Indian skipper Rohit Sharma made one notable change in the Playing XI ahead of the 3rd Test in Indore as the host roped in Shubman Gill in the squad, replacing vice-captain KL Rahul. While most of the Indian batters struggled in front of Nathan Lyon and Matthew Kuhnemann, Gill was no exception in the squad.
The young top-order batter failed to perform up to the reputation as he could only add 21 and 5 in both innings. While a lot of the talk has surrounded the Indore pitch, former Pakistan cricketer Danish Kaneria has lashed out at Shubman Gill for his poor shot selection and compared his way of dismissal with KL Rahul.
“Shubman Gill had a disappointing outing in both innings of the Test, Now, he is facing danger of losing his place in the XI. The way he was dismissed in the second innings, Rahul Dravid also looked quite furious with him. And once the coach isn’t impressed, your position in the team becomes weak. You can’t play shots like these. KL Rahul was still getting out because he was being unlucky with his shots,” Kaneria said.
“Shubman Gill needs to prove that he can bat long. If India has to win, their batters right from the top – Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, and Shreyas Iyer – have to perform. Can Suryakumar Yadav be can option in place of Iyer? He can be because the former is a 360-degree player and you need that ability on wickets like these,” Kaneria added.
While India slipped an opportunity to confirm its berth in the World Test Championship final, Australia became the first team to reach the WTC final.
As per the current scenario, India needs to win the next Test match in order to qualify for the WTC final. Even if India settles with a draw in the 4th Test, then they will have to depend on the result of the New Zealand vs Sri Lanka Test series.