Should Shubman Gill be dropped from India's Test team?

India’s batting has been exposed, not for the first time, in the ongoing Test series against Australia. The likes of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli are under the scanner for registering low scores but even Shubman Gill isn’t amongst the runs at number three. The way he got out in the first innings of the Gabba Test has raised a lot of eyebrows

The need of the hour after losing Yashasvi Jaiswal early was to play cautiously with the conditions assisting pace bowlers. But Gill wafted at a harmless delivery outside the off-stump only for Mitchell Marsh to take a good catch at gully. Gill wasted starts in the Adelaide Test as well, mustering 31 and 28 runs in two innings.

Gill’s form, in Tests, has certainly been a problem for Team India as he tends to succumb under pressure, especially in the first innings. Two of his last three centuries have come in the second innings when there was no pressure and India were in a comfortable position.

Gill’s travails outside Asia

Gill might be averaging close to 40 while batting at number three as opposed to 32 while opening the innings. But seldom has he done well when the team was under extreme pressure. Moreover, in the 10 innings he played outside Asia at the position, the right-hander has mustered only 179 runs at a poor average of 19.88 with no fifty to his name.

In fact, throughout his career, Shubman Gill has struggled outside Asia a lot. He did well in Australia on the 2020-21 tour but due to current form on this tour, the numbers are going down quickly. Gill has scored only 526 runs in 22 innings in his Test career at an average of 26.3 in Australia, England, South Africa and West Indies combined.

The man has been able to cross the 50-run mark only twice, both in Australia. This means, he hasn’t scored a single half-century in 13 innings played in England, South Africa and the Caribbean shores combined. 

What has happened to Gill since dropping down to No.3?

It was Shubman Gill himself who advocated to bat at number three after India decided to move on from Cheteshwar Pujara in the longest format. Since then, he has batted at the position in 27 innings, notching up only three fifties and as many centuries. Like mentioned above, the issues with the hundreds are they have come when there was no pressure on him.

On challenging pitches in India, he looks clueless planting his frontfoot forward and getting out lbw to spinners. Batting at three is not as easy as Pujara or Dravid made it look and Gill is finding it extremely difficult. Now what if he wants to move up to open the innings again?

Is it possible? Well, Yashasvi Jaiswal has cemented his place while Rohit Sharma is a regular opener of the team. KL Rahul has done well so far in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy as an opener and suddenly, there is no room for Gill at the top. In fact, in the remaining opportunities Down Under, the man will have to prove his worth yet again, just like he did three years ago in the same country.

A few can argue that Shubman Gill needs to be given more time at number three. But his numbers are not exuding confidence, either. In his last 10 Test innings, Gill has mustered 368 runs only at an average of 36.8 with only a solitary fifty and hundred each to his name. These are poor numbers from a player as talented as Gill, who made it to international cricket with a massive reputation.

Who can replace Gill if he is dropped?

We already know that there is no place at the top for Shubman Gill to shift his position yet again. If his performance doesn’t improve in the rest of the ongoing series against Australia, we might see him getting dropped from the team. But are the players ready to replace him in the playing XI? In this case, Abhimanyu Easwaran looks ready having amassed a lot of runs at the domestic level and deserves a chance.

Moreover, players like Sarfaraz Khan and Dhruv Jurel have done well in limited chances in the format so far. With so many players shuffling around, it would be about grabbing their chances for the players in the near future. Dropping Gill is still a far fetched thought but if India fail to make it to the WTC final, there could be repercussions and the likes of Sararaz and Jurel are certainly waiting to grab an opportunity anywhere in the line-up.