Gautam Gambhir has left out Shreyas Iyer and Shardul Thakur from his favorite Indian team for the World Cup 2023. The provisional 15-man Indian team for the quadrangular event will be announced on Tuesday, 5 September. Both Shreyas and Shardul are part of the Indian team currently playing in the Asia Cup and are likely to feature in the World Cup squad as well.
During a discussion on Star Sports, Gambhir was asked if his team would only include players who are part of the Asia Cup squad, to which he replied:
“Washington Sundar is there in my squad. I have six batters, four all-rounders, and five proper bowlers in my squad. Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, KL Rahul and Ishan Kishan are my six batters.”
The former Indian opener said that he will choose four specialist fast bowlers and leave out Shardul Thakur. They said:
“The four all-rounders are Axar Patel, Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja and Washington Sundar. Then five bowlers which includes four proper pacers who are there in this (Asia Cup) squad and Kuldeep Yadav.”
Rohit Sharma recently mentioned that they are looking for depth in the batting and hence are looking for bowlers who can bat effectively at No. 8. Shardul is the only fast bowler in the current mix who fulfills this criteria.
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“You Can Even Go With Three Spinners” – Gautam Gambhir On Why He Wants To Include Washington Sundar
Gautam Gambhir was further asked why he picked Washington Sundar when he hasn’t played an ODI for a long time, to which he replied:
“A good squad is one which gives options to your captain. Rohit Sharma said he needs a lengthy batting lineup, so you can go with three spinners as well, and you will be playing in different conditions and venues. Axar Patel and Ravindra Jadeja are similar kind of bowlers.”
The cricketer-turned-commentator was also asked why he picked KL Rahul over Shreyas Iyer. He replied
“You cannot compare KL Rahul and Shreyas Iyer because KL Rahul is your second wicketkeeper. It was an extremely tight call on whether I should keep Shreyas or Suryakumar Yadav. If you get Ravindra Jadeja to bat at No. 5 and Hardik Pandya at No. 6, Surya can win you matches at No. 7.”
Gautam Gambhir’s Indian World Cup squad: Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, KL Rahul, Ishan Kishan, Axar Patel, Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Washington Sundar, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Mohammed Shami, Prasidh Krishna, Kuldeep Yadav.
