Former India opener Aakash Chopra has expressed his surprise over Shubman Gill’s wish of batting at number three in Tests getting accepted by the team management.

India skipper Rohit Sharma recently raised a number of eyebrows by revealing that Gill has been given the number three spot in the batting order after he requested the same. With Cheteshwar Pujara being dropped from the Test team for the ongoing series against West Indies, India needed a new player for the number three spot.

Dream11 Prediction | Fantasy Cricket Tips | Cricket Match Prediction Today | Cricket News | Cricket Live Score | Asia Cup 2023 | ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 | IND vs AFG 2023 | IND vs WI 2023 

While many expected Yashasvi Jaiswal to bat at that spot and Shubman Gill to continue opening with Rohit Sharma, the team management sprung a surprise. In the ongoing first Test against West Indies in Dominica, Jaiswal came out to open with Rohit while Gill will be batting at number three.

Also Read: IND vs WI: “Indian Cricket Desperately Needed A Left-Hander”- Rohit Sharma On Yashasvi Jaiswal’s Selection For West Indies Test Series

Just like the fans, Aakash Chopra was also surprised by the move as well as Rohit’s revelation that it was Gill who requested the team management to demote him to number three.

“Shubman Gill told team management that he wanted to play at no.3. It’s a very interesting thing, because you don’t usually hear such things happening in Indian cricket. You don’t see a player telling team management that he likes to bat in a particular position.

“Neither does anyone make that request, nor anyone is given that luxury. But the good thing is Yashasvi Jaiswal can now open,” Chopra said on his official YouTube channel.

IND vs AUS 2023 | India National Cricket Team | IND vs AFG 2023 | IND vs WI 2023 | Asia Cup 2023 | ICC World Cup 2023 

Aakash Chopra not surprised by Shubman Gill’s decision:

Speaking further, Aakash Chopra stated that he is not surprised by Shubman Gill’s decision of batting at number three instead of opening the innings. The former cricketer-turned-commentator said that an opener’s job is the “most difficult” in the batting order before saying that he had expected Shubman Gill to bat lower in the batting order at some point in his career.

“But in Test cricket, if there’s one difficult job, it’s that of an opener. Especially away from home. No.3 is still a challenging spot, but no.4 is the most settled spot and you usually keep your best batter in that spot. You don’t want him to bat with the tail.

“Shubman at no.3, I’m not surprised. I tweeted in 2020 that he would play long for India but in few years time, you would see him batting in the middle. Now, he has himself expressed that wish,” he said.

Virat Kohli | Rohit Sharma | Rishabh Pant | KL Rahul | Suryakumar Yadav | Sanju Samson | Shreyas Iyer | Yuzvendra Chahal | Jasprit Bumrah