Brad Hogg picks the best XI after league stage of IPL 2020; leaves out KL Rahul and Kagiso Rabada

Former Australian cricketer Brad Hogg has picked his best eleven after the conclusion of the league stage in the 2020 edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL). As the openers, he picked Shikhar Dhawan and Mayank Agarwal. Dhawan is currently third on the list of leading run-scorers and he also became the first batsman with back-to-back centuries in the cash-rich tournament.

Agarwal missed out a few games due to injury, but with 424 runs at a strike-rate of 156.45, the Karnataka-born hasn’t flattered to deceive by any means. However, that Hogg didn’t opt for KL Rahul as one of the openers might raise a few eyebrows. Rahul is currently the Orange Cap holder, scoring 670 runs. He also has the record of getting the highest individual score by a captain in the IPL.

Hogg didn’t pick David Warner either. In the middle-order, he went for Suryakumar Yadav, AB de Villiers, Eoin Morgan and Hardik Pandya. Morgan was the most fluent batsman for the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), scoring 418 runs at an average of 41.80. Hardik Pandya didn’t get many chances to bat, but he has played decent cameos at an impressive average and strike-rate of 34.42 and 174.63.

Suryakumar Yadav couldn’t make the Indian squad for the Australia tour, but with 410 runs he hasn’t disappointed by any stretch of the imagination. De Villiers has scored 398 runs at an average and strike-rate of 44.22 and 163.78 respectively. Among the fast bowlers, Hogg went for Jofra Archer, Mohammed Shami and Jasprit Bumrah, who all have been stupendous, to say the least.

No Kagiso Rabada in the eleven

However, Hogg didn’t pick Delhi Capitals’ (DC) Kagiso Rabada, who’s the Purple Cap holder, having picked 25 wickets with a four-wicket haul to show for his efforts. The South Africa speedster only went wicketless in a couple of matches. Among the spinners, Hogg zeroed in on leg-spinners Rashid Khan and Yuzvendra Chahal. Even as Rashid has 19 wickets, Chahal has 20 scalps to his name.

Here’s Brad Hogg’s XI:

Shikhar Dhawan, Mayank Agarwal, Suryakumar Yadav, AB de Villiers, Eoin Morgan, Hardik Pandya, Jofra Archer, Rashid Khan, Mohammed Shami, Jasprit Bumrah, Yuzvendra Chahal.