Shubman Gill Told To Not Bat At No. 4 Despite Record-Breaking Ton: "Some People..."

Former England cricket team captain Naseer Hussain asked Shubman Gill to bat at No. 3 despite hitting a record-breaking ton on Day 1 of the second Test match on Wednesday. Gill, who became India's new No. 4 following Virat Kohli's retirement, looked in stunning form as he achieved the rare feat of scoring a Test hundred in the first two Test matches as India captain. However, Hussain said that he is better suited to bat at No. 3 and even namedropped Joe Root in his clear verdict.

"I think some people are just like that, he looks like a natural number three," Hussain said on Sky Sports after the Indian captain's seventh Test century.

"He's doing what, you know, England have done with Joe Root. I've often thought you've had lesser players than Joe Root at number three and you've had your best player at number four and he looks like a natural number three to me, Shubman Gill, but the pressure of captaincy and just also away from home when the ball has moved around, he has been found wanting a little bit, so just to come in when the ball stops moving around, but I thought he was really composed today, it was old-fashioned batting, he had to get in, grind out a score and then cash in in the last session," Hussain added.

Former Indian cricket team head coach Ravi Shastri also gave his opinion on GIll's knock and said that the change in his technique made a massive difference.

"I think the biggest difference, Wadi, is that he's worked on his defence, when he last came to England, you know, he was someone like Virat who played with hard hands, pushed at the ball, now the top hand is in much more control, you know, he allows the ball to come and hit the bat, he's trusting his defence and then we know he has all the shots in the box, he's a lovely driver of the ball, he can pull as well, but just that little work on his defence has done a world of good," Shastri said.

Topics mentioned in this article

Shubman Gill Virat Kohli India Cricket Team England Cricket Team England vs India, 2025 Cricket