Border-Gavaskar Trophy: Gill likely to bat in middle order if Shreyas misses 1st Test

The Indian team management is reportedly considering playing Shubman Gill in the middle order if Shreyas Iyer is ruled out of the first Test against Australia. The first Test between the two teams is scheduled to begin on February 9 in Nagpur, but Iyer is unlikely to play any role in the match against the Aussies. The 28-year-old had to sit out the ODI series against New Zealand last month due to a back injury and was asked to report to the National Cricket Academy in Bengaluru to speed up the recovery process.

If he doesn't play a part in the match, Iyer will be a big miss for India as he has been in good form and was the team's second-highest run-getter in Tests last year. Iyer scored 422 runs at an average of 60.28 from just eight innings. With the 28-year-old's chances of not making the squad increasing, the Indian team management is considering Gill to play ahead of Suryakumar Yadav in Iyer's absence.

The 23-year-old has mostly batted for India in Tests. A BCCI source said Gill was initially considered for a middle-order role. "When New Zealand came to India in late 2021, Shubman Gill was considered for the middle order because KL Rahul was supposed to open with Mayank Agarwal. Then Rahul got injured and Gill opened. Then he got injured again. He was considered for the middle order in red ball,” a BCCI source said.

A former national selector also said that Gill was meant to be a middle-order batter who was later converted into an opener. "When Rahul Dravid took over for India A, Gill played in the middle order on the West Indies A tour, where he had a double hundred in one of the Tests. To be fair, he was originally a middle-order batsman who was converted into an opener." said the former national selector.