new Delhi: Rohit Sharma’s first Test as captain will also usher in a new era for India’s middle-order with Shubman Gill and Hanuma Vihari being roped in to replace the experienced Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane. It is now clear that Rahane and Pujara will not be included in the squad for the three Tests (two against Sri Lanka and one against England) this season. Vihari and Gill will be substitutes for both of them in these matches while Shreyas Iyer will be kept as ‘backup’.
Two places are vacant in the last Test India played in Cape Town and when Virat Kohli steps out to play his 100th Test match in Mohali, these three young players will try to cement their claim on these places which have been held for the last decade. Pujara and Rahane were in possession. The biggest question is that if these three remain fit, then who will be dropped in the Test match starting from March 4. If Gill is ready to play now, then head coach Rahul Dravid would love to put him in the middle order. There is every possibility that Gill will be placed at number three after Rohit Sharma and Mayank Agarwal.
Former Indian opener Devang Gandhi told PTI, “I believe Shubman is the best option for number three. He can open the innings but Mayank is there to open the innings with Rohit and in that case number 3 would be ideal for Shubman. Gandhi, who was the national selector till January 2021, said Gill was initially being groomed for a middle-order role before making his Test debut as an opener in Australia. “Why do I think the team management can drop him at number three because when we looked at him, he scored a double century against West Indies A in the middle order,” Gandhi said.
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“Also, he has opened the innings in Test matches and can play the new ball very well at number three,” he added. Rahane mainly batted at No.5 but there is every possibility that Dravid and Rohit can field Rishabh Pant at No.5 while Vihari will be at No.6. Gandhi said, “If you look at our top-order, Mayank, Rohit, Shubman and Virat are all right-handed batsmen. In such a situation, it would be better if the number five batsman is left handed so that the combination of right and left handed batsmen can be formed. After this, Vihari can land at number six and then Ravindra Jadeja at number seven, who is a left-handed batsman. The batting order can be set up like this.”
Probable Indian team combination for the first test match against Sri Lanka-
Rohit Sharma (captain), Mayank Agarwal, Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Rishabh Pant (wk), Hanuma Vihari, Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin (depending on fitness)/Jayant Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami, Mohammad Siraj.