Not KKR! Robin Uthappa picks his favorite IPL team, names 3 future superstars

Published - 16 Jul 2024, 10:02 PM | Updated - 23 Aug 2024, 01:15 AM

Robin Uthappa
Robin Uthappa Photo Credit: (Twitter)

Robin Uthappa who last played for India in 2015 has managed to stay in touch with the game in more ways than one. Playing T20 cricket leagues and commentating on leagues has been his way of staying in touch with the game,

Very recently he was seen playing for the India Champions in the World Championship of Legends 2024. In the process, he found time to reunite with his teammates from India's 2007 T20 World Cup win. India was led by Yuvraj Singh with Harbhajan Singh, Irfan Pathan, Yusuf Pathan, and Suresh Raina also part of the team.

All of them have done commentary since retiring from the game. Yusuf Pathan has also managed to join politics after he retired from international cricket. Uthappa in an interaction with Cricket.com spoke about MS Dhoni, Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, Gautam Gambhir, and a variety of other topics surrounding Indian cricket.

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Robin Uthappa Recollects His T20I Debut Against Pakistan

At the end of the interaction, he was called in for a rapid-fire session where he answered questions on his favorite cricket match, IPL team, and the future generation of Indian cricket.

Recalling his favorite cricket match, he chose his T20 World Cup debut against Pakistan in 2007. He scored 50 off 39 balls in his T20I debut against Pakistan and also hit the wickets in the famous Super Over contest between the two sides. India's first match against Scotland was washed out due to rain and hence tactically it was the debut T20I match for many of the Indian cricketers. That was the first bowl out in the history of T20I cricket as well and India won by a 3-0 margin.

He then spoke about his favorite IPL team and he named Chennai Super Kings and Gujarat Titans as his favorite teams for the culture that they have imbibed playing the game. Uthappa played for CSK in IPL and had a good success. Also, it was with KKR that he won two IPL titles in 2012 and 2014. Uthappa won his third IPL title with CSK in 2021. He had his best run in the IPL for KKR scoring 2439 in 86 matches at an average of 30.49 and striking close to 140 for them as well.

"Like you said, I'm a cricketing nomad. I just want a team that plays well to win. I want to see the magic happen. And you can actually see it happen from the outside. And the magic often happens in CSK, in Gujarat Titans last couple of years. LSG have exercised that as well, a little bit. Even though they've had their troubles. I agree. Just to finish up," he said.

He concluded his interaction by naming three future superstars in international cricket. Given that he is a keeper-batter himself so he chose three batters namely, Shubman Gill, Yashasvi Jaiswal, and Rachin Ravindra.

Robin Uthappa was among the first T20I cricketers for India. He was a part of India's 2007 T20 World Cup squad where he scored 113 runs in seven games in the tournament. His most notable contribution was the 50 against Pakistan which is his highest T20I score as well. Overall, he played 13 T20Is scoring 249 runs in the format with a best score of 50.

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