Shubman Gill should bat No. 3 in Tests, says Sanjay Bangar

Bangar says Gill coming in at No. 3 would send a positive message to the entire team

Hyderabad: Former India batting coach Sanjay Bangar said if given the choice, the newly-appointed Indian captain Shubman Gill should continue to bat at No. 3 because if he does that, he should send a positive message to the entire team that ‘there was a choice for me to get down to No. 4.

“But, we all know that in Test cricket, No. 3 is a slightly more difficult position than No. 4. So, he would make a quiet statement there that ‘I am going to go under tough situations, tough circumstances, and do the job,” Bangar said in the ‘Follow The Blues’ programme of JioStar.

“ And if he does that, he can rally others around him as well and demand a lot more of having walked the talk,” he said.

“If this group of players manages to win a Test series in England, I think that’s going to be a great start for his [Gill’s] leadership tenure. The calls that have been taken will be vindicated if the tour goes India’s way. I’m pretty hopeful that this will be a series wherein you win a couple of Test matches, and if the other side falters, you might just end up winning the series as well,” he explained.

“First of all, we have to make sure Bumrah doesn’t get overburdened. That is where the team management will have a massive impact by using the bowling line-up picked around him. We saw in the Australia series, there were so many all-rounders, and Bumrah was at times overused because the team wanted him to bowl at all times, and it affected his bowling speeds. In one of the Tests, he was down to 120-129. To help him play five Test matches, you need a stronger bowling unit operating alongside him. The more matches he plays, the higher the chances of India winning,” Bangar said of Jasprit Bumrah.

On Karun Nair’s comeback, Bangar said there was a vacancy in the batting order, and against England, India wanted six specialist batters.

“ So, in those six positions, he can certainly find a spot — he could bat at 4 if Shubman is at 3, or even at 6, a number down from Rishabh Pant. He has to be a starter. It’s not about giving younger players a chance first and then bringing in Karun. He will have the first go. If things don’t work well in the first two or three Tests, only then will the team management look beyond him,” Bangar said.

The former India star also felt that left-arm spinner Kuldeep Yadav would be the frontline spinner for the first three Tests in England.

“Ravindra Jadeja is usually preferred overseas for his control and ability to exploit rough patches, but England is unlikely to offer spin-friendly tracks early on. The series begins in June with matches at Headingly, Edgbaston, and Lord’s — all seam-friendly venues,” Bangar said. “With Nitish Reddy as a batting all-rounder and a pace trio of Bumrah, Siraj, and Akash Deep, India can afford to play just one spinner — and that should be Kuldeep,” he said.