The “Prince of Indian cricket”, as Shubman Gill is often referred to, seems to be finding himself in a strange situation in the Indian cricket kingdom at present.

It’s not often that an established batsman gets dropped from the XI for a Test and that too, on a tour of Australia. But in the ongoing Border-Gavaskar Trophy, continuity in the final XI has been the last thing as far as the Indian team management is concerned.

Following the 295-run win in the series opener in Perth, India’s XI has had a tweak in all the next three Tests in Adelaide, Brisbane and Melbourne. The just-concluded Boxing Day Test at the Melbourne Cricket Ground saw the omission of Gill, which did raise a few eyebrows.

In Gill’s place, spinner all-rounder Washington Sundar, who had featured in the opening Test, returned to the XI. India wanted to give an “extra bit of cushion” to their bowling for the fourth Test, something captain Rohit Sharma said after the 184-run loss in Melbourne on Monday.

One may find the skipper’s view on the matter justified. But more than bowling, it’s batting that has troubled India on most occasions in this series and the primary reason behind the visitors trailing 1-2 with just one more game left.

The final Test in Sydney, beginning on Friday, is a must-win game for India in order to keep their World Test Championship final hopes alive. So, will it be wise on India’s part to bring Gill back in the XI and bolster their batting, particularly with the SCG track being batter-friendly and usually assisting spinners on the last two days?

Gill’s numbers so far in the series aren’t too inspiring, though, as he tallies just 60 runs in three innings. Besides, dropping Washington again to accommodate the No.3 batter won’t be fair on the all-rounder. Had he not stitched together a 127-run eighth-wicket stand with Nitish Kumar Reddy, the margin of defeat could have been more embarrassing for India in Melbourne.

However, with Rohit and Virat Kohli struggling for runs, adding a specialist batter in the top four may give a little bit of cushion to the batting group. But then, who will
Gill replace?

“Benching (pacer) Akash Deep and bringing Gill in his place is definitely one option,” a BCCI official told The Telegraph on Tuesday.

“Yes, by doing so, the team will be one specialist bowler short. But then, when
you have two quicks (Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj) and as many spinners (Ravindra Jadeja and Washington) along with a seamer all-rounder (Reddy), it’s quite fair if you look to strengthen your batting.”

Having said that, India’s sticking to the MCG XI for the final Test cannot be ruled out either. The conditions in Sydney will certainly have a bearing on the combination they decide to go with. More so, if the SCG surface looks a tad greener than usual.