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India all-time ODI XI: Arshdeep Singh certainly raised eyebrows when he picked his all-time ODI XI for India. The left-arm pacer made an unusual pick at the top of the order to pair up with Sachin Tendulkar. Virender Sehwag and Rohit Sharma have been considered to be the top opening batters in the format; however, Arshdeep picked the current head coach, Gautam Gambhir, to partner up with Tendulkar. While he did not pick Sehwag, the Punjab Kings pacer moved Rohit down the batting order to number six.

Arshdeep Singh names all-time India ODI XI

Arshdeep Singh named his all-time India ODI XI, and apart from some obvious choices, the 27-year-old made some picks that raised questions on social media platforms. Opening the innings of this fantasy XI will be Sachin Tendulkar and Gautam Gambhir. India have produced some of the greatest batters seen in One-Day cricket; however, when it came to choosing two for an all-time ODI XI, Arshdeep went ahead and picked Gautam Gambhir.

Gautam Gambhir over Rohit Sharma and Virender Sehwag

There is no doubt over the fact that Gautam Gambhir has made some crucial contributions to Indian cricket. The left-handed batter was India’s top-scorer in the final when they won the World Cup in 2011. However, if the duration of the career is set to be considered, then there aren’t many opening batters who are better than Rohit Sharma or Virender Sehwag in India.

In over 200 games at the top of the order, Sehwag scored more than 7,500 runs. He managed to have a strike rate of more than 100, while he managed to hit 14 hundreds and 35 fifties, including a double-century.

Meanwhile, Rohit has played 199 games while opening the batting in ODIs and has scored more than 8,800 runs. While his strike rate is slightly below 100, Rohit has managed to rack up huge scores while opening. He is the only player to hit three double-centuries in the format and also holds the record for the highest individual score. While opening the batting, Rohit has made 32 centuries and 49 fifties.

Gautam Gambhir in ODIs

Gautam Gambhir made it into Arshdeep’s all-time ODI XI, despite not boasting a strong record in the format while opening the innings. Even his most memorable innings in the format (97 against Sri Lanka in World Cup final in 2011) came while batting at three. In 91 games at the top of the order, he scored more than 3,300 runs. He averaged close to 40 while opening the innings, but his strike rate hovered around the mid 80s. Gambhir as an opener hit eight centuries, which might not be enough to make a case for being in the all-time ODI XI.

Arshdeep Singh’s all-time India ODI XI

India all-time ODI XI by Arshdeep Singh: Sachin Tendulkar, Gautam Gambhir, Rahul Dravid, Virat Kohli, Yuvraj Singh, Rohit Sharma, MS Dhoni, Harbhajan Singh, Zaheer Khan, Jasprit Bumrah, Arshdeep Singh

The post Arshdeep Singh’s India All-Time ODI XI Sparks Debate: Gautam Gambhir Picked as Opener Over Rohit Sharma And Virender Sehwag appeared first on NewsX.