Ricky Ponting explains why Shubman Gill should bat at No.4 for India in the Test series against England

In a candid evaluation of Shubhman Gill's preparedness for the demands of Test captaincy, Australian great Ricky Ponting has advised the youthful Indian captain to think about batting at No. 4 in the forthcoming five-Test series in England that begins on June 20. 

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The young batsman would be better off dropping to No. 4 in the batting order during the taxing five-Test series in England. According to former Australia captain Ricky Ponting, who feels that Shubman Gill's elevation to India's Test captaincy comes with extra hurdles.

“He has been magnificent in white-ball cricket. However, he will have to work on his batting in Test cricket. It is not going to be easy, considering he is a captain. It won’t be easy for him as he is now the side skipper,” Ponting told PTI.

Gill began his Test career as an opening batsman before moving to number three because of his lacklustre statistics. In 59 games, he has scored 1,019 of the 1,893 total runs, the most he has ever scored from the No. 3 spot. 

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Throughout his international career in all formats, Gill has never batted at a position lower than one down. He will probably take Virat Kohli's place, though, as the latter recently declared his retirement from Test cricket. According to Ponting, India made the right decision in awarding Shubman Gill the captain's armband.

Ponting addressed Gill's heavily criticised defensive style, which has cost the young player numerous times in his brief career, in an interview with PTI. He believes Gill needs to improve on the mental aspect of batting in Test matches, cautioning against distractions, even though he sees no technical fault in his strategy.

Since Kohli left Test cricket last month, the most important question has been who will start at No. 4 in the lineup in lieu of the former India captain. At least for the initial part of his leadership term, which starts on June 20 in Leeds with the five-match Test series against the Ben Stokes-led team, Ponting supported Gill for the position.

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