“Never understood why the finisher’s tag is given only to Nos. 5 to 7,” Gautam Gambhir calls Virat Kohli the best FINISHER 

Gautam Gambhir believes the finisher is the player who scores the final runs, says a top order batter can also be a finisher.

“Never understood why the finisher’s tag is given only to Nos. 5 to 7,” Gautam Gambhir calls Virat Kohli the best FINISHER 

Gautam Gambhir said there isn't any finisher better than Kohli (Images via ESPN)

Virat Kohli is regarded as one of the greatest chasers in the modern game. He has scored 7764 runs with an average of 65.49 while chasing, maintaining a strike rate of 93.64. He has scored 27 centuries and 40 half centuries in 152 innings batting 2nd. While working as a presenter on Star Sports, Gautam Gambhir declared Kohli the greatest chaser in the game and questioned why lower middle order batters are always called finishers. 

After Kohli scored an impressive 95 against New Zealand on 22nd October, Gambhir said, “I have never understood why the finisher’s tag is given only to Nos. 5 to 7. An opener can also be a finisher. A No. 11 can also be a finisher. This has just been created by the media.”

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He added, “There was probably no finisher 10 years ago. There can’t be a better finisher than Virat Kohli because of the number of games he has won. So don’t call only the Nos. 5, 6 and 7 as finishers. Whoever scores the last run is a finisher.”

Gambhir also spoke about Kohli missing out on his 49th ODI century. He said instead of focusing on Virat’s missed century, fans should focus on his 95. Gambhir said everyone should praise Kohli for winning the match and stop the obsession with stats. 

Related: On reconciliation between Virat Kohli and Naveen-ul-Haq, Gautam Gambhir has to say THIS

Gautam Gambhir calls Indian selectors in 2019 the worst one in history

Since the inception of the Indian Cricket Team, the Indian selection committee has always been under scrutiny. Let it be for them not paying attention to the domestic talents or sticking with a player who was not in form, the Selection Committee had always been treated harshly by fans.

The Selection Committee with ex-BCCI President Sourav Ganguly, BCCI Secretary Jay Shah, Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli (Image via ESPN)

While commentating during the ICC ODI World Cup fixture between India and New Zealand on 22nd October, Gautam Gambhir called the 2019 World Cup selection committee the worst one in history. He talked about the ill-treatment of Ambati Rayudu who had played for the Indian team at the No. 4 spot. Gambhir was unhappy with Rayudu not being selected for the 2019 ODI World Cup despite playing for over a year, but dropped for no reason. 

Rayudu had played 21 ODIs from September 2018 to March 2019. Despite averaging 42.60 in 20 innings, he was dropped from the 2019 ODI World Cup squad for Vijay Shankar. Due to this, Rayudu retired from all formats of international cricket, while Vijay Shankar only played 3 matches in the World Cup. After his toe was broken during training, Shankar was ruled out of the World Cup and hasn’t featured for India since then.

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