Sunil Gavaskar Picks His India XI for World Cup Opener vs Australia

With the ODI World Cup 2023 just around the corner, former India captain Sunil Gavaskar has unveiled his preferred India playing XI for their World Cup opener against Australia on October 8th.

Gavaskar’s XI features a strong top-order batting lineup with Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, and Shreyas Iyer opening the batting. He has also backed Hardik Pandya to play as an all-rounder, while Ravindra Jadeja and Kuldeep Yadav are the two spinners in his side. For the pace bowling department, Gavaskar has suggested including three fast bowlers – Mohammed Shami, Shardul Thakur, and Jasprit Bumrah.

Gavaskar’s XI did not feature Ishan Kishan and Suryakumar Yadav.

In preparation for the World Cup, the Indian men’s cricket team arrived in Guwahati for a warm-up match against England scheduled for September 30th.

Sunil Gavaskar’s Playing XI: Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul, Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Shami, Mohammed Siraj and Jasprit Bumrah.