Sunny calls for Irfan's inclusion in playing XI

Indian batting legend Sunil Gavaskar came out in support for the inclusion of comeback man Irfan Pathan in the India playing XI.


Sunil Gavaskar

Pathan was left out of the team which lost to Australia in the first of the two Twenty20 internationals in Sydney yesterday.

"It is important to look at the all-round options. Twenty20 is harsh on the bowlers. So it is always an advantage if you have bowlers, who can come in handy with the bat and also are good fielders.

Hence, India must think of including Irfan Pathan as he can not only come in handy as an all-rounder but the fact that he is a left hander, may also prove good for India," Gavaskar told NDTV.

It can be recalled that Irfan was part of Mahendra Singh Dhoni's champion 2007 World T20 team which triumphed in South Africa.

Gavaskar wanted to see spin being used to the maximum by Dhoni in the limited overs games. "I think the spinners looked better.

In this format, the ball comes on to the bat easily. So India must think of including another specialist spinner into the team. We could see that (David) Hussey bowled well and slowed things down," he said.