India take on England in a five-Test contest in the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy, beginning Friday at Headingley, and India’s red-ball skipper Shubman Gill officially confirmed his position in the batting lineup at the pre-match presser.
The 25-year-old takes over the No. 4 position, following the retirement of Virat Kohli, who occupied that slot for the majority of his Test career for India, and the right-hand batter opened up on conversations leading to the decision.
“The summer has been a little bit different to the other English summers. It’s been a little bit dry, so I was just waiting to see the wicket one last time to see the final combinations and deciding on that,” said Gill at the pre-match press conference.
“After Virat Bhai retired, me and GG Bhai [Gautam Gambhir] had a discussion about it. And we were both clear that he wanted me to bat at number four, and I was also clear that I also wanted to bat at that number.”
Gill will be debuting as India’s No. 4 in the contest at Leeds. In his 32 Tests so far, Gill has 16 outings as an opener and as many outings as India’s No. 3.
