What’s the story?
Former India captain and the incumbent president of the Cricket Association of Bengal, Sourav Ganguly has batted for Gautam Gambhir’s selection in the Indian team for the upcoming ICC Champions Trophy, set to begin in England and Wales from June 1.
Gambhir, the captain of the Kolkata Knight Riders, has been in sublime touch in this season of the IPL and has acumulated 411 runs from 11 games at an average of 51.37 and a strike rate of 134.75. He is second on the list of the top run scorers this season, 78 runs behind Sunrisers Hyderabad’s David Warner.
“Gambhir deserves a place in the national team for the forthcoming Champions Trophy. He is in excellent touch,” Ganguly was quoted to have said by india.com.
In case you didn’t know
The 35-year-old left-hander was last played an ODI for India in 2013 against England in Dharamsala. Recently, Gambhir had made a comeback to the Indian Test side during the Test series against New Zealand and England.
However, owing to the return of the regular openers – KL Rahul and Murali Vijay – and his own inconsistent performances, Gambhir couldn’t keep his place in the squad for the Australia series.
Details
Gambhir has been a consistent performer, as far as the IPL is concerned, and has regularly churned out the runs for the Kolkata-based team ever since he was appointed as the skipper in 2012.
Ganguly, who has watched Gambhir play from close quarters at the Eden Gardens, said, “I am truly elated to have watched Gambhir’s dedication even after playing the game for so many years.
“More importantly, KL Rahul is yet to regain fitness following injury. So, it will be high time for the selectors to think over Gambhir for the Champions Trophy.”
Author’s take
Ganguly does have a point here. Since the news of KL Rahul’s injury broke out, with him being all but ruled out of the tournament, speculations have been rife over the possible opening combinations for the Indian team.
Shikhar Dhawan and the fit-again Rohit Sharma are the prime contendors for the spot, mainly because of their recent form and the way the two had performed the last time the tournament was organized in 2013.
However, several young cricketers such as Rishab Pant, Sanju Samson and Ishan Kishan have put their names on the selectors’ radar through their impressive performances in the IPL this season, as well as performances in domestic cricket.
Hence, it would be interesting to see whether or not the selectors pay attention Ganguly’s comments and choose experience over youth.
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