CHENNAI: The No. 4 position in Test cricket is the format's holy grail. Sure, there were a few great pre-War No. 4s (Denis Compton and Wally Hammond) but the idea of a No. 4 being one of the side's best bats was a more modern phenomenon with its roots around the late 1980s.
Sachin Tendulkar is of course the gold standard. He scored 13,492 runs in that position, almost 4000 clear of Mahela Jayawardene another giant who had made the No. 4 his postcode for 15 years.
Out of the top 13 run-scorers in the format's history, seven have had an extended run in that position.
From an Indian perspective, the No. 4 has played a big role in multiple ways. Batsmanship, leadership, charismatic figures, the biggest egos in the room as well as tasked with the role of selling all kinds of consumer goods to the hoi polloi. Virat Kohli, Sachin Tendulkar, Gundappa Viswanath, Dilip Vengsarkar... India's batting royalty have all featured in this position.
In fact, in India's maiden Test back in 1932, the captain was somebody who came out to bat at No. 4. CK Nayudu, an Indian cricketing aristocrat who wore several hats.
This crash course in the history of the No. 4 is a roundabout way of saying why Shubman Gill is the next cab of the No. 4 rank. "I think there's still a discussion going on for No. 3," vice-captain Rishabh Pant said in a press conference two days before the beginning of the five-match Test series against England on Friday. "But No. 4 and No. 5 are fixed. Shubman is going to bat at No. 4, and I'm going to stay at No. 5 as of now."
There is one big difference, though, between Shubman and almost everybody who made the No. 4 their own. Most of the others weren't in leadership roles when they assumed the No. 4. They were all fairly early into their careers. They didn't have the pressure of expectation on their shoulders when they were asked to walk out at No. 4.
Tendulkar had Vengsarkar, Mohammad Azharuddin and Kapil Dev behind him in the change room. Brian Lara was sandwiched by captain Richie Richardson at one drop and Carl Hooper at No. 6. Likewise for Jayawardene, Mark Waugh and Root among other batters who became stalwarts in that role... they all had sufficient cushioning. They were relatively early in their Test careers and even if they were given a big responsibility, they had a soft landing. The 25-year-old won't be accorded that because he's not only the leader of this batting unit but he has also the small c next to him.
From a historical perspective, he will be at home in the No. 4 spot for India. It's a natural spot for the heir to the throne, the chosen one — one part intuition, one part marketing (identifying the 'next big thing' is a cottage industry among most sports writers) both from within and outside the establishment. Before the Champions Trophy final for example, Gill played a prominent role in an official BCCI video. Even back then, it was assumed that the red-ball captaincy would be his as long as he wanted it. With Kohli's retirement, he has not only got the captaincy but also the No. 4. For so long under Kohli's shadow, this will be Gill's first time in that role.
This is another departure from most No. 4s. They learnt about the grammar of that spot away from the spotlight of leadership. Gill would have to pick up the nuances of the position while worrying about captaincy as well.
The Fazilka-born Gill can see this in two ways. One, he may allow the challenge to eat him. But the ones who have spoken about Gill maintain he's not that kind of a personality. The other way is this challenge gives him an opportunity to take a fresh guard in a format where his batting is still a work in progress. There are weaknesses in his game but he has the capacity to lift the floor as well as the ceiling by a couple of metres.
It's why the BCCI have made an educated gamble in placing all their eggs in the Gill basket.
More than a decade ago, another cricket board made a similar gamble. Similar to Gill, this player was fairly deep into his Test career (24 matches; average of over 45) when he was handed the dual role of No. 4 as well as captaincy.
And you will have to say it worked out well for Steve Smith.
