Michael Vaughan snubs Shubman Gill, picks Rohit Sharma's opening partner for ICC WTC final

Michael Vaughan names another batsman instead of Shubman Gill to open alongside Rohit Sharma.

Former England captain Michael Vaughan has named Rohit Sharma's opening partner for WTC 2023 final against Australia which will be played on June 7-11 and it's not Shubman Gill. Instead, he said that India should consider choosing KL Rahul over Shubman Gill.

The BCCI had announced the 15-man squad for the summit clash as Rohit Sharma will lead and open the innings for the side. Looking at the current form, Shubman Gill is expected to get a nod over Rahul as the opening partner for Rohit but Vaughan thinks otherwise.

Vaughan reasoned that while Shubman Gill is a dangerous player, KL Rahul has experience of playing in England previously and has a better technique to bat in the tough English conditions where the pacers will get assistance from the surface.

“The only change that they could make in English conditions is that KL Rahul plays the moving ball better than Shubman Gill. Shubman’s a tremendous young player, but you’ve got to win that one game of cricket. Forget history; it’s about picking the best XI to win the World Test Championship. When it’s straight, Shubman is a dangerous player, but I’ve seen a few little technical deficiencies. When the ball moves, he takes his hand a little bit too much towards the ball," Vaughan said on Cricbuzz.

KL Rahul was dropped from India's XI after his poor performance in the first two Tests against Australia, with Shubman Gill replacing him in the side. It is expected that India may ask KL Rahul to keep wickets in the WTC final in place of KS Bharat.

You’ve got to pick the team for that one game of cricket: Michael Vaughan on picking Rahul over Gill

Shubman has been in tremendous form across formats while Rahul is going through a lean patch and he struggling with poor form in both red and white-ball cricket.

However, Vaughan said that India should pick the team considering it a one-off game, and not think about who is going to be their opener in the next series.

“He snicks off quite consistently. I’m not sure they will do that (replace Shubman with KL Rahul) because I’m not in the selection room. (But) don’t pick a team based on what’s next or who’s going to play in the West Indies; you’ve got to pick the team for that one game of cricket," Vaughan told Cricbuzz.