Table of Contents
Harsha Bhogle, one of the most popular cricket commentators, has picked his T20 team of the year 2021. Bhogle started off the proceedings by naming the two openers in the form of Mohammad Rizwan and Jos Buttler.
Both Rizwan and Buttler had a phenomenal year as opening batters in the shortest format. While Rizwan topped the charts with 2036 runs in 48 games, Buttler managed to score 1008 runs from 28 matches.
“Look at the numbers for Azam and Rizwan. They were scripting their own tale. Look at the strike rate. Both of them were around 130. Both of them had a fantastic year. But I looked at the powerplay strike rates, and there I got my tiebreaker,” said Bhogle on Cricbuzz.
To form the middle-order, Bhogle picked the Aussie duo of Glenn Maxwell and Mitchell Marsh and also named England star Moeen Ali. Marsh scored 1089 runs in 36 games this year, while Maxwell has made 1047 in 42 fixtures. Similarly, Moeen managed to score 825 runs in 36 games.
Amongst the all-rounders, Bhogle went with West Indies superstars – Andre Russell and Sunil Narine. In 42 games this year, Russell scored 628 runs and picked up 35 wickets. Similarly, Narine appeared in 32 matches, scoring 261 runs and taking 35 scalps.
When it comes to the bowling department, Bhogle picked Afghanistan’s Rashid Khan, Pakistan sensation Shaheen Afridi, Anrich Nortje of South Africa and India seamer Jasprit Bumrah. The 60-year-old commentator stated there was a toss-up between Rashid and Wanindu Hasaranga, but he went with the former, considering the experience.
“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,” Bhogle added.
Bhogle further picked four more backup players to make a squad of 15. He, therefore, also named KL Rahul, Lockie Ferguson, Hasaranga and Jonny Bairstow in his final team.
Here is Harsha Bhogle’s T20 Team of 2021:
Jos Buttler, Mohammad Rizwan, Mitchell Marsh, Moeen Ali, Glenn Maxwell, Andre Russell, Sunil Narine, Rashid Khan, Shaheen Afridi, Anrich Nortje, Jasprit Bumrah
Backup players: KL Rahul, Lockie Ferguson, Wanindu Hasaranga, Jonny Bairstow
