A former opener of the Indian cricket team calls it unusual as Shubman Gill requests Rahul Dravid and Rohit Sharma to bat at No. 3
Before the first test match against the West Indies, captain Rohit Sharma revealed that Yashasvi Jaiswal will open with him and will be making his debut for the team, whereas Shubhman Gill is going to bat at No. 3. The captain had suggested that Gill had expressed his wish to play one down. Former opener Aakash Chopra, however, believes it is unusual for a player to request a change in the batting order in Indian cricket.
Chopra said in a video uploaded on his official YouTube channel that "Shubman Gill told team management that he wanted to play at No. 3. It's a very interesting thing because you don't usually hear such things happening in Indian cricket. You don't see a player telling team management that he likes to bat in a particular position. Neither does anyone make that request, nor is anyone given that luxury. But the good thing is that Yashasvi Jaiswal can now open."
He further added that, "But in Test cricket, if there's one difficult job, it's that of an opener. Especially away from home. No. 3 is still a challenging spot, but No. 4 is the most settled spot, and you usually keep your best batter in that spot. You don't want him to bat with the tail. Shubman at No. 3, I'm not surprised. I tweeted in 2020 that he would play long for India, but in a few years, you would see him batting in the middle. Now, he has himself expressed that wish."