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"Natural No. 3 But.." Ex-England Captain Dissects Shubman Gill's Batting Demotion Call In Tests

Debashis Sarangi

Shubman Gill extended his purple patch at 4 [Source: AP]Shubman Gill extended his purple patch at 4 [Source: AP]

Former England captain Nasser Hussain believes Shubman Gill has all the ingredients to succeed as India's number three batter in Test cricket. Gill, after succeeding Rohit Sharma as India's Test captain, recently moved himself down the order to number four in the ongoing England series. 

Hussain Calls Gill A 'Natural Number 3' Despite His Success At 4

Shubman Gill's decision to bat at four has reaped rewards for the stylish batter. After amassing a glorious century in the first Test in Leeds, Gill sustained his dominance over England with a fighting hundred on day 1 of the Edgbaston Test. 

Despite Gill's prolific returns at number four, Hussain feels the batter is more suited to play at number three.

"I think some people are just like that, he looks like a natural number three," Hussain said on Sky Sports, as quoted by NDTV Sports. 

However, the former English skipper reckons the pressure of Test captaincy and technical woes against the moving ball could be the reason why the Indian think tank has decided to make Gill their long-term number four, a position once owned by the legendary Sachin Tendulkar and Virat Kohli. 

"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. 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," Hussain added.
"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," he concluded

Shubman Gill's Performance At 3 And 4 In Test Cricket

After India axed Cheteshwar Pujara, Gill, who started his career as an opener, grabbed the number three position. He performed comparatively better at three, scoring 1019 runs at an average of 37.74. 

Although he has already slammed 269 runs, including two hundreds, across three Test innings at 4, it will be interesting to see whether the Indian think tank allows him to retain his slot or reinstates him to number three in case neither Karun Nair nor B Sai Sudharsan impresses it with their batsmanship.