Former Indian cricketer Manoj Tiwary has said that it is a source of headache for the team, having opened with Yashasvi Jaiswal and Rohit Sharma despite skipper Shubman Gill having a good partnership with Rohit in the first
match, adding that all he sees is a lack of clarity within the team management.
India made three changes to the team that bagged a convincing victory over Afghanistan in the series opener at Dharamsala. With Nitish Kumar Reddy sidelined because of injury, the responsibility of stabilising the lower middle order is expected to fall on experienced campaigners KL Rahul and Washington Sundar.
Rohit and Jaiswal opened the batting to provide India with a left-right combination at the top, while Gill is batting at No. 3, a position he has occupied for only the sixth time in his ODI career.
“It will just create a headache for the future and nothing else, if they open with Yashasvi Jaiswal and Rohit Sharma and demote Shubman Gill. Now, if he scores runs there, he will be thinking, should I go back to the top or not?” Tiwary said while speaking on Cricbuzz.
“So, I have no idea what they are trying to do at all. I see a massive lack of clarity here, but it feels good to see Jaiswal play, because he deserves to play all formats. If Rohit Sharma somehow doesn’t fire today, then there will be a lot of mental pressure from the outside,” Tiwary said.
Gill last batted at No. 3 in an ODI during the opening game of India’s 2025 series against England, when ace India batter Virat Kohli was ruled out with a late injury. In his five previous ODI innings at first drop, Gill has amassed 266 runs at a brilliant average of 53.2.
Tiwary’s prediction came true, with Gill scoring his ninth ODI hundred while batting at No. 3 on Wednesday.
