“He (Shubman Gill) is that good at the moment and whether he scores or doesn’t score, on form, on merit, he deserves a chance” – Ravi Shastri opens up on the KL Rahul-Shubman Gill selection choice ahead of the Indore test

After half of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy has been played, the argument over whether or not Shubman Gill should have replaced KL Rahul in the starting Eleven continues. Gill, rather than KL Rahul, is the player whom former India head coach and current India assistant coach Ravi Shastri has endorsed to start against Australia in the third game of the four-game Test series.

There have been rumours that management may bench KL Rahul in favour of including Gill for the next Indore Test, as both cricketing superpowers are expected to make several decisions over the selection. A day before the third Test, Ravi Shastri said that his team needed Gill.

What did Ravi Shastri say about the KL Rahul-Shubman Gill selection ahead of the Indore test?

“He (Shubman Gill) is that good at the moment and whether he scores or doesn’t score, on form, on merit, he deserves a chance. The team management knows his (KL Rahul’s) form, they know his mental state. They know how they should be watching someone like Gill,” Shastri said while speaking on the latest episode of The ICC Review.

“Here, you want prime form, you want someone like Gill, who’s red hot. He will challenge. He has to bang that door down and get into the side. Now, he’s not the vice-captain, it has to be team management’s decision,” Shastri added.

With a 2-0 series advantage, India under Rohit Sharma’s leadership is almost unbeatable and has successfully defended the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. Shastri went on to say that the team’s combination has not changed despite their recent string of victories and that Gill’s addition to the squad will not change that.

India’s captain, Rohit Sharma, left the door open for a KL Rahul vs. Shubman Gill argument on the eve of the third Test by claiming that Rahul’s demotion from vice-captain doesn’t mean anything and that the team would continue to support players with “potential.”

On Tuesday, when the rest of the team was out for an optional practice, Rohit and Gill were batting next to each other in the nets.