Shubman Gill is like VVS Laxman, should bat in the middle-order: Gagan Khoda

India’s loss to New Zealand in the final of the World Test Championship has raised a lot of questions over the team management and the players. Former selector Gagan Khoda also expressed his disappointment over India’s defeat as he believed that the team made a blunder while picking the playing XI. 

The opening combination of Team India in the WTC Final featured Shubman Gill and Rohit Sharma. While Rohit was a confirmed opener, there were doubts regarding who should be picked between Mayank Agarwal and Shubman Gill. Mayank performed exceptionally well in the entire WTC, but, the opening batsman failed to do perform substantially during the Test series against Australia.

The poor performance against the Aussies resulted in Mayank getting dropped from the team. Gill, on the other hand, impressed with his batting during the Australia tour. However, the youngster disappointed in the home Test series against England. Despite Gill’s lean patch, India decided to maintain the continuity and give him another chance. 

However, Gill failed to capitalise on the opportunity provided to him as he returned with scores of 28 and eight in the WTC Final. Referring to Gill’s lacklustre show, Khoda said that the youngster is a middle-order batsman like VVS Laxman and thus shouldn’t be forced to bat up the order. 

Someone like Shardul Thakur could have done the trick: Gagan Khoda

“It was not meant to be like this. Shubman Gill isn’t an opener. He is like VVS Laxman, he should bat in the middle-order. India should have picked Mayank Agarwal, who had only two bad Test matches. Even Prithvi Shaw was shown the door after just one failure in Australia,” Khoda was quoted as saying by Sportskeeda. 

Further in the interaction, Khoda questioned the selection of the all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja in the playing XI. Despite the pitch in Southampton favoring the pacers, India went with the combination of two spinners and three seamers. While Ravi Ashwin justified his position in the team by scalping four crucial wickets across two innings, Jadeja failed. 

Khoda reckoned that instead of Jadeja, India should have picked a pure batsman or a bowler like Shardul Thakur who has the ability to contribute with the bat too. “India could have taken an extra batsman or a fast bowler who can bat. Someone like Shardul Thakur could have done the trick,” Khoda added.