India national cricket team assistant coach Abhishek Nayar has revealed the reason behind the team management's decision to leave young batsman Shubman Gill out of the playing XI for the fourth Test match of the five-match series against the Australia national cricket team.
Abhishek Nayar also confirmed Rohit Sharma's return to the opening round in the ongoing Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25 match at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, which begins on Thursday, December 26.
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Rohit will probably come and open for us – Abhishek Nayar
Speaking to the media after the end of the play on day one, Abhishek Nayyar confirmed that Rohit will open the batting again.
“Rohit will probably come in and open for us,” said the Indian national cricket team assistant coach.
“Rohit will probably come and open for us,” Abhishek Nayar said (Press/Sports Express) pic.twitter.com/ow7itpvIrt
—Jones. (@CricCrazyJohns) December 26, 2024
Notably, Rohit Sharma was replaced as opener by KL Rahul and started batting in the middle order. The decision to replace Rohit as an opener was taken after the duo of KL Rahul and Yashasvi Jaiswal did a brilliant job while opening the innings in the Perth Test in Rohit Sharma's absence.
When Rohit Sharma returned to the team after missing the first Test, he decided to give his top-order position to KL Rahul and took the sixth spot himself. The India skipper himself also confirmed during the toss that he will bat at the top order.
He wasn't really dropped, just couldn't find his way in the group – Abhishek Nayyar
India made a shock change from their playing XI in the Melbourne Test as they dropped Shubman Gill, who, despite not scoring big, has looked impressive while taking on the Australian bowlers in previous Tests. Gill was replaced by Washington Sundar in the starting lineup for the match.
Speaking about the move, Indian national cricket team assistant coach Abhishek Nayar said that they have not actually “dropped” Shubman Gill and he has just been missed due to a change in the playing XI. He said:
“Looking at the pitch, we felt Washi could offer solidarity with Jado – I feel for Shubman but he understands – he wasn't really dropped, he just couldn't find his way in the group.”
“Looking at the pitch, we felt Washi could offer solidarity to Jadu – I feel for Shubman but he understands – he wasn't really dropped, he just couldn't find his way in the group,” Abhishek Nayar said. (Reef Sports) pic.twitter.com/UiYXdsdJGR
—Jones. (@CricCrazyJohns) December 26, 2024
How did Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill perform in BGT 2024-25?
The Indian skipper has struggled in the ongoing series against the Pat Cummins-led side and has looked miserable in the middle overs.
In three innings that Rohit Sharma played across the Adelaide and Brisbane Tests, he scored just 19 runs at an atrocious average of 6.33. He has scored fewer runs than spearhead Jasprit Bumrah (20) so far in the series.
Talking about Shubman Gill, he has had some great starts but has not been able to convert them into big scores. Gill missed the first Test with a thumb injury and returned to the side for the Adelaide Test where he recorded scores of 31 and 28.
After that, he failed badly in the Brisbane Test, scoring just one run in the only innings he batted. Overall, he scored just 60 points with a 20-point average.