Gautam Gambhir wants Ajinkya Rahane to lead from the front with the bat in the second Test against Australia. Rahane will be leading team India in the remaining Tests in absence of Virat Kohli. Rahane in the last few years hasn’t been consistent with the bat and the pressure continues to mount on the seasoned batsman.
Rahane was dismissed for a duck in the second innings of the pink ball Test match at Adelaide when India could only make 36 runs. The 32-year-old was playing a fine hand in his first knock before he was involved in a run-out that saw Kohli returning to the pavilion on 74 runs. Once that transpired Rahane felt the pressure and failed to capitalize on his start.
Ajinkya Rahane should bat at 4- Gautam Gambhir
Now, Gautam Gambhir believes Rahane as the captain should make promotion in his batting order. The former cricketer holds that Rahane should be batting at number 4 instead of 5 from the MCG Test match. Also, Gambhir wants Shubman Gill to play in place of a low in confidence Prithvi Shaw.
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“I think he is low on confidence (Prithvi Shaw), that’s why I want to see Shubman Gill at the top with Mayank Agarwal. I want to see Cheteshwar Pujara on No: 3, and Ajinkya Rahane on No:4 and not at the 5th spot. If Rahane is the captain, he has to lead from the front – so, in place of Virat Kohli, Ajinkya Rahane should take the 4th spot”, Gambhir said.
Meanwhile, Gambhir further talked about the team combination and suggested that team India should play with 5 bowlers. Gambhir is in favour of playing both Ravindra Jadeja and R. Ashwin in the second Test. The former cricketer also added that KL Rahul should bat in the middle order with Rishabh Pant coming in at 6.
“KL Rahul should bat at No: 5, Rishabh Pant at 6, Ravindra Jadeja at 7, Ashwin at 8, and then 3 seamers – I want the team to get in with 5 bowlers”, Gambhir said on Star Sports show Cricket Connected.
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