Shubman should open while KL Rahul could play in middle order: Ricky Pointing’s advice to team India’s think-tank

India and Australia are set to meet in the final Test of the four-match series in Ahmedabad on March 9. When Rohit’s men take the field on Thursday, they will be aiming for a historic first that no other international team has come close to matching.

Gill was selected ahead of Rahul for the third Test, after Rahul scored only 38 runs in three innings in the first two Tests in Nagpur and Delhi. Rahul, on the other hand, has two of his seven Test hundreds in English conditions, and Ponting believes there may be a way to play both him and Gill at The Oval.

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“Maybe Shubman could start at the top and KL could potentially move down into the middle order, because he’s played cricket in those (English) conditions before, albeit at the top of the order. But one thing we know about the UK is that the ball swings for long periods of time during the day. And if the overhead conditions are suitable, then the ball tends to swing right the way through an innings,” Rahul said.