IND vs WI: "He Feels That His Right Position In The Longer..." - Vikram Rathour On Shubman Gill’s Batting Position

Team India batting coach Vikram Rathour feels that No. 3 is the ideal slot for young opener Shubman Gill in the longer format of the game. Vikram Rathour highlighted that Shubman Gill has predominantly played at the No. 3 or No. 4 position for Punjab and India A in first-class cricket.

In a pre-match interaction, India skipper Rohit Sharma revealed that Shubman Gill had requested the team management to bat at No. 3 in the line-up in Tests. Cheteshwar Pujara had held that spot for a long time in Tests for India, but he has been dropped from the squad for this series.

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It Came From Shubman Gill Himself – Vikram Rathour

Speaking at a press conference ahead of the second Test, Vikram Rathour said that the team management backed Shubman Gill‘s decision to bat in the middle order.

“There are three openers in the team, so one had to go to No.3. But the good thing is that it came from Shubman himself, he said ‘I’ll like to go No.3’. His reasoning is that whenever he has played first-class cricket or for India, he has played at No.3 or 4,” Rathour said.

Also read: IND vs WI: Watch: Ishan Kishan, Shubman Gill Break Into Laughter After Virat Kohli Makes Hilarious Faces

“He feels that his right position in the longer formats is that. So we were all happy with that decision. After that discussion, Rahul [Dravid] and Rohit [Sharma] decided that it would be better for him to play at No.3,” he added.

The 23-year-old scored only six runs in the first Test, where India secured an innings and 141-run victory over the West Indies. He had a disappointing performance in the WTC final against Australia, scoring 13 and 18 runs in the two innings. He scored 927 runs in 17 Tests at an average of 31.96.

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We Won’t Judge Him On The Basis Of One Innings – Vikram Rathour

Vikram Rathour stated that a player cannot be judged solely based on one innings, emphasising that Shubman Gill has a lot of potential to excel in red-ball cricket.

“We won’t judge him on the basis of one innings. He has a lot of time and surely he will do well for us in this position, because he has the game for that.

He can take his time and play, and he is a stroke player as well who can move the game forward. Having such a batter at No.3 is extremely advantageous,” he further stated.

Also read: IND vs WI: ‘Shubman Gill Would Know It…’- Aakash Chopra’s Bodies Gill For Batting At Number 3

“He has also made runs in Test cricket. Sometimes it might take a bit of time in a particular format, and he is taking that time, but he has that time.

“The potential that he has, I have no doubt that he is the future of the Indian team in batting. He will play for the Indian team for a long time, in all three formats,” he concluded.

Also read: IND vs WI: WATCH – “Rohit Bhai Phir Gaali Denge” – Ishan Kishan Issues Warning To Shubman Gill

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