The discussion around team selection for the Asia Cup 2023 and ICC World Cup 2023 sparked various opinions and recommendations from experts and cricket enthusiasts. One of the notable suggestions came from Ravi Shastri, the former head coach of the Indian cricket team.
Shastri’s recommendation was to have a minimum of three left-handed batters in the top seven positions of the playing XI. He specifically emphasized the importance of retaining Ishan Kishan and Ravindra Jadeja in the team and suggested the inclusion of another left-handed batter in the batting order.
“There are three other positions where I think two left-handers have to come in. If you have persisted with Ishan Kishan for the last six to eight months, and he’s going to keep wickets, he comes in, in any case. But, get two left-handers. Including Jaddu, there should be three left-handers in the top seven,” Shastri said on a Star Sports show.
Gambhir advocates prioritizing player’s form and intent over their batting hand
However, former Indian cricket team opener Gautam Gambhir has expressed a contrary view, dismissing the notion of having three left-handed batters in the global tournaments. While he did not directly mention Shastri, his comments were clearly in response to Shastri’s suggestion.
Gambhir’s perspective is that squad selection for major tournaments like the Asia Cup and the World Cup 2023 should primarily focus on a player’s form and intent rather than their batting hand. In other words, the ability of a batter to consistently score runs and contribute effectively to the team’s success should be the main criteria for selection.
“It is not important whether he is a left-hander or a right-hander. The debate that is going on that we need three left-handers is a completely useless thought. You look at the quality of the player and not how many left-handers you have. A good player whether a right-hander or left-hander will play well in every condition,” Gambhir said while speaking to Star Sports on the Selection Day show.
He also pointed out that if players like Shreyas Iyer and KL Rahul, right-handed batters, are performing consistently and meeting the team’s requirements, there is no pressing need to prioritize left-handed batters.
“So if Iyer plays well, or Rahul scores runs then pick them. It’s not necessary to pick left-handers if they are not in form. I don’t think there was any need to even start this left-hander debate. If you wanted left-handers then you have Yashasvi Jaiswal also. You always look at the quality and the form and not the quantity,” the southpaw concluded.
