sharma and Dimuth Karunaratne as openers as they both averaged over 50. The Western Australian remarked that Rohit scored heaps of runs, albeit at home; however, he recalled him batting well in the final against New Zealand in testing conditions. Hence, Hogg felt he has to be in the line-up.
“Rohit Sharma at the top of the order. He made four hundreds and two fifties. Yes, most of those runs were made in Indian conditions. Very rarely did you see bat away from home. So very tough to put him in there but the amount of runs he put on the board, I have to include him. He also did ok in the World Test Championship final under those tough conditions,” Hogg said in his Youtube channel.
Kane Williamson (Image Credit: Twitter)
Captain Kane Williamson, Steve Smith, and Babar Azam occupied the next three spots, followed by Ben Stokes as the specialist all-rounder. Amongst wicketkeepers, Brad Hogg went for Rishabh Pant, claiming he did well in Australia and it’s impossible to ignore him. Pant, who made 707 runs in 12 matches, with one century and four fifties, earned the tag of a game-changer from Hogg.
“There are a number of keepers that have really performed throughout the Test Championship series. De Kock from South Africa was one, Rizwan from Pakistan did a fantastic job. But Pant, the way that he dominated Australia on their soil, you could not leave him out. He scored a number of fifties and a crucial winning innings in the final Test at the Gabba and scored an important 40 in the WTC final to make sure India still kept their head above water before they bowled to New Zealand. So Pant at No. 7, he’s a game-changer,” the 50-year old conceded.
Brad Hogg selects Ravichandran Ashwin as the sole spinner in the line-up:
Ravichandran Ashwin (Image Credit: Twitter)
At number eight, Brad Hogg opted for Kyle Jamieson, who made significant contributions towards New Zealand’s win in the WTC final. The 50-year old termed Ravichandran Ashwin as the best spinner in the world, claiming he has got variety, bowls well under pressure and is a handy batter.
“At No 9 is a spinner, it’s got to be Ashwin. The best spinner in the world at the moment. He’s got a lot of variety. Bowls well under pressure and also can handle the bat,” Brad stated further.
Mohammed Shami constituted at number eleven as the former wrist-spinner believes he maintains pressure on the batsmen consistently. Hogg stated that Shami was one of the best bowlers in the WTC final as he was quick and got excellent wheels.
“At No. 11 is one of the best bowlers in the world, someone that you could always turn to when under pressure and need wickets and to really bowl quality pressure deliveries over after over, ball after ball, it’s Shami. He was outstanding, the second pick of the bowlers in that WTC final. He was sensational, quick. He’s got a very good engine,” he added.
Brad Hogg’s World Test Championship XI:
Rohit Sharma, Dimuth Karunaratne, Kane Williamson (C), Steve Smith, Babar Azam, Ben Stokes, Rishabh Pant (WK), Kyle Jamieson, Ravichandran Ashwin, Stuart Broad, Mohammed Shami. 12th man: Marnus Labuschagne.
