India's assistant coach Abhishek Nayar on Thursday defended the elimination of Shubman Gill from the Boxing Day Test, saying it was in the team's best interest to not only get Rohit Sharma back to his usual opening slot but also add some spice to the attack by creating a spin-all setup. rounder Washington Sundar. Gill, who missed the first Test due to a finger injury, scored 31 and 28 in the Pink Ball Test and looked the most confident among the Indian batsmen. However, he stepped out for a duck in Brisbane. With Rohit Sharma opening the innings and KL Rahul coming in at number 3, Gill had to make way for a third specialist all-rounder in Washington.
“Yes, Rohit will appear in the order and, more likely than not, he will open the innings. That was the thought process. Unfortunately for Gill, the way things went, he had to miss it,” Nayar said at the end. of the day's play.
“I just think it's a big day for a young player in such a position, he wants to make his mark. He understands that this is the team's demand and that's a shame, but I wouldn't necessarily say he's dropped .It's just a shame he couldn't find his place in this game,” said the former Mumbai stalwart, but the statement lacked conviction.
He explained in detail why it made sense to play Washington at the MCG before Gill.
“A lot of the decisions that are made, and the process in which they are made, the communication is always there and there is transparency. It's quite clear that we felt in these circumstances, looking at the field, with Washy in the bowling attack will give us that variety, especially towards the end when the ball gets old,” he said.
“After the 50 overs we felt like this was an area we wanted to get better at. We felt like Washy could give us that solidarity with Jaddu (Ravindra Jadeja), especially the way Travis Head and Alex Carey got lower runs. So we felt like having an official in the ranks would provide us with that.”
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