Who will bat at number 3 if Shubman Gill misses out first Test against New Zealand?

Injury concerns seem to popping up and the latest entrant to this list is Shubman Gill. According to reports carried by India Today the 25-year-old had reported pain in his neck and shoulder to Indian team management. This has now caused huge concerns ahead of the 1st game in Bengaluru starting on Wednesday. 

Rohit Sharma will now have to look at options for a batter to bat at the number 3 spot. Shubman Gill has occupied that spot ever since the selectors dropped Cheteshwar Pujara. The spot could go to veteran batter KL Rahul who has moved to the middle order in the last few months. 

So far KL Rahul has batted just 5 times in the number 3 spot for India and scored 88 runs. His best of 54 came during the game against Afghanistan in 2018 incidentally played at the MA Chidambaram stadium in Bengaluru. The other options include young Sarfaraz Khan or Dhruv Jurel who are waiting in the wings. 

What other options do India have for number 3 spot?

Team India can also opt to send Virat Kohli to bat at the number 3 spot in case they want to lengthen their batting. There is also option of Rishabh Pant but it is unlikely that India’s team management will opt for that route. If Shubman Gill does miss the game then KL Rahul will be the most favored option. 

Bengaluru has been experiencing constant rain over the last few days. There is a chance that the game can disrupted owing to inclement weather. The teams couldn’t practice on Tuesday after the rains came down. It will be interesting to see how the next few days play out as there are more showers predicted. 

Indian coach Gautam Gambhir was asked about the team combination during the press conference on Monday. The 43-year-old said “Combination depends on conditions, wicket and opposition. The best part about this dressing room is that we've got so many high-quality players and we can select any of them. We know they can do the job for us. That is what is called the depth We'll have a look at the wicket tomorrow. We'll have a chat and see what is the best combination to do the job at the Chinnaswamy Stadium”