The Indian cricket team received a massive boost ahead of the Cricket World Cup 2023 as the Rohit Sharma-led side defeated Sri Lanka comprehensively to clinch the Asia Cup 2023 title. Mohammed Siraj produced a devastating spell of fast bowling to cap off an impressive campaign by India which saw quite a number of good performances. However, former India opener Gautam Gambhir believes that there is one sector in India’s team composition that needs some attention ahead of the World Cup.
Ravindra Jadeja has become a mainstay of the Indian cricket team and Gambhir said that although he has been brilliant with the ball, the team will need him to perform more with the bat.
“We know he (Jadeja) can bowl 10 overs on any given day on any surface. He is an amazing fielder but he will have to contribute better as a batter at No. 7 because you cannot go in with just six batters.”
“If Ishan Kishan plays at No. 5, there are question marks there as well. So Ravindra Jadeja will have to win matches with batting because you might have a situation where you need 80 or 90 runs in 10 overs and the No. 6 and No. 7 batters might be playing together,” Gambhir said on Star Sports.
Meanwhile, India announced the squad for the upcoming ODI series against Australia.
For First two ODIs vs Australia: KL Rahul (Captain and wicketkeeper), Ravindra Jadeja (Vice-captain), Ruturaj Gaikwad, Shubman Gill, Shreyas Iyer, Suryakumar Yadav, Tilak Varma, Ishan Kishan (wicketkeeper), Shardul Thakur, Washington Sundar, R Ashwin, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna
For third and final ODI vs Australia: Rohit Sharma (Captain), Hardik Pandya (Vice-captain), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Suryakumar Yadav, KL Rahul (wicketkeeper), Ishan Kishan (wicketkeeper), Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur, Axar Patel (subject to fitness), Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav, R Ashwin, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami, Mohammed Siraj
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