Who's batting at Virat Kohli's No 4 position in first India-England Test? Pant reveals

Dubai: India vice-captain Rishabh Pant said that newly-crowned Shubman Gill will play at the No 4 spot that fell vacant after Indian star cricketer Virat Kohli announced his retirement recently.

There were heavy speculations as to who would fill up the spot with several names doing rounds. But Pant confirmed that he will stick to his No 5 position while Gill will embrace a new role dropping from his regular No 3 spot ahead of the first Test of the five-match series against England, which will start on June 20.

"I think there is still discussion going on, who's going to play three, but definitely four and five are fixed. I think Shubman is going to bat at No 4, and I am going to stick to No 5 as of now, and the rest, we are going to keep on discussing that," Pant said during a press conference on Wednesday.

Gill will have some experienced stars around him and Pant serving as his deputy throughout the five Tests. The explosive southpaw believes the camaraderie he shares with Gill off the field and the comfort zone they share will be "really special."

"I think Shubman and I have good camaraderie, especially off the field. If you are good friends off the field, it eventually comes on the field. It is better for cricket always, and that is something I have always believed. Me and him gel really well together. The kind of comfort zone we have with each other, I think that will be really special," he added.

Meanwhile, Team India held a practice session at Headingley, Leeds, on Wednesday.

During the practice, Gill was seen discussing the game plan with head coach Gautam Gambhir. Opener Yashasvi Jaiswal and the team's second wicketkeeper-batter were seen stretching their body.

Other players, such as right-arm seamer Shardul Thakur, the side's vice-captain Rishabh Pant, left-arm spinner Kuldeep Yadav, and all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja, were also seen doing stretching exercises during the practice session.

After talking to Gambhir, Gill was also seen stretching with his legs.

Gill, Shardul, left-hand batter Sai Sudarshan, fast bowler Arshdeep Singh, and right-arm pacer Jasprit Bumrah were seen doing a fielding and catch practice session, headed by bowling coach Morne Morkel and Gambhir.

India tour of England will take place from June to August 2025, with matches to be played at Headingley (Leeds), Edgbaston (Birmingham), Lord's (London), Old Trafford (Manchester), and The Oval (London).

A new era beckons for India in the Test format as the modern-day giants gear up for their first assignment without the prized batting bigwigs Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli. Shubman Gill, India's youngest Test captain, has taken the baton from Rohit to guide the nation to success and challenge for the World Test Championship mace.

India squad: Shubman Gill (c), Rishabh Pant (vc, wk), Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Sai Sudarshan, Abhimanyu Easwaran, Karun Nair, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Ravindra Jadeja, Dhruv Jurel, Washington Sundar, Shardul Thakur, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, Akash Deep, Arshdeep Singh, Kuldeep Yadav.

England squad: Ben Stokes (Captain), Shoaib Bashir, Jacob Bethell, Harry Brook, Brydon Carse, Sam Cook, Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Jamie Overton, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Jamie Smith, Josh Tongue, Chris Woakes.