Rishabh Pant, newly appointed vice-captain of India revealed the batting position of skipper Shubman Gill for India against England. Both teams are set to face each other in a five-match Test series beginning on June 20 at Headingley in Leeds. He also shed light on the new start for the side after Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, and Ravichandran Ashwin‘s exit from the format.
Rishabh Pant confirms Shubman Gill’s batting position
Pant affirmed that Gill will succeed Virat Kohli in playing at number 4, while he will take the number 5 batting position for India’s first test match.
“I think there is still discussion going on, who is going to play 3. But definitely, 4 and 5 are fixed. I think Shubman is going to bat at number 4 and I’m going to stick to number 5 as of now. And rest, we are going to keep on discussing about that,” Rishabh said.
Number 3 position in India’s line-up
While Sai Sudharsan is considered a strong contender for the number 3 spot, Karun Nair who made a Test comeback can also claim the batting position. Both the players have been in brilliant form in the red-ball cricket.
Rishabh Pant on the new squad
Notably, this would be the first time since 2011 that India will play a Test match without at least one of the three star players – Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, or Ravichandran Ashwin. Rishabh reflected on their absence and how there is an opportunity to build a new culture with the new squad.
“Obviously, it’s a new start for us, big people have left. Yes, there will be a gap, but at the same time, it’s an opportunity for us to build a new culture from here or take a culture forward from there, just adding to it,” said Pant.
“I think being in a great frame of mind, helping the new players to learn and improve themselves in overseas conditions and sharing knowledge with each other, having that care and love in the dressing room for each other — that is something we are looking forward to do,” he added.
India’s full squad against England for the Test series
Shubman Gill(captain), Rishabh Pant, Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Sai Sudharsan, Abhimanyu Easwaran, Karun Nair, Nitish Reddy, Ravindra Jadeja, Dhruv Jurel, Washington Sundar, Shardul Thakur, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammad Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, Akash Deep, Arshdeep Singh, Kuldeep Yadav, Harshit Rana.
