Legendary Indian cricketer Sunil Gavaskar is surprised at all-rounder Yusuf Pathan's omission from the Indian squad for the first two one-dayers against Australia.
Gavaskar contended that the Baroda all-rounder should not be judged by how many runs he has scored but the impact he makes on the whole squad with his attacking brand of cricket.
"Number six does not get too many overs to score. He should be assessed on his impact. When you try to hit quick fire 20-30, you will get out and it should not be held against you," Gavaskar said.
"Otherwise, no one will try to slog at six and seven and will concentrate only on singles and doubles so that they can remain not out with a good 19 or 20," he added.
Gavaskar said that Yusuf's selection would have given a better balance to the Indian side.
"Not just the captain or coach, but the entire selection committee should think about utility and balance. Change for the sake of change is not good," Gavaskar told a television channel.
The former Mumbai cricketer was sympathetic for Rahul Dravid, who was also dropped.
"I think, Dravid was selected in the first place because Sehwag was unfit. There were also talks of young players not too comfortable against short-balls," Gavaskar said.
On the ODI series, Gavaskar said, "The pressure will be on Ricky Ponting. Ever since losing the prestigious Ashes, he has not played a single game in Australia. Hence, if he goes out winning from India, it will take some pressure off him."
