Ricky Ponting Reveals India’s Best Opening Option and It’s Not Captain Shubman Gill

Australian legend Ricky Ponting weighed in on Shubman Gill's India Test team captaincy, also naming the ideal opening partner for Yashasvi Jaiswal.

Ricky Ponting Reveals India’s Best Opening Option and It’s Not Captain Shubman Gill

Australian legend Ricky Ponting named Sai Sudharsan as a new Test opener, while backing Shubman Gill's captaincy role. (via Mint)

Australian legend Ricky Ponting provided his opinion on India’s decision to hand Shubman Gill the Test captaincy, ahead of the much-awaited five-match Test tour to England. Ponting also revealed the player who would be India’s best opening option alongside Yashasvi Jaiswal, for the England tour. 

Indian captain Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli’s retirement from Test cricket last month, ushered in a new era for the red-ball side. It left a massive void, both in terms of leadership as well as experience, with the team struggling to remain in form lately, after having suffered two back-to-back Test series defeats. India, disappointingly were white-washed 0-3 by New Zealand, followed by their 1-3 loss to the Aussies. 

Shubman Gill has been named India’s new red-ball skipper, a decision that has been under scrutiny owing to the 25-year-old’s average form in the longest format of the game. The upcoming England series will definitely put Gill’s leadership under focus. Gill has been preferred over senior players like Rishabh Pant and Jasprit Bumrah to lead the Indian Test team, and there are high expectations from him. 

Gill’s accession to the captaincy role has been held in good spirit by former Australian skipper and World Cup-winner Ricky Ponting. Ponting termed the decision to hand Gill the captaincy role as the right move, while pointing to his successful stint as Gujarat Titans’ captain over the past two years. He even added that the reason why Jasprit Bumrah, who was also a front-runner for the role, was not picked is because of the recurring injuries that the speedster has faced.

Adding on, Ponting also addressed India’s batting order dilemma. The Australian shared his opinion that India would get the best out of Shubman Gill if they allow him to play at number 4, a position that was previously occupied by Virat Kohli. Gill has been used as an opener and at no. 3 in the past, but Ponting stated that he should drop down as it would help him alleviate the pressure against the new ball. He said (via ICC Review):

Shubman [Gill] might end up being that No.4 player, which will probably make life for him a little bit easier as a captain as well. Not having to be opening or batting at No.3 as a young captain might make it easier.

Moreover, the 50-year-old also added that India should go ahead with a new opener alongside Yashasvi Jaiswal, leaving aside the likes of Gill and KL Rahul. He named in-form Sai Sudharsan as the perfect fit, and expressed that the left-hander is a ‘class player’ and could do well in red-ball cricket. Sudharsan comes off the back of a brilliant IPL season, having ended as the highest run-getter with 759 runs. He added:

I think [Sai] Sudarshan and [Yashasvi] Jaiswal will open the batting [in England] as Sudarshan just looks like a class player to me and technically I think he could do well at Test level.

Meanwhile, Ricky Ponting added that Team India should look for a more experienced batter at the no. 3 position, suggesting veteran Karun Nair and KL Rahul as options. Thereafter, he stated that India’s top five must comprise Jaiswal, Sudharsan, Rahul, Gill and Nair.

Ricky Ponting foresees success for Arshdeep Singh on India Test debut in upcoming England tour

Ex-Australian captain Ricky Ponting confidently backed the Indian selectors’ decision to include uncapped pacer Arshdeep Singh for the upcoming five-match England Test tour. It will be the 26-year-old’s debut in the red-ball format, after having shone for India in T20Is over the last year. 

Ricky Ponting on Arshdeep Singh England tour
Ricky Ponting backed Arshdeep Singh to shine for the Indian Test team, in the upcoming tour to England. (via Business Standard)

Having closely worked with Arshdeep Singh in the IPL with Punjab Kings this year, Ponting firmly stated that the English conditions will suit the left-arm pacer because of the swing, and that he should be included in the playing XI. Ponting added that Singh’s experience of having played in the County Championship previously, having played for Kent in 2023, would come handy:

I would actually have him in their Test team at the start. He’s very skillful, he’s played County cricket, he knows the conditions there… Also in England the ball still swings 30, 40 or 50 overs old.

Apart from Arshdeep Singh, the other fast bowling options in the Indian Test setup for the tour include star pacer Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna and Akash Deep. All-rounders Shardul Thakur and Nitish Kumar Reddy add to the list, as India gets ready for a challenging tour.