"It will be the biggest mistake" - Gautam Gambhir doesn't want Shardul Thakur to play instead of Mohammed Siraj, Mohammad Shami or Jasprit Bumrah

Gautam Gambhir feels Team India will make a grave error if they field Shardul Thakur in the playing XI ahead of anyone among Mohammed Siraj, Mohammad Shami and Jasprit Bumrah.

The Men in Blue will face Pakistan in an Asia Cup Group A clash in Pallekele on Saturday, September 2. The selectors picked bowling all-rounders like Axar Patel and Shardul in the 17-member squad as Rohit Sharma and Co. wanted a little more depth in batting.

During a discussion on Star Sports, Gambhir was asked whether he would play three spinners against Pakistan, to which he responded:

"I will go with three seamers and I will go with three seamers in the World Cup as well, not only here. If you are thinking about playing Shardul Thakur at No. 8 and compromising a fast bowler, I believe it will be the biggest mistake."

The former Indian opener pointed out that while Shami, Siraj and Bumrah can give match-winning performances purely with the ball, Shardul can only play the third seamer's role in tandem with Hardik Pandya. He stated:

"Mohammad Shami, Mohammed Siraj and Jasprit Bumrah can win you games on their own in 10 overs. Shardul Thakur is somewhere or the other bits and pieces. He can be the third seamer alongside Hardik Pandya and give a little bit of batting."

Shardul has picked up 58 wickets in 38 ODIs but has been on the expensive side, having conceded an average of 6.16 runs per over. He has scored 315 runs, including an unbeaten 50, at an impressive strike rate of 106.06 in 23 ODI innings.

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"Do you want to chase 250 or 325?" - Gautam Gambhir does not want India to compromise on a specialist bowler

Kuldeep Yadav is the only specialist spinner in India's squad. [P/C: BCCI]

Gautam Gambhir highlighted that a potent bowling attack can restrict the opposition's total. He observed:

"One thing is extremely clear - do you want to chase 250 or 325? If your bowling is sorted and you have might in your bowling, you will chase 250 or 260. If you compromise on a bowler, you will chase 300 or 325."

The cricketer-turned-commentator reckons only a strong bowling attack can win the World Cup. He said:

"We always think about strengthening our batting but the team which has a strong bowling attack will only win the World Cup. If your bowling is strong, it will remove the pressure on your batting."

Gambhir concluded by stating that it won't be easy to chase 350 even if 10 batters are fielded in the XI. On the flip side, he pointed out that seven batters can chase down a 250-run target but a strong bowling attack is needed to restrict the opposition to that score.