During the start of the fixture of the 2023–25 World Test Championship cycle on July 12, at Windsor Park Sports Stadium in Dominica, Team India restricted the West Indies to a mere 150 runs. The duo of star pacers Shardul Thakur and Mohd Siraj each grabbed one wicket, whereas great spinners Ashwin collected five and Jadeja picked up three wickets. In reply to that, while chasing, India’s openers Yashasvi Jaiswal (40) and Rohit Sharma (30) carried the momentum flowing and stayed engaged on the field.
The squad changed during the opening game of the series, with Yashasvi Jaiswal and Ishan Kishan both earning their red-ball caps. The youthful southpaw opened the game with the captain, Rohit Sharma, while subsequently, Shubman Gill proceeded to the third position. Furthermore, the 23-year-old batter expressed his wish to bat at No. 3 before the game, where Cheteshwar Pujara or Virat Kohli used to hold this spot.
In the same vein, former India opener Aakash Chopra compared Punjab-born cricketer Shubman Gill to India’s iconic star batter Virat Kohli. Former India cricketer turned analyst Chopra assessed that the stylish right-handed batter Shubman Gill is going to fill the place of renowned Indian cricketer Virat Kohli upon his retirement. “Shubman Gill will take Virat Kohli’s place in the India side once Virat retires,” Chopra said, as being quoted by Sports Tiger.
Gill expressed to Indian head coach Rahul Dravid that he wanted to bat at No. 3
Notably, Yashasvi Jaiswal opened the batting with Rohit Sharma during the first Test against the West Indies, as the 23-year-old Gill expressed to Indian head coach Rahul Dravid that he wanted to bat at No. 3 during a pre-match conference. Following the West Indies being wiped out for 150 on Day 1, Indian star openers Rohit and Jaiswal built up an uninterrupted 123-run opening-wicket stand on Day 2 after the West Indies skipper elected to bat first over visitors.
Notably, during the recently concluded IPL season, Shubman Gill was just the second Indian batsman to rack up more than 700 runs in a single IPL season. He was on the elite list alongside Virat Kohli. The former RCB skipper created a record for the most runs scored in a season with 973 runs in the IPL 2016, including four centuries. Following accumulating 890 runs in 17 games throughout the season, Gill was awarded the IPL 2023 Orange Cap.
