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NEW DELHI: India’s vice-captain and wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant has confirmed a key change in the team’s batting order ahead of the first Test against England at Headingley, Leeds, starting Friday, June 20. Speaking to the media on Wednesday, Pant disclosed that skipper Shubman Gill will bat at No.4 in the series opener, taking over the crucial position vacated by Virat Kohli following his retirement from Test cricket.Go Beyond The Boundary with our YouTube channel. SUBSCRIBE NOW!This marks a significant shift in India’s top-order structure, following the twin retirements of Rohit Sharma and Kohli in May. “Shubman will be batting at No.4, and I will continue at No.5,” Pant said. “The No.3 spot is still open and will be decided soon.”
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Gill, who began his Test career as an opener, has gradually moved down the order, first to No.3 to accommodate Yashasvi Jaiswal, and now further to No.4 in a bid to provide solidity in the middle order.
The announcement underscores India’s efforts to rebuild its red-ball batting core following the departure of two stalwarts. The team hasn’t won a Test series in England since 2007, despite boasting some of its finest cricketers over the past decade, including Kohli, Rohit, Bumrah, Ashwin, and Pant himself.India’s closest chance came on the 2021 tour, when they led 2-1 before the final Test was postponed due to COVID-19 and eventually lost in 2022.The five-match series, now being played for the rebranded Tendulkar-Anderson Trophy, kicks off a fresh chapter in India-England Test rivalry, with both teams undergoing transitions.
