India had a new number three in Shubman Gill in over a decade during the first Test against West Indies. Gill had replaced India stalwart Cheteshwar Pujara for the slot and those can be pretty big shoes to fill. While the suggestion to bat at number three came from Gill, he could not make much impact in his maiden innings, scoring 6 off 11 balls.
India batting coach Vikram Rathour, speaking to reporters after India’s win in the first Test, explained the rationale behind Gill asking to bat at one down position.
“Three openers were supposed to play, so one had to go at No. 3 and the proposal came from Shubman’s end as his rationale was that he had played all his cricket for Punjab and India A at either No. 3 or 4 and that’s his real slot in longer format is that,” Rathour said at a press conference.
While Gill may have failed to leave any mark in a Test where top three of four players from India scored at least a fifty, Rathour was confident of Gill’s abilities at number three.
“We can’t judge him on basis of one innings. He has a lot of time. He has the technique and temperament to play time if required and can also play an attacking game when a move on is needed. He can move the game forward. That is what we need at No. 3 as it can be advantageous,” Rathour added.
Notably, Yashasvi Jaiswal (171) and Rohit Sharma (103) had scored a century each as openers while Virat Kohli scored 76 at number four as India amassed 421 runs in their first innings.
Young Jaiswal was given Player of the Match award for scoring a ton in his debut game. Apart from him, veteran off-spinner Ravi Ashwin took 12 wickets in the match.
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