New Delhi, June 4: He is one of the greatest ever opening batsmen of the world. He might not have tall records in limited overs cricket, but he is the ultimate perfectionist and the most successful batter in the longest format of the game.
As the debate of Indian opening pair in the ongoing ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2024 continues, his opinion definitely holds a lot of significance. Because even after retirement decades back, he has been closely associated with the game as a commentator.
No doubt, the original Little Master Sunil Manohar Gavaskar does not opine without a thorough understanding in an issue.
Asked about who should open Team India's batting in the T20 World Cup, Gavaskar backed skipper Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli as the opening pair for Men in Blue's opening T20 World Cup clash against Ireland on Wednesday.
Gavaskar even named his playing 11 for India's opening encounter in the T20 showpiece at Nassau County International Cricket Stadium in New York on June 5.
Interestingly, the veteran batter dropped pacer Arshdeep Singh from his final 11 and backed all-rounder Shivam Dube to strengthen the batting department.
"I don't really like selecting teams because you can never satisfy everybody there will always be somebody's favourite player who's not being pick but here is my effort to try and pick the 11 for the game against Ireland. Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli to open the batting along with Yashasvi Jaiswal at three Suryakumar Yadav at four Rishabh Pant at five and at number six, I would have Hardik Pandya," Gavaskar said on Star Sports.
The former India captain picked Kuldeep Yadav as the sole spinner along with all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja.
"Number seven would be Ravindra Jadeja, number eight mean not necessarily in that batting order Shivam Dube number nine Kuldeep Yadav number 10 Jasprit Bumrah and number 11 will be MD Siraj," he added.
Gavaskar's predicted playing XI against Ireland: Rohit Sharma (c), Virat Kohli, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Suryakumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant, Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Shivam Dube, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj.
In the recently concluded IPL 2024, Kohli finished as the highest run-getter while opening the batting for Royal Challengers Bengaluru. He slammed 741 runs including a century and five fifties. Keeping his recent form in mind, many have voiced his elevation at the top in the T20 World Cup.
Legend Gavaskar or other former greats of the game, may have their opinion on the playing XI, or the opening combination, but it would be finally the team management comprising captain Rohit, head coach Rahul Dravid and others, who would take the final decision. (With IANS support)
