3 reasons why Shubman Gill should not bat at No. 4 in India's ODI team

Shubman Gill is one of the best batters in India right now. The rising star has made a name for himself with his brilliant performances in all three formats of cricket. While Gill cemented his place as an opener in the Indian ODI team, Ishan Kishan's top form as an opener in recent ODIs has given some headache to the Indian team management.

Kishan smashed a double hundred against Bangladesh last December, while in the recently concluded ODI series against West Indies, he recorded three half-centuries in three innings.

Captain Rohit Sharma owns one of the two positions in the Indian ODI batting lineup as the opener. The team management will have to decide who will be his partner, with Ishan Kishan and Shubman Gill being the two candidates.

Kishan has a slight edge over Gill because he is a left-handed batter. There are not too many left-handed batting options in India's top-order, which might tempt the team management to give Kishan the other opening slot.

In that case, some fans have opined that Shubman Gill should be tried out at the number four position. India have tried many players at that position, but none of them has been able to hold it for a long period. Shreyas Iyer seemed to have sealed the number four position, but injury issues have not allowed him to play regularly this year.

While Shubman Gill has proven himself as a match-winner in ODI cricket, here are three reasons why he should not bat at number four for India.

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#1 Shubman Gill has never batted at number 4 before in his ODI career

Looking at Gill's ODI career so far, the right-handed batter has played 27 innings - 23 as an opener and four in the number three position. He has scored 1,258 runs at an average of 66.21 as an opener, while at number three, he has amassed 179 runs at a strike rate of 109.82.

Gill has never batted at number four before in ODIs. He does not bat at that position for his IPL franchise or domestic team. Hence, putting an in-form player like him in a new position may not be the best decision.

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#2 Big tournaments are approaching fast

The Asia Cup will begin later this month, while the ICC ODI World Cup 2023 will take place in October and November. With the big tournaments approaching fast, the time for experimenting has ended now.

If the Indian team management allots the number four spot to Gill now, he may come under tremendous pressure at the grand stage. It would be better if the backroom staff instead keeps him as a reserve opener in the squad.

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#3 It will unsettle India's combination if one of the two openers is unavailable

Injuries are part and parcel of cricket. It is not uncommon to see someone pick up an injury during a big event. In case Rohit Sharma or Ishan Kishan misses out on an important game, India will have the option to pick Shubman Gill in their place straightaway.

If India push Gill to number four now, there will be a lot of confusion regarding the team's batting lineup in case Kishan or Sharma misses any games.