India captain Shubman Gill will bat at number 4 in the five-match Test series against England, vice-captain Rishabh Pant said on Wednesday. Pant also confirmed that he will bat at number 5. He shared this during a press conference before the first Test, which starts on Friday in Leeds. After the retirements of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli, many people have been wondering how India’s batting order will look when the match begins at Headingley.
Shubman Gill and Rishabh Pant’s Batting Positions Confirmed
Rishabh Pant didn’t say who will open the batting alongside Yashasvi Jaiswal. Since Gill is moving to number 4, the number 3 spot is still open. KL Rahul is almost certain to be in the team, but it’s not clear if he will open the innings. Only one of Sai Sudharsan or Karun Nair is expected to be picked.
During Wednesday’s press conference, Rishabh Pant said the management has not made a decision yet on who will bat at number 3.
“I think there is still discussion going on about who is going to play 3. But 4, 5 are definitely fixed. I think Shubman is going to bat at 4 and I am going to stick to No. 5 as of now, and rest we are going to keep on discussing that,” said Rishabh Pant.
For the first Test against India, England made some changes to their team. Chris Woakes returned after missing two matches due to an ankle injury, taking the place of Sam Cook. Brydon Carse replaced Gus Atkinson, who is injured with a hamstring problem.
Woakes will bat at number eight, bringing strong all-round skills. This lets Jamie Smith focus on being a specialist wicketkeeper-batsman at number seven, while keeping the batting lineup solid.
England also picked vice-captain Ollie Pope to bat at number three, choosing his experience over the young Jacob Bethell, who was left out of the squad.
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England XI for the first Test
England XI for first Test: Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Ben Stokes (c), Jamie Smith (wk), Chris Woakes, Brydon Carse, Josh Tongue and Shoaib Bashir.
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