'He should open with Rohit not only in 1st Test but entire series': Harbhajan's clear-cut winner between Gill and Rahul

Even though the rapid rise of Shubman Gill has somewhat jeopardised KL Rahul's place as an opener in the Indian squad, the vice-captain of the Rohit Sharma-led side is expected to feature in the 1st Test against Australia on Thursday. Resuming their epic rivalry in the longest and oldest format of the game, Rohit-led India are set to host Pat Cummins’ Australia in the upcoming series opener of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy at Nagpur.

Weighing in on the opener's debate ahead of the upcoming Test series between India and Australia, legendary spinner Harbhajan Singh has preferred an in-form Gill over Rahul as India's second opening batter in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. Sharing his views on YouTube, the former Indian cricketer explained why the Indian think should snub Rahul and pick Gill as Rohit's opening partner.

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"The opening partnership is the most important thing. Openers set the tone in any series. According to me, India's openers in the Australia series should be Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill. The form he is in, Gill is on another level. Even though KL Rahul is a top player, his stats (across all formats in 2022) are not favouring him at the moment. Whereas Gill is in the form of his life. He has shattered multiple records in recent months," Harbhajan said.

Throwing weight behind Gill during the discussion, Harbhajan highlighted the batting stats of the Indian opener. In India's previous home assignment, opener Gill became the fifth Indian to score centuries across all formats of the game. “If Team India wants to win this Test series, then Shubman Gill should open with Rohit Sharma,” Harbhajan observed.

The former Indian spinner also asserted that Team India should stick with Gill in the entire Australia series."After scoring so many runs, I think he deserves to be in the Indian playing XI not for just one game. I think India should stick with Shubman Gill throughout the series. If he plays in the form and confidence that he is in, Gill will score plenty of runs for India. So I hope he gets to play," Harbhajan added.

The youngest Indian to score centuries in all three formats, opener Gill has played 13 Tests for the Rohit-led side. The 23-year-old made his Test debut against Australia at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in 2020. Gill has amassed 736 runs with an average of 32.0 in Test cricket. India will meet Australia in the 1st Test at Vidarbha Cricket Association Stadium on Thursday.