The Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023 has reached its business end, with a handful of games left to be played before fans witness the playoffs. So far, only one team – Gujarat Titans – has been able to qualify for the knockouts, and three spots are yet to be filled with quite a few contenders.
Meanwhile, Indian cricket legend Sunil Gavaskar was asked to select two spinners and two pacers if he was an IPL 2023 team captain. The former India skipper shared the choices based on his expertise and knowledge of the players.
For the spinners, Gavaskar named Gujarat Titans’ star Rashid Khan and Rajasthan Royals’ icon Yuzvendra Chahal as his choices. Both Rashid and Yuzvendra have had a fabulous time in the ongoing 16th season of the cash-rich league.
Rashid, known for his exceptional leg-spin bowling and ability to deceive batters with his variations, is currently the second-highest wicket-taker with 23 scalps to his name in 13 games, with 4/30 being his best.
Similarly, Yuzvendra, who is also a leg-spinner and has proved himself as a match-winner with his wicket-taking abilities in IPL, is right behind Rashid in the third position with 21 wickets in 14 matches.
“Both are leg spinners, one is Rashid and the other one is Chahal. Both are magical spinners. Rashid has a different technique as he is relatively quicker while Yuzvendra tends to give flight and keep it away from the batters,” said Gavaskar in AskStar show on Star Sports.
Moving on to the pacers, Gavaskar chose GT’s Mohammad Shami and Royal Challengers Bangalore’s Mohammed Siraj as his picks. Notably, Shami, an experienced campaigner with good pace and skill in both swing and seam bowling, is the leading wicket-taker this season. The right-arm has taken 23 wickets in 13 matches, with 4/11 being his best.
Likewise, Siraj, who carries the ability to generate movement off the pitch, has shown tremendous improvement and consistency in recent times. THe RCB pacer has bagged 17 scalps in 13 fixtures, with 4/21 being his best performance.
“When it comes to pacers, one is Mohammad Shami and the other is Mohammed Siraj. They have bowled brilliantly this season. When I see their movements, especially late movements, you realise how difficult it would be to play them,” added Gavaskar.
