Harsha Bhogle names his all-time T20 World Cup XI

Prominent commentator Harsha Bhogle came up with his all-time T20 World Cup XI amidst the excitement around the tournament's latest edition in Australia. Bhogle came up with a robust playing unit, featuring some of the outstanding performers in the competition's history. 

These are names leading the pack for their terrific display from the seven previous editions of the men's T20 World Cup, which have helped take T20 to the nooks and corners of the globe, making it the fans' favourite version of the sport. 

The playing XI contains giants of the game in respective departments, with a significant impact made in their team's fortunes with the bat or the ball. Speaking on Cricbuzz, Harsha Bhogle picked a balanced side which features two genuine allrounders, six bowling options and seven proper batters. 

Harsha Bhogle's T20 World Cup XI 

At the top in Bhogle's team, the mighty Chris Gayle opens the innings with the rampaging Jos Buttler. The two batters enjoy an impressive record in T20 World Cups. Gayle, the two-time champion, boasts of 965 runs at a SR of 142.75 in the competition, where his English counterpart Buttler has scored 574 runs at 41.00 per innings with a rate of scoring of 144.58. 

Following the Gayle-Buttler duo is a star-studded middle-order of Virat Kohli, Kevin Pietersen and Michael Hussey. Kohli, the two-time 'Player of the Tournament' at T20 World Cups, was an obvious pick in Bhogle's playing XI. He picked Pietersen and Hussey for critical influence in their team's wins. 

While Pietersen top-scored in England's 2010 title triumph in the Caribbean, Hussey played arguably the innings of the T20 World Cup history in the semifinal of the same event against Pakistan, scoring an unbeaten 60 off 24 balls to secure an Australian win from a hopeless equation. 

Following them in the line-up is the allround duo of Shane Watson and Shahid Afridi: one a superb fast-bowling allrounder, the other an exceptional spin allrounder at his best. They both ended their respective careers with impressive records in T20 World Cups. Watson had a SR of 140.94 with the bat and an ER of 8.07 with the ball in the competition, whereas Afridi, the 2009 champion, bowled his wristspin with an ER of 6.07 and scored his runs at a SR of 154.23. 

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To round off his team, Harsha Bhogle picked an incisive bowling unit of Umar Gul, Samuel Badree, Lasith Malinga and Trent Boult. Gul, like Afridi, was key in Pakistan winning the tournament back in 2009. The right-arm seamer took 13 wickets from 7 games at 6.44 runs an over. Joining him in the pace attack is the great Malinga, who picked up 38 wickets in T20 World Cups at 7.43 an over. 

Badree was key in West Indies winning the titles in 2012 and 2016. West Indies' powerplay bank delivered his overs at just 5.52 over his three editions of the T20 World Cup. Boult is the other key member of Bhogle's attack, with the left-arm seamer taking 17 wickets from his nine matches in the competition at just 6.11 runs an over. 

Harsha Bhogle's all-time T20 World Cup XI: Chris Gayle, Jos Buttler, Virat Kohli, Kevin Pietersen, Michael Hussey, Shane Watson, Shahid Afridi, Umar Gul, Trent Boult, Lasith Malinga, Samuel Badree