Former national selector Jatin Paranjpe said that Shubman Gill should bat in the middle-order in the upcoming Test series against New Zealand. His comments came as he believes it won’t “make a lot of difference” to drop a specialist opener down the order at the home condition as well. Notably, India and New Zealand will take on each other in the two Tests from November 25 where Shubman Gill might play in the middle-order with KL Rahul and Mayank Agarwal opening the innings in the absence of Rohit Sharma, who won’t be featured in this series.
However, this is a great opportunity for the team management to check out Gill’s batting as a middle-order batter in the long run when both Virat Kohli and Rohit return for the South Africa series as well. Jatin Paranjape, who was there in the panel that handed a Test debut to Shubman Gill last year in Australia, said that it won’t be a bad idea too. Jatin Paranjape also felt that it will not make much of a difference in Indian conditions as there won’t be much seam and swing on offer as well.
“I am always a believer that rigidity in team selection doesn’t help. I actually feel that playing Shubman as a middle-order batter will help the team. A certain amount of flexibility always helps,” Paranjpe told PTI.
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“I don’t think in India, it’s going to make a lot of difference because overseas it’s more of a specialised role opener or middle-order. If they use Shubman in the middle-order, I believe it will work as the SG ball will lose its shine pretty quickly. In fact, if you see, KL Rahul had batted in the middle-order and had some success early in his career. Shubman can replicate that,” Jatin Paranjpe further added.
However, the selectors have handed over a maiden call-up to Shreyas Iyer but he might have to wait for his Test debut. And, Paranjpe feels, it should happen soon as a few slots will certainly be up for grab. Notably, Ajinkya Rahane will lead Team India in the first Test in Kanpur whereas Virat Kohli will join the team and lead them in the second match in Mumbai.
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“Look sooner or later, Cheteshwar and Ajju (Rahane) won’t be playing. So, two out of three between Vihari, Shubman and Shreyas will grab those middle-order slots. Even if, Shreyas doesn’t get an opportunity in this series, I won’t be very disheartened as his time will certainly come,” Jatin Paranjpe concluded.
