“Waiting to bat for his turn isn't helping Shubman” - Wasim Jaffer suggests interesting tweak to India’s top-order
Former opener Wasim Jaffer has made an interesting suggestion with regards to Team India’s top-order for the ongoing Test series against England. He reckons that Shubman Gill should open the innings with Yashasvi Jaiswal, while skipper Rohit Sharma should bat at No. 3.
India went down to England by 28 runs in the first Test at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad, which ended on Sunday, January 28. Chasing a target of 231, the hosts were bowled out for 202. Batting at No. 3, Gill had a poor Test, registering scores of 23 and 0.
Reflecting on the youngster’s struggles, Jaffer suggested an interesting tweak to India’s top-order. Taking to his official X handle, he wrote:
“Gill and Jaiswal should open and Rohit should bat at no.3 in 2nd test in my opinion. Waiting to bat for his turn isn't helping Shubman, it's better he opens the inn. Rohit plays spin really well, so batting at no.3 should not worry him too much. #INDvENG.”
While Gill failed to have an impact in the Hyderabad Test, Jaiswal smashed 80 off 74 in the first innings, before being dismissed for 15 off 35 in the second. As for Rohit, he scored 24 and 39, failing to convert starts on both occasions.
Despite his recent lean run in red ball cricket, former England captain Kevin Pietersen backed Gill to feature in the Indian playing XI in the next Test of the series in Visakhapatnam. Admitting that he loves watching the right-hander bat, Pietersen told JioCinema:
"I don’t think you can get rid of somebody as quickly as one test match. He will definitely play in Vizag and let’s have a look and see how he prepares for the next Test. Let’s not cast Shubman Gill aside and say he can’t play. He can play. When you talk about feelings, he give me the feeling of sheer joy and delight when he walks out to bat. I want to watch him bat.”
While Gill is likely to retain his spot in the playing XI for the second Test, his place could be under the scanner if Virat Kohli returns for the last two matches of the series.
Shubman Gill’s poor red ball record for India
Even as Gill has produced some excellent performances in limited-overs matches, particularly ODI cricket, he has failed to replicate the same in Test cricket.
After 21 matches, the 24-year-old has 1,063 runs to his name at a disappointing average of 29.52, with two hundreds and four fifties.
Since his last Test hundred in March 2023, the youngster has registered a highest score of 36 from 11 innings.