Cricket legends Sunil Gavaskar and Allan Border have backed young batsman Shubman Gill to open the batting for Team India instead of Prithvi Shaw in the first Test against Australia in Adelaide starting December 17.
Gill showed good form with the bat in the second tour match against Australia A, scoring 43 and 65 runs, which is why Gavaskar feels he is a better option than Prithvi Shaw for the series opener.
“I think Shubman Gill should open with Mayank for the first Test match because he’s shown good form. Allan Border was there for the games (practice games), (and) was very impressed with what he saw from Shubman Gill. So I would imagine that he should open with Mayank Agarwal for the first Test,” Gavaskar said.
Border meanwhile, said that Gill’s technique seemed to be better-suited for Australian pitches than Shaw, who flopped in the practice matches with scores of 0, 19, 40 and 3 in four innings.
“I’ve been in Sydney the last couple of days, watching the Indian team against Australia A. Gee, I was impressed with Gill. “I really think he’s got something about him, his technique. I know he’s young so he can play a few rash shots here and there, but he looks a seriously good player, this kid. He would be my pick out of the guys I saw.
“I know you guys [rate] Shaw but it seems to me like he plays a shot-a-ball. Against the new ball, it looks good on flat tracks, but in Australia, you’ve got to be a little bit more watchful about your shot selection. He just seems a bit loose outside the off stump for me. If I’m the Indian selector, I’m looking very close at young Gill,” said Border.
Gavaskar also backed Rishabh Pant to play the first Test ahead of Wriddhiman Saha.
“It’s going to be a tough one for the selection committee because Rishabh played in all the four Test matches during India’s [last] tour and he also got a hundred. And he seemed to have got under the skin of some of the Australian players with his chirping behind the stumps.
“When you’re playing on pitches where the wicketkeeper has to stand up to the stumps, where the ball turns around a bit, that’s when you tend to take your best wicketkeeper – in which case, Wriddhiman Saha would be the obvious choice,” Gavaskar said.
