New Delhi:
Virat Kohli retired from Test cricket on Monday (May 12), leaving a big hole in India’s line-up. He batted at number four in most matches once Sachin Tendulkar stepped away from international cricket in 2013. Now that Kohli is retired, India face a big dilemma at the said batting position with Shubman Gill being one of the likeliest replacements. However, Cheteshwar Pujara believes that the latter is better off facing the new ball.
For the unversed, Gill has played 32 Test matches in his career so far and hasn’t batted outside the top three even once. In fact, he made his debut in the format as an opener but later moved to number three after Pujara was dropped. ‘Shubman is someone who is more capable of playing the new balls. He has been opening the innings earlier, before he started batting at No. 3.
“He prefers to bat when the ball is slightly hard and new. Will he be able to manage with the old ball? That is a big question at this stage. Since he has batted well with the new ball, I would still say that he should be batting in [the] top three, which is his ideal position, which suits him well. If he bats at No. 4 in England and if he can be successful at that position, then, yes, he can be a No. 4 for the Indian team,” Pujara said while speaking to ESPNCricinfo.
However, Pujara thinks that India’s team management will need a couple of series to find out Kohli’s able replacement at number four. “We will need a couple of series to figure out who is well suited to bat at No. 4, because it’s an important position. You need your best batter to bat at No. 4. And at this time, I think it’s still a spot where the team management will have to figure out who is the most suited player at No. 4,” Pujara added.