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Gautam Gambhir picks India's XI for T20 World Cup clash against Pakistan, no place for star spinner
Former cricketer and two-time World Cup winner Gautam Gambhir has named his India playing XI for their campaign opener in T20 World Cup against Pakistan.
India vs Pakistan cricket matches always cater an electrifying experience. Since both nations don’t play against each other often due to diplomatic reasons, ICC events are the only platform when fans witness India and Pakistan locking horns.
After almost two years, Virat Kohli’s Team India will once again face Babar Azam-led Pakistan in the upcoming T20 World Cup in the UAE and Oman. The high-voltage clash will take place on October 24 in the Dubai and the lovers of the game are eagerly waiting for the contest.
Meanwhile, former cricketer and two-time World Cup winner Gautam Gambhir has named his India playing XI for their campaign opener against men-in-green. However, he left out ace off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin whose inclusion in the squad, ahead of Yuzvendra Chahal and Kuldeep Yadav, took everyone by surprise.
During a conversation on Star Sports network, Gambhir was asked to pick his Indian side for the game against Pakistan. He replied,
“KL Rahul and Rohit Sharma to open the batting, Virat Kohli to bat at No.3, Suryakumar Yadav at No.4, Rishabh Pant at No.5, Hardik at No.6, Jadeja at No.7, Bhuvi at No.8, Varun Chakravarthy at No.9, Shami at No.10 and Bumrah No.11.”
Gambhir also highlighted that he could have picked Shardul Thakur in place of Bhuvneshwar Kumar if the Mumbai cricketer was in the squad.
“Probably had I had Shardul Thakur, I would have picked him to bat at No.8 and Varun Chakravarthy at No.9 and then I could have probably gone with Shami and Bumrah,” Gambhir added.
The former India opener named only two spinners in the line-up picked by him. Explaining the reason behind his choice, Gambhir said, “At least during the start of the tournament. It is going to be the first game. I am sure it is not going to be a rank turner. Probably going deeper into the second half of the tournament you might pick another spinner but not in the initial half of the tournament.”
