As Team India gears up for their T20 World Cup campaign, former captain Sunil Gavaskar has weighed in on the likely playing XI for the opening match against Ireland. Gavaskar’s lineup features some interesting choices and strategic decisions.
Gavaskar said
“The way Kohli has batted, particularly the second half of the IPL, he deserves to open the batting with Rohit Sharma, the captain. Seriously, good players are good players. They can bat anywhere, you know whether they’re right and left hand,” Gavaskar said.
Key Selections:
Opening Pair: Gavaskar bucks the trend of a left-right combination at the top by naming Virat Kohli as Rohit Sharma’s opening partner. He believes Kohli’s recent form, especially in the second half of the IPL, warrants this move.
Yashasvi Jaiswal at No. 3: The most surprising aspect of Gavaskar’s lineup is retaining Yashasvi Jaiswal but placing him at No. 3. Jaiswal, known for his explosive batting, has never batted outside the opening position for India or in the IPL. However, his experience at No. 3 in domestic cricket (Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy) could prove crucial.
Arshdeep Singh Omitted: Despite an impressive warm-up game performance against Bangladesh, Arshdeep Singh misses out. Gavaskar prefers Mohammed Siraj as Jasprit Bumrah’s lone backup pacer.
Shivam Dube at No. 8: Gavaskar assigns a lower-order role to Shivam Dube, even though Dube has typically batted higher up the order in T20Is. His inclusion adds depth to the batting lineup.
Sunil Gavaskar’s India XI:
- Rohit Sharma ©
- Virat Kohli
- Yashasvi Jaiswal
- Suryakumar Yadav
- Rishabh Pant (wk)
- Hardik Pandya
- Ravindra Jadeja
- Shivam Dube
- Kuldeep Yadav
- Jasprit Bumrah
- Arshdeep Singh
India’s clash with Ireland promises to be an exciting encounter, and fans eagerly await the team’s performance under the leadership of Rohit Sharma and coach Rahul Dravid. The T20 World Cup kicks off with this high-stakes match, and all eyes will be on Gavaskar’s chosen XI as they take the field.
Stay updated with all the cricketing action, follow Cricadium on WhatsApp, Facebook, Twitter, Telegram, and Instagram
