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'Neither does anyone make such demand, nor...': Ex-India opener on Shubman Gill asking to bat at No. 3

'Neither does anyone make such demand, nor...': Ex-India opener on Shubman Gill asking to bat at No. 3

Ex-India opener opens up on Shubman Gill asking to bat at No. 3

Rohit Sharma-led Indiakicked off their tour of West Indies on Wednesday (July 12) on Day One of the first Test. Theday's play was headlined by R Ashwin's five-wicket haul, 5 for 60, as the Windies were bundled out for 150 -- opting to bat first -- before Rohit (30 not out) and debutant Yashasvi Jaiswal (unbeaten 40) took India to 80 for no loss.

Ahead of the two-match Test series opener, Rohit addressed the pre-match presser and revealed India's batting order. He confirmed that Shubman Gill -- who has been opening for India across formats -- will be batting at No. 3, a request he himself came up with prior to the Dominica Test.

Former Indian opener-turned-commentator Aakash Chopra opened up on Gill's request and admitted 'neither does anyone make that request, nor anyone is given that luxury' but feels the move might work for Team India.

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'You don't see a player telling team management that he likes to...'

Chopra said on his official YouTube channel, "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."

Also Read:Aakash Chopra on Team India’s decision to drop Ashwin from WTC final

He opined, "But in Test cricket, if there's one difficult job, it's that of 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,” Chopra added.

Thus, Gill is replacing Cheteshwar Pujara at the No. 3 spot after the latter was dropped for the WI series following a streak of ordinary performances in the 2021-23 WTC cycle.

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