Gautam Gambhir picks his all-time India ODI XI, picks Dhoni, Kohli, snubs Ganguly

Rohit Sharma and Gautam Gambhir. (Source – BCCI)

Gautam Gambhir named his all-time Indian ODI XI and surprisingly left out current and former captains Rohit Sharma and Sourav Ganguly, respectively. Gambhir replaced Rahul Dravid as the head coach of the Indian team after the Men in Blue won their second T20 World Cup title in June.

The current head coach got off to a rollicking start in his new role as the national team’s head coach as India whitewashed Sri Lanka in a three-match T20I series in Pallekele. However, the subsequent ODI series saw the Lankan Lions winning by a 2-0 margin. Rohit returned to action during the series and worked with Gambhir for the first time since the latter took up the coaching role.

While Rohit has a surreal record in the 50-over format in international cricket, he couldn’t find a place in Gambhir’s all-time Indian ODI XI, which he picked during an interview with Sportskeeda. Other notable absentees were pacers Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Shami. Gambhir picked him and Virender Sehwag as the openers, followed by stalwarts Rahul Dravid and Sachin Tendulkar. Virat Kohli slots in at No. 5 before ace finishers like Yuvraj Singh and MS Dhoni.

Anil Kumble and Ravichandran Ashwin were picked as the two frontline spinners in the squad as Harbhajan Singh couldn’t make the cut. The two-time Indian Premier League-winning captain picked left-arm seamers – Irfan Pathan and Zaheer Khan as the two fast bowlers in the side.

Also Read: Gambhir doesn’t expect players to do something he won’t do: Jonty Rhodes

Team India return to action this month at home

The Indian cricket team last played an international fixture against Sri Lanka in Colombo on August 7. They will be returning to action with the upcoming two-match home Test series against Bangladesh. The first Test gets underway on September 19, at the iconic MA Chidambaram Stadium, in Chennai.

Meanwhile, the second Test will start on September 27, at the renowned Green Park stadium, in Kanpur. This is going to be Gautam Gambhir‘s first assignment in the red-ball arena. India are expected to field a strong side as they would want to consolidate their position at the top of the World Test Championship (WTC) standings.

Also Read: LSG did not have analysts, it was all Gautam Gambhir’s team: Sanjiv Goenka

Gautam Gambhir’s all-time Indian ODI XI:

Gautam Gambhir, Virender Sehwag, Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar, Virat Kohli, Yuvraj Singh, MS Dhoni, Anil Kumble, Ravichandran Ashwin, Irfan Pathan, and Zaheer Khan.