Rishabh Pant Reveals India’s No. 3 Batter for 1st Test vs England
By : Sandhya
India vice-captain Rishabh Pant revealed a major reshuffle in the batting order ahead of the first Test against England, starting Friday at Headingley, Leeds. Pant confirmed that skipper Shubman Gill will now bat at No. 4, while he himself will take the No. 5 slot in the absence of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli, who recently retired from Test cricket.
With Gill’s shift to the middle order, the No. 3 position is now up for grabs. While KL Rahul is almost a certain pick, the team has yet to decide whether he will open or play at No. 3. This leaves a potential opportunity for either Sai Sudharsan or Karun Nair, with only one expected to make the playing XI.
Pant, during the pre-match press conference, said:
“I think there is still discussion going on about who is going to play 3. But 4, 5 are definitely fixed. I think Shubman is going to bat at 4 and I am going to stick to No. 5 as of now. The rest we are still discussing.”
On the other side, England announced their XI for the first Test. Chris Woakes returns to the line-up after recovering from an ankle injury and replaces Sam Cook. Brydon Carse comes in for Gus Atkinson, who is out due to a hamstring problem. Woakes' presence at No. 8 adds depth to England’s batting, allowing Jamie Smith to focus on wicketkeeping at No. 7.
In a notable selection, Ollie Pope was preferred at No. 3 over youngster Jacob Bethell, with England opting for experience in the top order.
England Playing XI for 1st Test:
Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Ben Stokes (c), Jamie Smith (wk), Chris Woakes, Brydon Carse, Josh Tongue, Shoaib Bashir.