Former Indian batter Ajay Jadeja said that India skipper Shubman Gill has a bias towards pacers over spinners regarding field placements. Jadeja’s comments came after India drew the second Test against Sri Lanka in Colombo, despite being in a good position to win. India had Sri Lanka reeling at 229/6 with only a 16-run second-innings lead entering Day 5. However, the Indian spin-bowling trio of Ravindra Jadeja, Manav Suthar and Saransh Jain failed to leave a mark on a final-day
wicket, as the hosts finished on 429/9 as well.
Talking about Shubman Gill’s captaincy after the match, Jadeja said on the Sony Sports Network: “Every captain leads based on how he thinks about the game. One clear thing with Gill is he likes having deep square leg for his pacers, and he loves short-pitched bowling. That’s something you don’t see as often with others. So that’s one bias he has where he uses the seamers with short balls and not just with line and length, with pressure on.”
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“So he likes to attack with the seamers. Whereas with the spinners, it’s the other way around. Maybe because he bats the spinners so comfortably, he feels spinners can’t get you out here and there. So invariably, whatever the situation of the game is, one step lower is the field he sets as an attack for the spinners. It’s a standard you set for yourself with defensive fields for the spinners,” he again shared.
Ajay Jadeja also believes Shubman Gill will evolve as a captain, especially in the use of spinners. Gill was also made India’s ODI captain soon after he took over the Test side last year as well. India have impressed in their two away Test series under Gill, drawing 2-2 in England and winning the recently concluded series in Sri Lanka 1-0 as well.
“He just loves attacking with short-balls for the pacers, and that’s his style, and he will evolve. But at this level, it’s the bowler who decides the fields and the captain agrees or disagrees, which is his choice. But it is the bowler who decides, and the captain gets the credit and the blame,” concluded Ajay Jadeja.
