IND vs AUS: Sunil Gavaskar, Allan Border Back Shubman Gill to Open in 1st Test Ahead of Prithvi Shaw

Cricket legends Sunil Gavaskar and Allan Border feel that batsman Shubman Gill is a better option to open the batting for Team India instead of Prithvi Shaw in the first Test against Australia in Adelaide starting December 17.

Gill is in brilliant form, he even smashed 43 and 65 in the second tour match against Australia A. After witnessing his performance in the warm-up match against Australia A, Gavaskar backed Shubman Gill to open the batting for team India in the series opener instead of Prithvi Shaw.

“I think Shubman Gill should open with Mayank for the first Test match because he’s shown good form. Allan Border was there for the games (practice games), (and) was very impressed with what he saw from Shubman Gill. So I would imagine that he should open with Mayank Agarwal for the first Test,” Gavaskar said.

I’m Impressed With Shubman Gill: Allan Border

Allan Border, meanwhile pointed that Gill’s technique seemed to be better-suited for Australian pitches than Prithvi Shaw, who didn’t perform well in the practice matches with scores of 0, 19, 40 and 3 in four innings.

“I’ve been in Sydney the last couple of days, watching the Indian team against Australia A. Gee, I was impressed with Gill. “I really think he’s got something about him, his technique. I know he’s young so he can play a few rash shots here and there, but he looks a seriously good player, this kid. He would be my pick out of the guys I saw.

“I know you guys [rate] Shaw but it seems to me like he plays a shot-a-ball. Against the new ball, it looks good on flat tracks, but in Australia, you’ve got to be a little bit more watchful about your shot selection. He just seems a bit lose outside the off stump for me. If I’m the Indian selector, I’m looking very closely at young Gill,” said Border.

It is Going to be Tough For The Selection Committee: Sunil Gavaskar

At the same time, Gavaskar also backed Rishabh Pant to play the first Test ahead of Wriddhiman Saha as Australian pitches are not so demanding when it comes to keeping wickets.

“It’s going to be a tough one for the selection committee because Rishabh played in all the four-Test matches during India’s [last] tour and he also got a hundred. And he seemed to have got under the skin of some of the Australian players with his chirping behind the stumps.

“When you’re playing on pitches where the wicketkeeper has to stand up to the stumps, where the ball turns around a bit, that’s when you tend to take your best wicketkeeper – in which case, Wriddhiman Saha would be the obvious choice,” Gavaskar said.