Arshdeep Singh Called 'Smart' In Cheeky Dig After Naming Gautam Gambhir In All-Time India XI
Former Indian cricket team opener Sadagoppan Ramesh gave a cheeky verdict on fans criticising fast bowler Arshdeep Singh's all-time Indian XI for all formats.
- NDTV Sports Desk
- Updated: August 06, 2026 02:17 pm IST
- Sadagoppan Ramesh gave a cheeky verdict on fans criticising fast bowler Arshdeep Singh's all-time Indian XI
- Arshdeep decided to choose Gautam Gambhir as one of the openers over Sourav Ganguly and Virender Sehwag
- "Him picking Gambhir over Sehwag as the opener is the fans' main anger. But, Arshdeep is smart," he said
Former Indian cricket team opener Sadagoppan Ramesh gave a cheeky verdict on fans criticising fast bowler Arshdeep Singh's all-time Indian XI for all formats. Arshdeep decided to choose current head coach Gautam Gambhir as one of the openers over the likes of Sourav Ganguly and Virender Sehwag. The choice did not go down well as fans took to social media to criticise his decision. Arshdeep also put Rohit Sharma at No. 6 in his team while excluding Jasprit Bumrah when it comes to naming his Top 5 bowlers. In a video posted on YouTube, Ramesh called Arshdeep smart and even hinted that Gambhir's position as the India head coach played a part in Arshdeep naming him ahead of Ganguly and Sehwag.
"Fans have been angry with the contradictory nature of these two lists by Arshdeep. There were questions about how Bumrah wasn't part of his best five but present in the all-time 11. Fans also questioned Arshdeep for having Gambhir as the opener and Rohit Sharma at No.6. Many asked why Gambhir was picked over Sehwag or Ganguly as the opener. Including his own name in the all-time 11 and how no one in his best five bowlers list was present in the all-time 11 also angered fans," he said.
"Him picking Gambhir over Sehwag, Ganguly or Rohit as the opener is the fans' main anger. But in my opinion, Arshdeep is smart. Had VVS Laxman been the head coach instead of Gambhir, one of Ganguly or Sehwag would have been named as the opener, with Laxman replacing Rahul Dravid at No.3," Ramesh added.
Meanwhile, Gambhir sent a big message to the India cricketers ahead of the upcoming Test series against Sri Lanka.
"We know what's in front of us, we know what we are playing for. We can do the volume, we can push our limits, we can tick all the boxes," Gambhir said in the video shared by BCCI on social media.
"Come 15th morning (August 15), whether we are batting first, whether we are bowling first, we're absolutely ready with every answer, every question that's thrown at us, and every answer we are ready to give. So make sure we tick all the boxes from now on," he added.
(With PTI inputs)