Gill has work to do on Test match batting and it won't be easy as captain: Ricky Ponting

Ricky Ponting suggests Shubman Gill move to number four in Test batting order for India's upcoming tour of England.

Shubman Gill has work to do on his Test match batting and considering the added responsibility of captaincy on the upcoming tour of England, he should move himself down to number four in the order, reckons Australian great Ricky Ponting.

There is plenty of speculation over India's new number four following the retirement of Virat Kohli and Ponting has backed Gill to take up that position at least in the initial stages of his leadership tenure beginning with the five-Test rubber from June 20.

"His white ball form has been incredibly good. He's got a little bit of work to do, on his Test match batting. And that's never easy when you're a new captain, to have to worry about your batting to the degree that he's going to have to, it won't be easy for him," Ponting told PTI on the sidelines of the Indian Premier League (IPL) where he coached Punjab Kings to the final.

The newly appointed Test captain started his career as an opener before moving down to number three last year. Ponting said India have made the right investment in Gill the captain. The two-time ODI World Cup winning skipper sees Gill serving India for a long time.

“I actually named him as captain for the Sydney Test match last summer when Rohit didn’t play that game and there was a bit of an injury cloud over Bumrah, or as that game went on, Bumrah actually broke down in that game.”

"And look, I don't know Shubman that well. I've spoken to him six, eight, 10 times, maybe the last couple of years around different things and around batting and around leadership. He's done a great job with GT [Gujarat Titans] , no doubt about that," he said.

"But he just seemed the sort of guy that the extra responsibility wouldn't faze too much. It seems like he's got a really level head on his shoulders. He's someone that's going to be around in Indian cricket for another 10 years."