diff --git a/superset-frontend/src/SqlLab/components/SaveDatasetModal/index.tsx b/superset-frontend/src/SqlLab/components/SaveDatasetModal/index.tsx
index 94b67a6fb309..9a8366ba56bb 100644
--- a/superset-frontend/src/SqlLab/components/SaveDatasetModal/index.tsx
+++ b/superset-frontend/src/SqlLab/components/SaveDatasetModal/index.tsx
@@ -159,9 +159,7 @@ export const SaveDatasetModal: FunctionComponent<SaveDatasetModalProps> = ({
     exploreChart({
       ...EXPLORE_CHART_DEFAULT,
       datasource: `${datasetToOverwrite.datasetId}__table`,
-      all_columns: query.results.selected_columns.map(
-        (d: { name: string; type: string; is_dttm: boolean }) => d.name,
-      ),
+      selected_columns: query.results.selected_columns,
     });
   };
 
@@ -243,8 +241,7 @@ export const SaveDatasetModal: FunctionComponent<SaveDatasetModalProps> = ({
           metrics: [],
           groupby: [],
           time_range: 'No filter',
-          viz_type: 'table',
-          all_columns: selectedColumns.map(c => c.name),
+          selectedColumns,
           row_limit: 1000,
         });
       })
diff --git a/superset-frontend/src/SqlLab/types.ts b/superset-frontend/src/SqlLab/types.ts
index fb3993fe84f6..bc04277054ea 100644
--- a/superset-frontend/src/SqlLab/types.ts
+++ b/superset-frontend/src/SqlLab/types.ts
@@ -91,7 +91,6 @@ export const EXPLORE_CHART_DEFAULT = {
   metrics: [],
   groupby: [],
   time_range: 'No filter',
-  viz_type: 'table',
 };
 
 export interface DatasetOwner {
diff --git a/superset/config.py b/superset/config.py
index 17c6a55412db..9b09c0a1fa2c 100644
--- a/superset/config.py
+++ b/superset/config.py
@@ -142,7 +142,7 @@ def _try_json_readsha(filepath: str, length: int) -> Optional[str]:
 # can be replaced at build time to expose build information.
 BUILD_NUMBER = None
 
-# default viz used in chart explorer
+# default viz used in chart explorer & SQL Lab explore
 DEFAULT_VIZ_TYPE = "table"
 
 # default row limit when requesting chart data
diff --git a/superset/views/core.py b/superset/views/core.py
index 04d3835f6032..6c308b0624c0 100755
--- a/superset/views/core.py
+++ b/superset/views/core.py
@@ -837,6 +837,19 @@ def explore(
         if not viz_type and datasource and datasource.default_endpoint:
             return redirect(datasource.default_endpoint)
 
+        selectedColumns = []
+
+        if "selectedColumns" in form_data:
+            selectedColumns = form_data.pop("selectedColumns")
+
+        if "viz_type" not in form_data:
+            form_data["viz_type"] = app.config["DEFAULT_VIZ_TYPE"]
+            if app.config["DEFAULT_VIZ_TYPE"] == "table":
+                all_columns = []
+                for x in selectedColumns:
+                    all_columns.append(x["name"])
+                form_data["all_columns"] = all_columns
+
         # slc perms
         slice_add_perm = security_manager.can_access("can_write", "Chart")
         slice_overwrite_perm = is_owner(slc, g.user) if slc else False