Pant Clears Air On "Who Is Going To Play At No. 3" vs England In 1st Test
India skipper Shubman Gill will at no. 4 in the five-match Test series against England, vice-captain Rishabh Pant revealed on Wednesday. Pant also confirmed that he will bat at no. 5 while speaking at a pre-match press conference, ahead of the 1st Test starting Friday in Leeds. Following the retirements of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli, a lot has been said and written about how India could line-up when the first match kicks off at Headingley.
Pant, however, did not reveal who will be the second opener alongside Yashasvi Jaiswal. Gill moving down to no. 4 also means that there is a spot up for grabs at no. 3. While KL Rahul's spot is more or less confirmed, it is not clear whether he will open the innings or not. Between Sai Sudharsan and Karun Nair, only one is likely to get selected.
During the press conference on Wednesday, Pant revealed that the management is yet to take a call on who would bat at no. 3.
"I think there is still discussion going on about who is going to play 3. But 4, 5 are definitely fixed. I think Shubman is going to bat at 4 and I am going to stick to No. 5 as of now, and rest we are going to keep on discussing that," said Pant.
Meanwhile, Chris Woakes returned to the England line-up while Ollie Pope was preferred over Jacob Bethell as the hosts on Wednesday named their playing XI for the opening Test against India.
Woakes, who missed the previous two Tests due to an ankle injury, replaces Sam Cook, while Brydon Carse comes in for Gus Atkinson, who is sidelined with a hamstring issue.
Woakes' inclusion at number eight adds valuable all-round strength, allowing England to field Jamie Smith as a specialist wicketkeeper-batter at No. 7 while maintaining a deep batting line-up.
The hosts also named vice-captain Ollie Pope at number three, opting for experience over youth as 21-year-old Bethell was sidelined.
England XI for first Test: Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Ben Stokes (c), Jamie Smith (wk), Chris Woakes, Brydon Carse, Josh Tongue and Shoaib Bashir.
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