Sunil Gavaskar’s XI for India’s T20 World Cup opener against Ireland sees Yashasvi Jaiswal and Shivam Dube assigned to unfamiliar roles, while Arshdeep Singh is notably left out.

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As Team India prepares to launch their T20 World Cup journey against Ireland at the Nassau County International Cricket Stadium in New York on Wednesday, it marks their first international appearance in the format since their victory in the home series against Afghanistan in January this year. With the anticipation building, former India captain Sunil Gavaskar, following in the footsteps of other veteran cricketers, shared his insights on the potential playing XI that captain Rohit Sharma and head coach Rahul Dravid might opt for in the upcoming match against Ireland.

Gavaskar, diverging from the conventional left-right batting combination at the top, disclosed his preferred lineup on Star Sports, suggesting Virat Kohli as Rohit Sharma’s opening partner. “Given Kohli’s recent batting form, especially in the latter half of the IPL, he warrants opening alongside Rohit Sharma, the skipper. Talented players adapt to any situation, regardless of their batting hand,” Gavaskar explained, dismissing the notion of the left-right strategy.

The most unexpected inclusion in the lineup suggested by the batting legend was Yashasvi Jaiswal, albeit in the role of a No. 3 batter. Jaiswal has predominantly opened for India in international cricket and for Rajasthan Royals in the IPL. However, he does have prior experience batting at No. 3 for Mumbai in the 2021 and 2022 editions of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, where he accumulated 303 runs in 13 innings at a strike rate of 132.31, with one fifty to his name.

Another notable feature of Gavaskar’s lineup was the exclusion of Arshdeep Singh, despite his commendable performance in the warm-up game against Bangladesh last week in New York. Instead, the veteran batter opted for Mohammed Siraj as Jasprit Bumrah’s sole backup pacer. Additionally, Gavaskar allocated a No. 8 role for Shivam Dube, a position he has never batted in for India in T20Is. During the Afghanistan series in January, Dube was typically positioned at No. 5 or 6.

Sunil Gavaskar’s India playing XI for T20 World Cup match vs Ireland: Rohit Sharma (c), Virat Kohli, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Suryakumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant (wk), Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Shivam Dube, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Arshdeep Singh.