Ex-India Selector Names Youngster As "Best Bet" To Take Over Cheteshwar Pujara's Number 3 Slot In Tests

Rohit Sharma's first Test as captain will also usher in a new era for India's middle-order with Shubman Gill and Hanuma Vihari all set to become long-term replacements of veterans Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane. It is now clear that Rahane and Pujara won't be called for the three Tests this season (two against Sri Lanka and one away game against England) where Vihari and Gill, along with Shreyas Iyer as back-up, will be the options. There are two vacant spots from the last Test that India played in Cape Town and as Virat Kohli plays his 100th Test at Mohali, the three youngsters will be preparing for a long haul in the spots vacated by the two veterans after having made those their own for a decade.

But the bigger question is who will be the one left out if all three are fit going into the first Test starting March 4? Since Gill is raring to go, head coach Rahul Dravid will perhaps like to use him as a middle-order batter, who can also be an enforcer if the situation demands.

There is a distinct possibility that Gill might be used at number three behind Rohit Sharma and Mayank Agarwal.

"I believe Shubman is India's best bet at number three. Yes, he has opened but Mayank is there alongside Rohit and Shubman has the game to bat at that number," former national selector and Test opener Devang Gandhi told PTI.

Gandhi, who was the national selector till January 2021, also said that Gill was initially being prepared for a middle-order role before he made his Test debut as an opener in Australia.

"Why I feel the team management might be inclined to try him at No.3 is because when we fast-tracked him into India A system, he had a double hundred in the middle-order against West Indies A in West Indies.

"Also having already