Former India selector Devang Gandhi believes that KL Rahul and captain Shubman Gill appear more settled in the Test team now, largely due to the clarity in their batting positions. Gandhi highlighted that both players have benefitted from being assured of their roles, with Rahul now opening the innings, while Gill taking up the pivotal No. 4 spot previously held by Virat Kohli.
Gandhi noted that Rahul, in particular, has long struggled due to inconsistency in his batting position, having been shuffled between No. 3 and No. 6 over the years. However, with Rohit Sharma no longer in the red-ball setup, Rahul has secured the opening slot alongside Yashasvi Jaiswal. Both Gill and Rahul responded with centuries in the first Test against England, though their efforts came in a losing cause.
Gandhi recalled his tenure as a selector and mentioned that head coach Rahul Dravid used to slot Gill into the middle order during India A matches, where the 25-year-old produced one of his finest first-class performances.
“Both Rahul and Gill are assured of their batting numbers. During our days as selectors, Rahul Dravid played Gill in the middle-order on ‘A’ tours and he played one of his best first-class knocks in the middle-order. They probably feel more secure of their places now. They must be relishing being the leaders in the batting line-up now,” Gandhi said to Times of India.
India’s top five batters did the bulk of the scoring in the first Test at Leeds, with wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant leading the way by smashing centuries in both innings. Rahul, Gill, and Jaiswal also made valuable contributions, each registering a century. On the bowling front, Jasprit Bumrah impressed with a five-wicket haul in the first innings.
Despite several individual positives, India were unable to convert their dominance into a win, falling short and losing by five wickets. They will look to bounce back in the second Test, which is set to begin on July 2 at Edgbaston.
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