Harsha Bhogle names Virat Kohli as skipper for his ODI side of the year 2016

Harsha Bhogle went on to state that the XI that he would pick would not be that of the ICC XI, meaning that Bhogle was not going September to September, but from January to December. While this was a clear dissimilar feature of Bhogle’s team, the former Indian commentator has gone on to state that finding the balance for the side, a balance between batsmen and bowlers would be the key for any team.

David Warner is a player who seemingly picks himself on the side and has also been a mainstay in most sides in recent times. While he has been an automatic selection, Bhogle had two options for his number two slot. Alex Hales and Rohit Sharma have had rather similar seasons. However, the similarity does not translate to consistency, meaning that Hales pips Sharma into the side.

Virat Kohli is the captain with Steve Smith not getting the nod in this one with England’s Joe Root being preferred ahead of the Australian skipper. Sri Lanka skipper Angelo Mathews and England all-rounder Ben Stokes have been drafted into the side to provide a few additional pace bowling options as well as batting lower down the order.

Jos Buttler has been picked ahead of Quinton de Kock simply for his brute force and finishing abilities. 27-year old Mitchell Starc’s impressive ability with the ball has seen him be picked alongside India’s Jasprit Bumrah whose death bowling abilities have once again become the toast of the town.

Sunil Narine and Imran Tahir are clearly the best spinners in the game in spite of the fact that the likes of Ravi Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja have a much better spin bowling acumen.

Harsha Bhogle XI for 2016: David Warner, Alex Hales, Virat Kohli (C), Joe Root, Angelo Mathews, Ben Stokes, Jos Buttler (WK), Mitchell Starc, Jasprit Bumrah, Sunil Narine, Imran Tahir