The Indian team dominated with the bat throughout the five-match Test series against England even without the services of both Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma. The likes of Shubman Gill, Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Rishabh Pant, Ravindra Jadeja and Washington Sundar gave multiple fantastic batting performances as the home side's bowlers struggled to get wickets.
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Gill was the best out of them all, finishing the series with a total of 754 runs under his belt in 10 innings. The 25-year-old, who was made the side's captain before the commencement of the assignment, took up the responsibility of scoring a ton of runs for the side and also led them well throughout the five matches.
Former India cricketer Sanjay Bangar feels that India have already found their new batting core despite the recent retirements of Virat and Rohit. He even claimed that Gill's batting performance in the England series was as good as Kohli.
"Who were they replacing? If you look at the No. 4 spot, Shubman Gill has done as good as a Virat Kohli could have done. And who has taken Rohit Sharma's place? It is Yashasvi Jaiswal and he has also had an equally good series to show for. Because Gill and Jaiswal got the runs, the Indian team never missed the services of Rohit and Virat," Bangar said on ESPNcricinfo.
Bangar feels that India need a stable fast-bowling all-rounder
Bangar further remarked that the Men in Blue require a stable fast-bowling all-rounder in order to make the combination work. The team management gave chances to both Shardul Thakur and Nitish Kumar Reddy during the England series, but both of them failed to make any significant impact.
"The Indian management has prioritised that over the last three to four seasons. But, you want to have a fast-bowling all-rounder and if India does get that, then the combination will settle itself. Till the time India gets a proper fast-bowling all-rounder, you'll always have these question marks," Bangar added.
Meanwhile, India pulled off a heroic 6-run victory against England in the fifth and final Test of the series to level the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy at 2-2. The win will be a major confidence booster for Shubman Gill & Co, whose next Test assignment will be a two-match home series against West Indies which will commence from October 2.