A temporary return to the Test side and even vice-captaincy in the West Indies series failed to revive Ajinkya Rahane’s career. And with that IND vs SA Test series will mark the new beginning for the India Cricket Team. But who will succeed Rahane at No 5? While it’s at an experimental stage, Shubman Gill is likely to be the answer but it’s India vs South Africa Test series that will give the right picture.
With the selectors not looking back at Ajinkya Rahane and Cheteshwar Pujara, India Cricket Team will need to look for alternatives.
Shreyas Iyer seems to be the early favourite to take the No 3 spot vacated by Cheteshwar Pujara. But who will bat at No 5?
IND vs SA Test: Can India find Rahane’s replacement?
Shubman Gill and KL Rahul both began as openers only for the combinations to force them in the middle order. For KL Rahul, it’s not about combination, but rather about his form.
Despite scoring centuries in SENA countries, KL Rahul has had to pay for his inconsistency. In the last two years, KL Rahul has only played seven Tests, averaging a meagre 24.69. In those 13 innings, he has scored a century and a fifty. Thus, he was dropped during the IND vs AUS Test series at home.
However, he has been recalled for the South Africa series because of his record in the country. To be precise, it’s his wicketkeeping skills that have kept him in the team with both KS Bharat and Ishan Kishan failing to lift their performances with the willow. Hence, until Rishabh Pant returns, KL Rahul is only a temporary solution in the middle-order in Tests.
That brings us to Shubman Gill. Yes, he hasn’t replicated his white-ball form in Test cricket. But he still is the long-term option. Had Yashasvi Jaiswal not been an instant hit, India Cricket Team would not even have to think about anyone beyond Shubman.
But with Jaiswal hitting a half-century in the intra-squad practice game, he seems to be the right choice to open with Rohit Sharma. Then where does Shubman Gill bat? It’s that No 5 slot, vacated by Ajinkya Rahane.
At No 5, Shubman Gill can be the answer to Ajinkya Rahane. He has the pace to accelerate the innings whenever he wants. Gill can also play through tough situations, holding the innings together, exactly like Rahane did.
To aid his abilities, South African pitches will have the bounce throughout the Test match and that will help him. Shubman Gill has already mastered playing against short deliveries and is already an excellent player of spin. With a century in the intra-squad practice match, Shubman Gill has already begun his South African sojourn and now the target will be to seal No 5 spot.
India Test squad: Rohit Sharma (C), Shubman Gill, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Ruturaj Gaikwad, KL Rahul (wk), Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur, Mohd. Siraj, Mukesh Kumar, Jasprit Bumrah (VC), Prasidh Krishna, KS Bharat (wk)
