Gautam Gambhir ignored for Rohit Sharma? Dinesh Karthik picks combined India T20 World Cup XI from 2007 and 2024 teams

Devansh Poddar

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Gautam Gambhir ignored for Rohit Sharma? Dinesh Karthik picks combined India T20 World Cup XI from 2007 and 2024 teams image

India's T20I side has seen significant growth over the past few years. The Men In Blue have become one of the most intimidating sides in the shortest format with some explosive batters and very skillful bowlers. 

India are the reigning World T20 Champions as they lifted the cup last year, in 2024, after their triumph in the inaugural edition of the global event in 2007. 

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Former Indian cricketer Dinesh Karthik has now picked up his combined playing XI, including players from both the champion sides of 2007 and 2024, as he picked Rohit Sharma in his team ahead of the Indian head coach Gautam Gambhir. 

Dinesh Karthik picks his combined T20 World Cup XI and leaves out Gambhir

In a conversation with Cricbuzz, Karthik was asked to choose between the Indian players from the 2007 and 2024 sides. The former Indian wicket-keeper made all the tough calls as he decided to go ahead with Rohit Sharma instead of Gautam Gambhir in his XI.

Gambhir played a major role in taking India to their first-ever T20 title. He played a crucial knock in the finals against Pakistan as India eventually went on to win the thriller and emerge victorious. 

Rohit, on the other hand, was as crucial in India's campaign at the T20 World Cup in 2024. He led the side by example, playing an ultra-aggressive yet measured brand of cricket, and inspired the other players around him. 

The Mumbaikar was the second-highest run-scorer in the tournament with a total of 257 runs in 8 innings. His blistering knock of 92 from 41 balls against Australia in the Super Eight stages was a key highlight of the tournament. 

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Karthik's combined T20 World Cup XI

The Indian wicket-keeper was presented with some difficult choices from India's two champion squads. Karthik's squad included a mix of players from both sides. The quad was, however, dominated by the young stars from the current batch that lifted the cup last year. 

After picking Rohit ahead of Gambhir, DK went on to choose Kohli over Sehwag and R Jadeja over Irfan Pathan. 

  • Rohit Sharma
  • Virat Kohli
  • Suryakumar Yadav
  • Yuvraj Singh
  • MS Dhoni (c & wk)
  • Hardik Pandya
  • Ravindra Jadeja
  • Harbhajan Singh
  • Arshdeep Singh
  • Kuldeep Yadav
  • Jasprit Bumrah

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Devansh Poddar

Devansh Poddar is a content producer for The Sporting News' India edition.