Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India]: Former Indian head coach and captain Rahul Dravid has backed young Indian star Shubman Gill as batting at number three during the Border-Gavaskar Trophy (BGT) starting in Australia on November 22.
Gill is likely to miss the first Perth Test due to thumb injury. The series is extremely crucial to India’s ICC World Test Championship (WTC) final chances and will be career-defining for Gill. Batting at a new spot, replacing a steely, gritty veteran like Cheteshwar Pujara, Gill would have to keep his past success in Australia as an opener aside and start everything afresh.
Speaking on ESPNCricinfo, Dravid hoped Gill will lfill shoes of players like him and Pujara at number three, “He is a terrific player. He has had some great success in Australia the last time. Everyone talks about Rishabh’s 80 [89 runs during 4th Test] and rightly so, but I think Shubman got 91 to set the game up on that fifth morning. So no, he is a fine, fine player, he is a great kid, and he is learning. Bats differently, slightly, to me and Pujara, but still a very, very good player.”
Gill has been in fine form this season, having made 806 runs in 10 matches, 19 innings, averaging above 47. He has scored three centuries and fifties and his best score is 119*
Batting at number three, Gill has scored 926 runs in 14 matches, averaging 42.09, with three centuries and fifties in 25 innings.
Dravid also said that the runs from India’s top four batters, at least one or two of them, would be crucial and be needed in plenty. With veterans skipper Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli part of this top-four, mush will be expected from them after their below par performance in the New Zealand series.
The two senior batters scored less then 200 runs in their 10 innings during home Test season against Bangladesh and New Zealand.
“Runs on the top will be important. Now whether it comes from one, two or three or four, it doesn’t really matter. You are going to need one of that top four or two of the top four to have a great series. That really helps in Australia. With the Kookaburra ball and those conditions, if you can get through that initial period and have your top four soak in a lot of that period, it really allows your lower order to be able to control and dominate those games,” Dravid said, answering a query if Shubhman could succeed previous number three players like Pujara and Dravid.
After the series opener in Perth on November 22, the second Test, featuring the day-night format, will take place under lights at Adelaide Oval from December 6 to 10.
Fans will then turn their attention to The Gabba in Brisbane for the third Test from December 14 to 18.
The traditional Boxing Day Test, scheduled from December 26 to 30 at Melbourne’s iconic Melbourne Cricket Ground, will mark the series’ penultimate stage.
The fifth and final Test will be held at the Sydney Cricket Ground from January 3 to 7, promising an exciting climax to a highly anticipated series.
India’s squad for Border-Gavaskar Series: Rohit Sharma (c), Jasprit Bumrah (vc), Ravichandran Ashwin, Mohammad Shami, Abhimanyu Easwaran, Shubman Gill, Ravindra Jadeja, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Dhruv Jurel (wk), Sarfaraz Khan, Virat Kohli, Prasidh Krishna, Rishabh Pant (wk), KL Rahul, Harshit Rana, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Mohammed Siraj, Washington Sundar.
Australia squad for the first Test: Pat Cummins (c), Scott Boland, Alex Carey, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Mitch Marsh, Nathan McSweeney, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc.