“If I were in the Indian dressing room, I would have told Gautam Gambhir to continue with Shubman Gill”: Irfan Pathan gives thumbs down to team selection for fourth Test

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Australia captain Pat Cummins won the toss Thursday and decided to bat first against India in expected hot conditions at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in the fourth test of the five-match series.

The series is level at 1-1 after a rainy draw at Brisbane,

India went with a bowler-heavy lineup, bringing in offspinner Washington Sundar so the visitors have six bowling options. Shubman Gill it out and captain Rohit Sharma has been named at No. 3 in India’s batting order after talk he would return to his customary position opening the batting.

India can take some confidence from its triumphs on its two previous two test tours of Australia in 2018-19 and 2020-2021, including claiming victory in Melbourne on both occasions.a

However, apart from K.L. Rahul (235 runs at 47.00) and Bumrah (21 wickets at 10.90), India has been unable to build momentum in this series. A 295-run win in Perth was followed by a 10-wicket loss in Adelaide and the rain-soaked draw in Brisbane.

Former India player Irfan Pathan didn’t like the exclusion of Gill from the Playing XI. “If I were part of the Indian dressing room, I would have told GG (Gautam Gambhir) to continue with Shubman Gill. He hasn’t done anything wrong and has the second best strike rate after KL Rahul.

“He was phenomenal with the bat in the last Test series. He played well over here. I would have liked to see the same playing XI,” he told Jatin Sapru. Gill scored 45 and 35 in the previous Test India played at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.

The series has added significance as Australia and India are ranked second and third, respectively, behind South Africa in the race to qualify for the World Test Championship Final to be held at Lord’s in June 2025. South Africa is hosting Pakistan in a two-test series that also starts Thursday.

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