Rishabh Pant confirma que vai bater no número 5 e Shubman Gill às 4, no. 3 Indeciso para o 1º teste da Inglaterra

India cricket team vice-captain Rishabh Pant has confirmed his batting position for the upcoming Test series against England. The five-match Test series, which will commence from June 20 onwards, will mark the start of the new World Test Championship cycle for Gill and co. Ahead of the contest, Pant has offered an insight into what the batting line-up will look like.

Gill to bat at number 4, Pant at 5

In a pre-match press conference on Wednesday, Pant revealed that captain Shubman Gill will be batting at number 4. This means the Punjab batter will fill in the shoes of Virat Kohli who used to bat at that position earlier. The southpaw confirmed that he will be batting at number 5. As for number 3, Pant said that the discussion on who will bat at that spot is still ongoing and is undecided as of now.

“I think there is still discussion going on, who’s going to play at 3, but definitely 4 & 5 are fixed. I think Gill is going to bat at number 4 and I’m going to stick to number 5 as of now. And the rest, we’re going to keep on discussing about that,” Pant said.

Nair vs Sai Sudharsan for number 3?

India have the option of choosing between Sai Sudharsan and Karun Nair for the number three role. Previously, Gill used to essay the role of the number 3 batter, coming ahead of Virat Kohli. Both Nair and Sudharsan have been in red-hot form off late and have strong chances of making it to the playing XI.

Karun returns to the Test side after a span of 7 years. He finished as the highest run-getter in the Vijay Hazare Trophy followed by a commendable Ranji Trophy season in which he amassed 690 runs.

Sudharsan, on the other hand, has also been in the form of his life, finishing IPL 2025 as the highest run-getter. Apart from the IPL, he has also showed stellar consistency with the bat in domestic tournaments.

Meanwhile, a RevSportz video of India’s practice session on Wednesday hinted at Nair being preferred over Sudharsan in the playing XI as the former took part in slip cordon practice along with Rahul, Jaiswal, Gill and Pant while the TN batter was absent.