Gill, Vihari & Iyer in line for 2 spots at hand for Test vs SL after Pujara-Rahane dropped

PTI

New Delhi, February 28

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 all set to become long-term replacements of veterans Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane.

It is now clear that Rahane and Pujara won’t be called for the three Tests in the near future (two against Sri Lanka and an away game against England) where Vihari and Gill, along with Shreyas Iyer as a back-up, will be the options.

There are two vacant spots from the last Test India played in Cape Town and as Virat Kohli plays his 100th Test in Mohali, the three youngsters will be preparing for a long haul.

But the bigger question is: who will be the one left out if all three are fit going into the first Test starting March 4?

Since Gill is raring to go, head coach Rahul Dravid will perhaps like to use him as a middle-order batter, who can also be an enforcer if the situation demands.

There is a possibility that Gill might be used at No. 3 behind Sharma and Mayank Agarwal.

“I believe Shubman is India’s best bet at No. 3. Yes, he has opened but Mayank is there alongside Rohit and Shubman has the game to bat at that number,” former national selector and Test opener Devang Gandhi said.

Gandhi, who was the national selector till January 2021, also said that Gill was initially being prepared for a middle-order role before he made his Test debut as an opener in Australia.

“Why I feel the team management might be inclined to try him at No. 3 is because when we fast-tracked him into the India A system, he had a double hundred in the middle-order against West Indies A in the West Indies,” he explained

“Also, having already opened in Tests, as a No. 3 he can also play the new ball well and start moving the game with his repertoire of strokes. You don’t want to get bogged down and with Gill, he can start pushing the envelope,” Gandhi said.

While Rahane was primarily a No. 5 batter, it looks like Dravid and Sharma might be inclined to use Vihari at No. 6 and send the dangerous Rishabh Pant at No. 5 for some variation.

“If you see our top-order, Mayank, Rohit, Shubman and Virat are all right-handers. It’s better if at No. 5 we have a left-hander to get the left-right combination going followed by Vihari at No. 6 and Ravindra Jadeja, again a left-hander, at No. 7. It could be the way forward,” Gandhi said. —

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