Shubman Gill has been shifted to No. 3 as Yashasvi Jaiswal made his Test debut in Dominica.
The series opener also saw the team moving into a transition with Yashasvi Jaiswal making his red-ball debut. The young southpaw opened the innings alongside skipper Rohit Sharma while Shubman Gill was shifted to No. 3.
In fact, ahead of the game, Gill expressed his desire to bat at No. 3 – the spot that previously belonged to Cheteshwar Pujara.
However, former India opener Aakash Chopra found Shubman’s request for a change in the batting order a bit baffling.
“Shubman Gill told team management that he wanted to play at no.3. It's a very interesting thing, because you don't usually hear such things happening in Indian cricket. You don't see a player telling team management that he likes to bat in a particular position. Neither does anyone make that request, nor anyone is given that luxury. But the good thing is Yashasvi Jaiswal can now open,” Chopra said on his official YouTube channel.
Chopra acknowledged that an opener's job is the “most difficult” in the batting line-up, but he had expected Gill to bat lower in the order at some point in his career.
“But in Test cricket, if there's one difficult job, it's that of an opener. Especially away from home. No.3 is still a challenging spot, but no.4 is the most settled spot and you usually keep your best batter in that spot. You don't want him to bat with the tail.
“Shubman at no.3, I'm not surprised. I tweeted in 2020 that he would play long for India but in few years time, you would see him batting in the middle. Now, he has himself expressed that wish,” he said.
Coming to the first Test, India bundled West Indies for a paltry 150 in 64.3 overs, with veteran off-spinner R Ashwin claiming a five-wicket haul.
At stumps, the visitors reached 80/0, trailing the hosts by 70 runs. Jaiswal (40*) and Rohit (30*) were unbeaten in the middle for India.