Shubman Gill has been dropped by Team India for the Boxing Day Test. Touted as the next batting great for the nation, the 25-year-old can’t even find himself a spot anymore after continuous failures away from home and in the ongoing India vs Australia Test series. Captain Rohit Sharma has slotted himself at number three, Gill’s position, and Washington Sundar comes in.
Rohit Sharma at 3, Shubman Gill dropped
Reports had suggested that Gill would be dropped. However, from the looks of it, it seemed that another batter would come in for him. That’s not the case. In fact, Team India has chosen to send Rohit Sharma in Gill’s spot. It was feared that KL Rahul’s opening spot would be taken away despite him being the best batter on the tour. But Rohit Sharma and Gautam Gambhir haven’t done that for the India vs Australia 4th Test.
Some might say Gill has been rightly dropped. Since making his debut in 2020, the batter averages just 28.5 away from home. However, those are his combined numbers. This includes his performance as an opener as well. If we filter it down to just number 3, his record worsens. Since moving down one spot, in 7 innings, Gill averages 19.83, with 36 being his highest score.
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Nitish Kumar Reddy continues
Team India has replaced Gill with a second spinner. We had heard that Washington would be brought in but at the expense of Nitish Kumar Reddy. Luckily, Nitish hasn’t been benched. Probably Team India’s second-best batter after Rahul, Nitish didn’t deserve to suffer because of the failure of others. His dream debut series will continue, and Team India would have that he continues to shine with the bat.
India’s XI for Boxing Day Test
Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Rohit Sharma (c), Virat Kohli, Rishabh Pant (wk), Nitish Kumar Reddy, Washington Sundar, Ravindra Jadeja, Jasprit Bumrah (vc), Mohammed Siraj, Akash Deep