India vs England: The No 4 conundrum

While the discussions and debates will continue at least until the intra-squad game which might give an indication, the bottomline will be about just one thing. Where does Gill wants to bat? He is perhaps one of the few youngsters who very early in his career asked for a specific spot and got it. Historically, most non-opening batters would start at No 6 and slowly move their way up. This applied for the likes of Kohli, Rohit Sharma, Ajinkya Rahane and Gill’s predecessor at No 3, Cheteshwar Pujara.

The veteran batter, who occupied the No 3 slot since Rahul Dravid retired in 2012 till the 2023 World Test Championship final, feels if Gill drops down to No 4, Easwaran or comeback man Karun Nair could be at No 3. “At this stage, we don’t know whether Shubman is going to carry on batting at No 3, or is he going to drop down to No 4. If Shubman bats at No 4, then there’s a vacancy at No 3, then someone like Abhimanyu or Karun Nair could be a good fit at that position,” Pujara said in an interaction organised by Sony Sports network, the official broadcaster of India tour of England.

In saying that, the 37-year-old felt Gill could carry on at No 3 while Karun might take up the No 4 spot. “I would still like to see if Shubman can carry on batting at No 3 and someone like Karun, who has batted really well in domestic cricket, gets an opportunity to bat at No 4, which will be a bit more suitable for him. Karun is someone who hasn’t batted at number three in domestic cricket. I’m not saying he can’t do it for the Test team, but the ideal position for Karun would be No 4,” said Pujara.