'A completely useless thought' - Gautam Gambhir opposes Ravi Shastri's suggestion of changes in India's batting line-up

The 2011 ODI World Cup final hero Gautam Gambhir rubbished Ravi Shastri's suggestion of having three left-handers in India's playing XI. The former India head coach recently opined that the Men in Blue should consider including three left-handed batters in the top seven. However, Gambhir responded that it is not the number of left-handers in the team, but the number of quality players that matters.

Although the former India opener did not name Shastri directly, his comments clearly targeted Shastri's views. He said that is useless thinking and that a good player will perform well in all situations irrespective of whether he is right-handed or left-handed.

"It is not important whether he is a left-hander or a right-hander. The debate that is going on that we need three left-handers is a completely useless thought. You look at the quality of the player and not how many left-handers you have. A good player whether a right-hander or left-hander will play well in every condition," Gambhir said.

Shastri's remarks came ahead of India's squad announcement for the Asia Cup 2023. He backed Ishan Kishan to stand behind the stumps and added that India should have one more left-hander in its batting line-up, apart from Ravindra Jadeja.

"There are three other positions where I think two left-handers have to come in. If you have persisted with Ishan Kishan for the last six to eight months, and he's going to keep wickets, he comes in, in any case. But, get two left-handers. Including Jaddu, there should be three left-handers in the top seven," the 61-year-old told Star Sports.

It’s not necessary to pick left-handers if they are not in form: Gambhir 

Meanwhile, Gambhir said that a left-handed batter is not mandatory in the middle order and suggested that if KL Rahul and Shreyas Iyer are in form, they should be in the starting XI. Notably, Rahul and Iyer have been Team India's most reliable No. 4 and 5 batters in the past few years.

"So if Iyer plays well, or Rahul scores runs then pick them. It’s not necessary to pick left-handers if they are not in form. I don’t think there was any need to even start this left-hander debate. If you wanted left-handers then you have Yashasvi Jaiswal also. You always look at the quality and the form and not the quantity," Gambhir concluded.