Hyderabad: Former India batter and current Indian cricket team head coach Gautam Gambhir disclosed his all-time India Test XI and made legendary leg-spinner Anil Kumble the skipper of the side ahead of MS Dhoni and Virat Kohli.
The notable absentees from the squad are current Indian cricket team captain Rohit Sharma, Ravichandran Ashwin and pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah. Gambhir picked both Dhoni and Kohli in his all-time India Test XI side but shockingly went with Kumble emphasising that he was the best captain he has played under.
Apart from this, the southpaw chose the legendary duo of Sunil Gavaskar and Virender Sehwag as his openers with Rahul Dravid coming out to bat on No. 3. The middle order comprises cricket icon Sachin Tendulkar, veteran batter Virat Kohli, ODI World Cup-winning captain Kapil Dev in an all-rounder role and MS Dhoni as the wicket-keeper. Anil Kumble and Harbhajan Singh were the chosen spinners while the pace department included stalwarts Javagal Srinath and Zaheer Khan.
“Sehwag and I were having dinner when Kumble walked in and said that you guys will open throughout the series no matter what. Even if you get 8 ducks it doesn’t matter. I have never heard such words from anyone in my career. So, if I had to give my life to someone, it would be Anil Kumble. Those words are still in my heart," Gambhir told SportsTak during a recent interaction when asked to choose the best captain he has played under.
"Had he captained India for a longer duration like Sourav Ganguly, MS Dhoni or Virat Kohli, he would have made many records. He captained in tough series’ in Australia and Sri Lanka," Gambhir added.
The interesting part of Gambhir’s team is the bowling line-up as the quartet played together for some time and all four were sort of mainstays for India in the late 1990s and the 2000s decade.
Gautam Gambhir’s all-time India Test XI: Sunil Gavaskar, Virender Sehwag, Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar, Virat Kohli, Kapil Dev, MS Dhoni, Harbhajan Singh, Anil Kumble (Captain), Zaheer Khan, Javagal Srinath.
