A bold and surprising debate has erupted in Indian cricket after Sanjay Bangar shared his all-time Indian T20 playing XI, and the choices have left fans across the country in awe. The former Indian batting coach’s team selection surprised many as he picked Shubman Gill ahead of some of the greatest names in Indian cricket history.
Sanjay Bangar’s shocking choice has sparked massive debate
During a special segment on ESPNcricinfo, Bangar named his all-time Men in Blue T20 XI. He left out stalwarts like MS Dhoni, Rohit Sharma and Jasprit Bumrah and chose Shubman Gill as the opener, despite the fact that he was dropped from India’s T20 plans due to his struggles recently.
The segment became even more interesting as former Indian opener Aakash Chopra was also a part of the discussion. Both Bangar and Chopra took turns picking their teams and surprisingly, there was not a single player overlap between the two India T20 playing XIs.
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This made the comparison even more dramatic. Bangar named Virat Kohli as the captain of his all-time T20 XI for the Men in Blue. He also placed Kohli at the top of the order with Shubman Gill.
Trusting Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli takes command of Bangar XI
Many questions were raised over the selection of Shubman Gill as he was not selected for the upcoming five-match T20I series against New Zealand and the ICC T20 World Cup 2026. Nevertheless, Bangar showed full confidence in Gill’s ability by selecting him in his team.
KL Rahul got the role of wicketkeeper in Bangar XI. The middle order featured Suryakumar Yadav, known for his fearless strokeplay, and Yuvraj Singh, one of the greatest all-rounders and big hitters of all time. Bangar’s first two choices were Kohli and Suryakumar.
For all-rounders, Bangar again went with Yuvraj, along with Shivam Dubey and Deepak Chahar. This combination added power to the bat and useful bowling options. Their bowling attack included fast bowlers Mohammed Shami and Ashish Nehra, who were providing experience and control. He chose a strong spin attack like Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal.
Sanjay Bangar’s All Time India T20 Playing XI:
Virat Kohli (captain), Shubman Gill, KL Rahul (wicketkeeper), Suryakumar Yadav, Yuvraj Singh, Shivam Dubey, Deepak Chahar, Mohammed Shami, Ashish Nehra, Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal.
Meanwhile, Aakash Chopra has assembled a very different team. They won the toss and elected to bowl first and immediately selected Jasprit Bumrah, one of the most reliable fast bowlers in modern cricket.
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MS Dhoni leads Aakash Chopra’s XI
After this, Chopra chose Rohit Sharma and Virender Sehwag, two batsmen known for their explosive starts, as his openers. After this, adding firepower to the middle order, the cricket pundit ranked Suresh Raina at number three and then Yusuf Pathan.
Chopra selected MS Dhoni as both captain and wicketkeeper for his all-time Indian T20 playing XI. For all-round options, he chose Hardik Pandya and Axar Patel.
In the spin department, Chopra chose Varun Chakravarthy, adding a mystery element, while Bumrah led the pace attack, which included Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Arshdeep Singh, offering a mix of swing, control and left-arm pace to dominate any T20 lineup.
Aakash Chopra’s All Time India T20 Playing XI:
Rohit Sharma, Virender Sehwag, Suresh Raina, Yusuf Pathan, MS Dhoni (C/WK), Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, Varun Chakravarthy, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Jasprit Bumrah, and Arshdeep Singh.