Australia’s wicketkeeper-batsman Alex Carey has picked his combined India-Australia T20 XI. His playing XI has shocked the fans because he has snubbed the former Indian captain MS Dhoni and India’s vice-captain, Rohit Sharma. Interestingly, he has given place to the youngster Rishabh Pant, who has been struggling with his form, of late.
In the interview with IPL franchise Delhi Capitals (DC), Carey found it difficult to pick only XI players in his team as he advised to pick a squad so that he can put all his favourite players in it.
“You need a team of 22, I reckon! Then I can squeeze them all in,” Carey said.
Virat Kohli and Shikhar Dhawan in Alex Carey’s T20I XI:
Alex Carey has named Shikhar Dhawan and David Warner as the opener. Both the players are destructive batsman and big hitters. Dhawan has played 61 T20Is while Warner has played 79 T20Is. At batting No. 3, he picked up his Aussie teammate Steve Smith, who plays for RR in IPL. Smith has not impactful stats in the shorter formats. He has 681 runs in 39 T20I at an average of 29.60.
Following Smith, Virat Kohli, who is the highest run-scorer in the T20I format, is placed at No.4 position. Surprisingly, DC player Rishabh Pant has also got the place in Carey’s T20I XI. Pant has impressive figures in IPL; he has scored 1736 runs in 54 matches. At No.6, he has positioned himself followed by Ravindra Jadeja, who is the sole all-rounder in Carey’s team.
His bowling department consists of lethal bowlers. Australian pacer Mitchell Starc and Pat Cummins are the two pacers while Adam Zampa is the specialist spinner.
"You need a team of 22, I reckon! Then I can squeeze them all in." – Alex Carey on how difficult it is to pick a combined India-Australia T20I XI consisting of current players ?
What would your XI look like? ?#YehHaiNayiDilli pic.twitter.com/BKcH8wLFMp
— Delhi Capitals (@DelhiCapitals) May 8, 2020
Rohit, the batsman with four tons in T20Is, is currently the second-highest run-scorer (2773 runs) in the shortest format. On the other hand, Dhoni is a World Cup-winning captain and is unarguably the greatest wicketkeeper-batsman in the present era.