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'When we fast-tracked him into India A system, he had...': Ex-selector reveals which batter is team's 'best bet' at No.3
Ahead of the commencement of the two-match Test series between India and Sri Lanka, former national selector Devang Gandhi revealed one player who is India's best bet at the number three position.
With the exclusion of experienced campaigners in Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane from the Test squad for the upcoming two-match series against Sri Lanka, youngster Shubman Gill is all set to take up an important role in the team. According to former India selector Devang Gandhi, Gill will be instrumental at top order.
Gill was initially brought to Test cricket as an opener. So far, he's played 10 Tests and in nine of them, the right-hander opened the innings. In the other game, he came in at 3, scoring an impressive 47. However, with Mayank Agarwal and skipper Rohit Sharma set to open, Gandhi believes Gill will be slotted right after.
"I believe Shubman is India's best bet at number three. Yes, he has opened but Mayank is there alongside Rohit and Shubman has the game to bat at that number," former national selector and Test opener Devang Gandhi told PTI.
Gandhi, who was the national selector till January 2021, also said that Gill was initially being prepared for a middle-order role before he made his Test debut as an opener in Australia.
"Why I feel the team management might be inclined to try him at No.3 is because when we fast-tracked him into India A system, he had a double hundred in the middle-order against West Indies A in West Indies.
"Also having already opened in Tests, as No.3 he can also play the new ball well and start moving the game with his repertoire of strokes. You don't want to get bogged down and with Gill, he can start pushing the envelope," Gandhi explained.
The bilateral series kicks off at the Punjab Cricket Association Stadium in Mohali on March 4.
