Former Indian all-rounder Sanjay Bangar showered praise on Shubman Gill for filling in the big shoes of Virat Kohli while batting at number four. After Gill was named as Test captain for the England tour, it was decided that the right-hander will go down to number four position after batting at one drop.
Gill was able to embrace the new batting position with open arms, as he amassed 754 runs in five Test matches at a staggering average of 75.40 against England. The flamboyant batter led from the front and delivered consistent performances throughout the Anderson-Tendulkar series.
Meanwhile, Virat Kohli had announced his Test retirement during IPL 2025 after not getting big runs in the last five years.
Sanjay Bangar said on ESPN Cricinfo, “Who were they replacing? If you look at the No. 4 spot, Shubman Gill has done as good as a Virat Kohli could have done. And who has taken Rohit Sharma’s place? It is Yashasvi Jaiswal and he has also had an equally good series to show for. Because Gill and Jaiswal got the runs, the Indian team never missed the services of Rohit and Virat.”
Bangar feels India might continue with their strategy of backing batting depth until they find a quality seam bowling all-rounder.
“The Indian management has prioritised that over the last three to four seasons. But, you want to have a fast-bowling all-rounder and if India does get that, then the combination will settle itself. Till the time India gets a proper fast-bowling all-rounder, you’ll always have these question marks,” he said.
On the other hand, the former Indian batting coach praised KL Rahul for his consistent performances against England. The Indian opener aggregated 532 runs in five Test matches at an average of 53.2
“He certainly looked the part and added to whatever he has done as a batsman by consuming a lot of balls and being very consistent throughout, the kind of slip catching we could see from him and being an able ally to Shubman Gill at times. You could also see a side of KL Rahul which wasn’t seen earlier, where he was having a lot of chats with the opponents and the umpires at times,” said Bangar.
Indian batters were able to stand tall against England and delivered consistent performances.
