Team India were comfortably at the top of their game on Day 1 of the opening Test against West Indies on Wednesday. After bowling out the hosts for 150 in Dominica, India ended the day at 80 without a loss, as Rohit Sharma (30*) and debutant Yashasvi Jaiswal (40*) looked solid at the crease. Yashasvi replaced Shubman Gill in the opening role, who had urged the team management to shift him to no.3 – a role he has largely played in the Indian domestic circuit.
While Shubman has played the role of opener to significant success over some time for India, a shift to no.3 changes certain dynamics in the Indian batting order, as the spot previously belonged to Cheteshwar Pujara, a naturally defensive batter. Former India opener Aakash Chopra believes it is unusual for a player to request for a change in the batting order in Indian cricket, but it might benefit the side.
Also read: From going past Kumble to joining Malcolm Marshall, full list of records scripted by Ashwin in IND vs WI 1st Test
“Shubman Gill told team management that he wanted to play at no.3. It's a very interesting thing, because you don't usually hear such things happening in Indian cricket. You don't see a player telling team management that he likes to bat in a particular position. Neither does anyone make that request, nor anyone is given that luxury. But the good thing is Yashasvi Jaiswal can now open,” Chopra said on his official YouTube channel.
{{/usCountry}}“Shubman Gill told team management that he wanted to play at no.3. It's a very interesting thing, because you don't usually hear such things happening in Indian cricket. You don't see a player telling team management that he likes to bat in a particular position. Neither does anyone make that request, nor anyone is given that luxury. But the good thing is Yashasvi Jaiswal can now open,” Chopra said on his official YouTube channel.
{{/usCountry}}Chopra did admit that an opener's job is the “most difficult” in the batting order, but that he had expected Shubman to bat lower in the batting order at some point in his career.
“But in Test cricket, if there's one difficult job, it's that of a opener. Especially away from home. No.3 is still a challenging spot, but no.4 is the most settled spot and you usually keep your best batter in that spot. You don't want him to bat with the tail.
“Shubman at no.3, I'm not surprised. I tweeted in 2020 that he would play long for India but in few years time, you would see him batting in the middle. Now, he has himself expressed that wish,” he said.
Shubman Gill will replace Pujara in the role, who was dropped from the side following a poor outing in the World Test Championship final against Australia last month.