Former India cricketer turned commentator Deep Dasgupta has supported Shubman Gill to replace Virat Kohli at No. 4 in Tests after his retirement ahead of the five-match Test series in England, starting on Friday, June 20. He also downplayed Gill’s earlier performances in Test cricket while backing him to start afresh in the Test as well.

Dasgupta told Star Sports (via India Today): “From here on, we’ll be seeing Shubman Gill 2.0 — in a different position. I’ve always believed that in Test match cricket, the middle order — and now specifically number four — is the right place for him. Earlier, I used to say ‘middle order’ because we didn’t realise Virat would step away from the format this early. But now that the spot has opened up, I think number four is the perfect place for Shubman in red-ball cricket.”

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“So, in a way, this is going to be a rebirth of Shubman Gill — the red-ball player, the red-ball batter. I’m not too concerned about the numbers from before, because as I said, those were from when he was opening or batting at number three. Technically, he’s much better suited to number four, or the middle order, in Test cricket,” he further added.

However, Shubman Gill said that a final decision will be taken after the intrasquad match ahead of the five-match Test series in England as well.

He stated, “We still have some time, we will be playing an intra-squad and have a 10-day camp in London. We will decide the batting order once we are there.”

Shubman Gill in Test cricket:

Opener: 874 runs in 29 innings @32.37, including two centuries and four 50s

No. 3: 1019 runs in 30 innings @37.74, comprising three centuries and three 50s

Away Tests: 716 runs in 28 innings @27.54, including one hundred and two 50s

Home Tests: 1177 runs in 31 innings @27.54, comprising four centuries and five 50s