Sunil Gavaskar’s strange activity

Sunil Gavaskar has stirred the pot by selecting an unconventional India-playing XI for their upcoming T20 World Cup match against Ireland. Breaking away from the traditional left-right batting combination at the top, Gavaskar has suggested pairing Virat Kohli alongside captain Rohit Sharma as the opening duo. Justifying his choice of Star Sports, Gavaskar emphasised Kohli's exceptional form, particularly in the latter half of the IPL, warranting his promotion to the opening slot. In his assessment, Gavaskar dismissed the notion of a left-right partnership, asserting that talented players like Kohli are capable of excelling regardless of their batting hand.

Sunil Gavaskar's chosen lineup raised eyebrows, particularly his decision to slot Yashasvi Jaiswal in as a No. 3 batsman—a role unfamiliar to the left-hander, who has predominantly opened for India in international cricket and for Rajasthan Royals in the IPL. However, Jaiswal does bring experience batting at No. 3 for Mumbai in the 2021 and 2022 editions of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, where he amassed 303 runs in 13 innings at a strike rate of 132.31, including one fifty.

Another notable omission from Gavaskar's lineup was Arshdeep Singh, despite the young pacer's impressive performance in the warm-up game against Bangladesh. Instead, Gavaskar opted for Mohammed Siraj as the sole backup pacer to Jasprit Bumrah. Additionally, Gavaskar assigned Shivam Dube the No. 8 role—a departure from his usual batting positions of 5 or 6 in T20Is during the Afghanistan series in January.