Shubman Gill might make his India debut in the One Day International series against New Zealand, starting on Wednesday, as the team seeks a perfect combination ahead of the forthcoming ICC World Cup. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) shared a video of 19-year-old Punjab-based batsman practising hard in the nets. "Team India's latest recruit Shubman Gill was seen sweating out in the nets at his first training session with the Senior Men's team," the BCCI captioned the video on Twitter.
Recently India registered their first-ever bilateral ODI series win in Australia. Former captain MS Dhoni batted at number four and shared a match-winning stand of 121 runs with Kedar Jadhav to help India win the third ODI by seven wickets and clinch the three-match series 2-1.
India had dropped their number four batsman Ambati Rayudu for the decider match in Melbourne. Rayudu wasn't much successful in the previous two ODIs as he lost his wicket for zero and 24 in successive matches.
While a majority of fans enjoyed Dhoni batting at number four, India skipper Virat Kohli claimed the wicketkeeper-batsman is better suited for number five.
"I personally and the management felt that number 5 is the most logical and ideal position for him and the way he batted at Adelaide, he was comfortable in that position and was more himself in that game and from then on he built on to this knock today," Kohli said after India's win in Melbourne.
In the three-match ODI series, 37-year-old Dhoni accumulated 193 runs, including three 50-plus knocks.
Meanwhile, fans on social media have suggested Kohli to play Gill at number four.
The BCCI had called up Gill and all-rounder Vijay Shankar for India's Australia and New Zealand tours after KL Rahul and Hardik Pandya were ordered to return back home in disgrace over comments made about women on a TV show.