I call him the magic man: Brad Hogg includes Babar Azam in his ODI XI

Former Australia left-arm wrist spinner Brad Hogg has included Pakistan’s limited-overs captain Babar Azam in his current ODI XI, led by Indian captain Virat Kohli.

Hogg featured in 7 Tests, 123 One-Day Internationals (ODIs) and 15 Twenty20 Internationals (T20Is) for Australia while picking up 17 wickets, 156 wickets and 7 wickets respectively in each format.

While speaking on his YouTube channel, Hogg placed Babar at number four in the batting lineup, as there was no standout performer at that position last year.

"I couldn’t find a genuine number four to place in this position from the year. So I decided to go with another number three. He wears green and I call him the magic man, it is Babar Azam," Hogg said.

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Hogg selected four more Indian cricketers, apart from Kohli, in his XI. They include opener Rohit Sharma, all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja, leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal and pacer Mohammad Shami.

Former cricketer added that New Zealand captain Kane Williamson and Australia opener Aaron Finch were unlucky to miss out from the team.

"The two unlucky batsmen are Aaron Finch, who had a wonderful year in 2019, but his conversion rate wasn't as good as everyone else in that top four. And the other one was Kane Williamson, nearly got in front of Virat Kohli, because he had a better average, but it was only a lower strike rate that kept him out of the side," he said.

Brad Hogg’s current best ODI XI: Rohit Sharma, David Warner, Virat Kohli (C), Babar Azam, Ben Stokes, Jos Buttler (WK), Ravindra Jadeja, Mitchell Starc, Lockie Ferguson, Mohammed Shami, Yuzvendra Chahal