Sanjay Manjrekar believes India may have to bat Shubman Gill at No. 3 in the forthcoming T20I series against South Africa if they wish to stick with their opening duo of Ruturaj Gaikwad and Yashasvi Jaiswal.
Three Twenty20 Internationals will pit the Men in Blue against the Proteas, with the opening match scheduled for Sunday, December 10, at Durban. In India’s 17-man T20I team, Gill, Gaikwad, and Jaiswal are the three specialist openers; Ishan Kishan is an extra option.
Sanjay Manjrekar was asked to identify India’s prospective batting order during a debate on the Star Sports show ‘Game Plan,’ to which he responded:
“Will India think of disturbing this opening combination of Ruturaj Gaikwad and Yashasvi Jaiswal? However, Shubman Gill has that track record. My compromise would be Jaiswal and Ruturaj Gaikwad to continue and Shubman Gill at No. 3.”
Sanjay Manjrekar
While selecting four additional batsmen, the former India batsman struggled to find room in the top seven for a wicketkeeper. He stated:
“I will bat at Suryakumar Yadav at No. 4. Then you have got Tilak Varma, Rinku Singh and Shreyas Iyer – that’s your batting order. There is tremendous depth. How do I fit in Ishan Kishan? I am struggling.”
Sanjay Manjrekar
The Indian selection committee will face a conundrum when it comes to selecting their playing XI for the T20Is against South Africa. Their troubles may be exacerbated if and when veterans like Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli, as well as the injured Hardik Pandya, return to the shortest format.
“You can have Shubman Gill at No. 3” – Irfan Pathan
When asked to help with the anticipated batting order, Irfan Pathan agreed with Sanjay Manjrekar that Shubman Gill may bat at No. 3. He reasoned as follows:
“If you have three options as youngsters who can open the innings, that will be fantastic going forward, especially in South Africa. If you lose an early wicket, you need to make sure that the guy coming in has good experience of playing against the new ball. So you can have Shubman Gill at No. 3.”
Irfan Pathan
Shreyas Iyer, Suryakumar Yadav, Rinku Singh, and Jitesh Sharma make out the top seven, according to the former India all-rounder. He went on to say:
“At No. 4, I will have Shreyas Iyer. Then obviously Suryakumar Yadav will come at No. 5 and then Rinku Singh. Unfortunately, Tilak Varma will have to miss out. Ishan Kishan also misses out because if he is batting down the order, I will have Jitesh Sharma as the wicketkeeper.”
Irfan Pathan
Pathan, however, admitted that such a decision would leave India with only four frontline bowling options. He stated that if the visitors play three seamers and two spinners, Rinku Singh or one of the top three would have to make way.
