Indian pace bowler Arshdeep Singh (Img: Pinterest)
New Delhi: India fast bowler Arshdeep Singh found himself at the centre of a social media debate after naming his all-time India XI for all formats, with his choice of Gautam Gambhir as an opener leaving many fans surprised.
Arshdeep selected Gambhir ahead of legendary openers such as Virender Sehwag and Sourav Ganguly, a decision that did not sit well with several cricket supporters. Fans also questioned other selections, including placing Rohit Sharma at No. 6 and leaving out Jasprit Bumrah from his list of top five bowlers.
Former Indian opening batsman Sadagoppan Ramesh responded to the criticism by calling Arshdeep “smart.” He had his own view regarding the controversial selection.
Ramesh implied that the present post of India coach, Gambhir, might have affected the choice made by Arshdeep.
“If it were not Gambhir but VVS Laxman who was the head coach of India at present, either Gavaskar or Sehwag would have been chosen as an opener,” Ramesh stated.
The most controversial aspect of Arshdeep’s selection among fans was that of choosing Gambhir over proven openers. Other controversial aspects of the selection included inclusion of Bumrah in his all-time XI team but not in his list of top five bowlers.
There were also some questions raised by fans as to why Arshdeep included himself in his all-time India team despite leaving many other big names out.
However, Gautam Gambhir is now more concerned about the upcoming Test series of India against Sri Lanka. In the video released by BCCI, the team head coach asked the players to get ready for every eventuality and keep stretching their boundaries.
“We know what's in front of us, we know what we are playing for. We can do the volume, we can push our limits, we can tick all the boxes,” Gambhir said.
Amid discussions on Arshdeep’s dream XI, the selection has yet again initiated discussion on how the fans and previous players perceive the best cricketers in Indian cricket history.
