Rishabh Pant reveals Shubman Gill and his batting orders for India vs England Test series, says 'Gill will go in at no.4'

Team India's batting lineup for the action-packed five-match Test series against England has been revealed, with newly-appointed captain Shubman Gill slated to bat at the crucial number four position. India's vice captain Rishabh Pant turned up for the pre-match press conference in Leeds and confirmed his and his captain Shubman Gill's batting orders. Pant clearly stated that Gill will bat at no.4 while he will come to bat at no.5.

However, the selection for the number three batsman remains under deliberation. The team has three potential candidates for this role: Abhimanyu Easwaran, Karun Nair, and Sai Sudharsan. Easwaran has been part of the Test squad before, notably traveling to Australia, but didn't get a chance to play. Karun Nair recently showcased his form with an impressive double century against England Lions earlier in June. Sai Sudharsan, while talented, possesses relatively less experience at this level. The team management is expected to make their final decision on who will bat at number three after assessing the pitch conditions closer to the match day.

“There is still discussion going on who will bat at No 3. Shubham will go in at No 4 and I will bat at 5,” said Pant, in the pre-match press conference on June 18.

Meanwhile, while speaking about his bonding with Gill, Pant stated:

"I think me and Shubman have a really good camaraderie off the field. If you're good friends off the field, it eventually comes on the field as well. That is something I've always believed. Me and him, we gel really well together. We keep on having conversations and the kind of comfort zone we have with each other, I think that is really going to be special for us."

England have already announced their pace-heavy playing XI for the series opener at Leeds. On the other hand Harshit Rana has been added to India's Test squad for England tour.

England's Playing XI:

⁠Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, ⁠Ollie Pope, Joe Root, ⁠Harry Brook, ⁠Ben Stokes (C), ⁠Jamie Smith (WK), ⁠Chris Woakes, Brydon Carse, ⁠Josh Tongue, ⁠Shoaib Bashir

India's squad for England tour:

Shubman Gill (c), Rishabh Pant (wk), Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Sai Sudharsan, Abhimanyu Easwaran, Karun Nair, Nitish Reddy, Ravindra Jadeja, Dhruv Jurel (wk), Washington Sundar, Shardul Thakur, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammad Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, Akash Deep, Arshdeep Singh, Kuldeep Yadav, Harshit Rana.