"He should have continued to open" - Shubman Gill's father expresses discontent with son's move to No.3 in Tests

Shubman Gill's father, Lakhwinder Gill, recently expressed displeasure at his son moving to No.3 in Tests since mid-last year.

After playing predominantly as an opener in all three formats since his debut in 2019, Gill openly shifted to No.3 in Tests to enable the opening combination of Rohit Sharma and Yashasvi Jaiswal. Gill initially struggled to adjust to the new role and went 10 consecutive innings without a half-century.

Speaking to PTI, Shubman Gill's father feels No.3 is a double-edged sword as it is neither an opening nor a middle-order position.

"He should have continued to open. It is not right at all I feel. When you sit in the dressing room for longer, the pressure tends to increase. Number 3 is not opening nor it is a middle-order spot," said Lakhwinder.

However, Shubman Gill has enjoyed a stunning turnaround since the second Test of the current series against England. The right-hander has scored two centuries and as many half-centuries in his last six innings.

Lahkwinder attributed the change in fortunes to his son returning to playing his natural game.

"Stepping out has made a big difference. The moment you don't play your natural game, you are in trouble. Since his U-16 days, he has been stepping out to the spinners and pacers," emphasized Lakhwinder.

"I don't interfere in his decisions. I just train with him. He is old enough to make his own decisions. I made decisions on his behalf only when he was a teenager," he added.

Shubman Gill smashed his fourth Test century in the ongoing Dharamsala encounter to help India take control in their first innings. After restricting England to a paltry 218, the hosts are currently well-placed at 461/8 at the latter stages on Day 2.

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"It is good that the BCCI has taken this step" - Lakhwinder Gill

Lakhwinder Gill further applauded the BCCI for mandating participation in the Ranji Trophy for players not on national duty. The board's directive became a massive talking point when Ishan Kishan and Shreyas Iyer recently got excluded from BCCI annual contracts due to them skipping their respective sides' Ranji games.

"The calendar is so busy that he hardly trains for red ball, it is white ball mainly. That is why it gets tougher against spinners with the red ball. It is good that the BCCI has taken this step," said Lakhwinder.

The 2023-24 Ranji Trophy has reached its climax, with Mumbai set to take on Vidarbha in the grand finale in Mumbai, starting on March 10.