Former England spinner Monty Panesar supported Shubman Gill as their next Test captain before the five-Test series in England, starting June 20. However, Panesar also believes captaincy will help Gill overcome his Test batting struggles and make him a more responsible batter too.

Talking about Gill’s appointment as the Indian Test captain in an interview with Hindustan Times, Panesar said: “They had to go with Shubman Gill. It will make him a better leader, I think he will bat better under some responsibility. Sometimes he gets a bit lazy with his footwork, once he gets to 30 or 40, but when he’s responsible, he’s captain. I reckon he’ll switch on, and we’ll see a better version of Shubhman Gill.”

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Monty Panesar also believes one of Karun Nair or Shubman Gill will bat at No.3 and 4 in the Indian batting line-up for the upcoming tour of England as well.

“It doesn’t matter if it’s either Karun Nair or Shubman Gill. It’ll be either three or four. Karun Nair has played at Northampton. He’s done very well. He’s done well, obviously, on the Lions trip. You can see the players that they’ve picked have actually played county cricket. If he goes four or three, it doesn’t matter,” said Monty Panesar. “It’s up to Shubman Gill. But that’s a strong batting line-up. India have got these fearless young cricketers coming through. I think another superstar is going to be born in the next five Test matches for India.”