Team India captain Rohit Sharma is firmly backing Shubman Gill for success at No.3 in Test cricket, despite the young batter’s recent Centurion failure against South Africa. Sharma believes that Gill’s transition to a different batting position in red-ball cricket is a minor adjustment.
“There isn’t a big gap between opening and batting at number 3. It only takes one ball for a number 3 to step in. Sometimes, if an opener is injured, a number 3 has to go out and open. I don’t see a significant difference there. Gill is clever and has a good understanding of his role,” Rohit said to the press ahead of the second Test against South Africa.
Shubman Gill faced challenges in the 2023 Test series, struggling to find form in his new position after losing the opening slot to Yashasvi Jaiswal. Despite starting the year with a century in the Border Gavaskar Trophy, Gill failed to score a fifty throughout the year, scoring only 258 runs across 11 innings. However, Rohit Sharma defended Gill’s preference for the No.3 position.
“He likes that position. He played in the Ranji Trophy around that spot. While he has opened in Tests and limited-overs games, number 3 is his preference. He believes he can perform well for us in that position. It’s a personal choice in how one views specific batting positions,” he added.
Sharing his perspective, Rohit admitted disliking batting at No.3 and expressed a preference for either opening or waiting until the middle order.
“I hated batting at number 3, and that’s my view. Either you open the batting or you wait a bit to go down the order, like batting at number 5 or 6. Since I began opening, I don’t think positions from 3 to 7 are suitable for anyone,” he concluded.
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