Former India player Mohammad Kaif has applauded Shubman Gill for his captaincy in the first Test against Sri Lanka. He added that it was a difficult match for him due to repeated rain interruptions. However, India beat Sri Lanka by 165 runs in Galle on Wednesday, August 19. The visitors bundled out the hosts for 206 after setting a 372-run target as well.

During a discussion on Sony Sports, Kaif said, “It’s not easy as a captain. Of course, India have rarely lost in Sri Lanka. India are the stronger team and should have won, and that’s what happened, but since the game was stopped due to rain, it was a difficult job for Gill as captain. He had to set up the game. The ball was in Gill’s and Gautam Gambhir’s court. You had to tell when you would declare and how many overs would be required. All that calculation had to be done. It was a difficult Test match from that perspective. So I will give Gill the numbers as a captain for doing a good job.”

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“He batted after winning the toss, which he gained from, as 462 were posted on the board. Then today, he kept bowling Jadeja continuously. He knows Jadeja has been in this phase earlier as a senior player. Jadeja was the one who could have given him the wicket. The good job Gill did was giving Jadeja a long spell, and Dhananjaya’s wicket was the turning point,” he again added.

In the same discussion, former India batter Ajinkya Rahane also hailed Shubman Gill for his proactive captaincy.

“What we saw of Shubman Gill as a captain in England and here, he led extremely well. He looked very proactive. The bowling changes were excellent. The field placements were excellent. A captain learns something from every game and keeps improving. It’s never right or wrong. When you take a decision, it will either be right or wrong, but I felt the proactiveness in the bowling changes in this game was very good,” Rahane said.