"Useless Debate...": Gautam Gambhir Slams Concerns Over India's Team Composition

Indian cricket team's squad announcement for Asia Cup 2023 was met with several debates and speculations among both fans and experts. One of the issues that has been grabbing headlines off late has been the nature of the team composition – specifically the need to play three left-handed batters in the side. However, former opener Gautam Gambhir completely dismissed the idea and said that the focus ahead of Asia Cup and ICC World Cup 2023 should be on quality and not on quantity. He added that it is important to choose players on merit and not on any other criteria.

“If he has been picked (Tilak Varma), then of course he should get some matches to play. And if he gets game time and performs better than other batsmen, then you should definitely take him in the squad. Because, as I've said earlier, form is important. This debate about who is a left-hander or a right-hander or whether we need three left-handers is a useless debate. We look at quality, we do not look to see how many left-handers are in the squad. If the batsman is good regardless of whether he is a right-hander or a left-hander, we should see how he performs in every condition and against each bowler,” Gambhir said on Star Sports.

“If Tilak Varma is in good form, then select him. If Shreyas Iyer or KL Rahul are in good form, then select them. It's not a compulsion that you have to keep a left-hander in the squad or that you need to have three left-handers in the line-up. I don't think we need to even start a debate like this. If we are focusing on left-handers, then what about Yashasvi Jaiswal and other left-handers? But you look at quality, don't you, not quantity,” he added.

India will take on Pakistan in their first match of Asia Cup 2023 on September 2.