Sunil Gavaskar has THESE critical suggestions for Virat Kohli ahead of pink-ball Test

The Virat Kohli-led Indian team is all set to face Australia in the first of four Test matches, starting from Thursday, December 17 onwards at the Adelaide Oval. The Border-Gavaskar Trophy, named after former captains Allan Border and Sunil Gavaskar, is currently defended by India for winning the previous edition in 2019. For India’s preparations for the upcoming series, Gavaskar has some words of advice for skipper Virat Kohli and the Indian team management.

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India vs Australia pink ball Test: Sunil Gavaskar backs Rishabh Pant, Shubman Gill for playing XI

On ESPNCricinfo, both Sunil Gavaskar and Allan Border recently previewed the series named after them. They offered their insights on Team India’s selection and backed Rishabh Pant and Shubman Gill to feature in India’s playing XI for the India vs Australia pink-ball Test. Sunil Gavaskar cited both Pant and Gill’s performances from the recent three-day warm-up matches against Australia A as a benchmark for their selection.

Sunil Gavaskar said that he prefers Rishabh Pant as India’s wicketkeeper since the youngster is fresh off of a 73-ball ton against Australia A at the Sydney Cricket Ground. The former Indian captain and batting icon also recalled Pant’s role in India’s 2018-19 series win in Australia, where he featured in all matches and scored a rapid-paced 159 in the final game. According to Gavaskar, Australian conditions are not as demanding for keeping wickets, which is why he is willing to side-line experienced wicketkeeper Wriddhiman Saha.

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When it came to picking their choice of India’s opener, both Sunil Gavaskar and Allan Border backed Shubman Gill over Prithvi Shaw. Gill recently registered scores of 43 and 65 in the Sydney warm-up game and seems to have grabbed the attention of the two former cricketers. Allan Border said that he witnessed Gill’s performance and was impressed by the way the youngster batted. Border added that the uncapped Test cricketer looks a “seriously good player” and would be his pick for India’s opener.

Sunil Gavaskar agreed with Allan Border’s opinions and criticised Prithvi Shaw’s attacking mode of batting in the warm-up games. The batting icon said that Shaw needs to spend a “little more time” to assess his batting. Gavaskar later added that while Shubman Gill is his choice for one of the two Indian openers as well, he predicted Mayank Agarwal to be the Indian player to watch out for in the series.

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Image source: PTI