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Shubman Gill's Test series in Sri Lanka ended with a 1-0 victory, but the visitors missed out on a chance to complete a clean sweep after the second Test in Colombo ended in a draw. Former India batter Ajay Jadeja has now pointed to one particular aspect of Gill's captaincy that he believes shows a clear bias in his tactical approach.
Ajay Jadeja feels Shubman Gill tends to be more aggressive with his field placements when using fast bowlers, particularly when they are operating with short-pitched deliveries. In contrast, he believes the India captain adopts a more defensive approach when deploying his spinners.
Shubman Gill's India fail to clinch Sri Lanka series 2-0
India entered the second Test in Colombo with the opportunity to complete a 2-0 series sweep after winning the opening Test in Galle by 165 runs. Gill's side looked firmly in control for large parts of the second match as they declared on 503/9 before bowling Sri Lanka out for 290.
India then enforced the follow-on after securing a 213-run first-innings lead. However, Sri Lanka produced a remarkable rearguard effort in their second innings, led by Sonal Dinusha's unbeaten 133. The hosts eventually reached 429/9 in 154 overs, forcing the Test to end in a draw.
As a result, India won the two-match series 1-0, rather than completing a 2-0 sweep. The draw also cost India valuable ground in the World Test Championship race, with the team remaining fifth in the standings.
The series was nevertheless another positive result for Gill's Test captaincy. India had earlier drawn their five-match Test series in England 2-2.
Ajay Jadeja calls Shubman Gill a biased captain
While analyzing Gill's captaincy after the Colombo Test, former India batter Ajay Jadeja identified what he considers to be a clear tactical preference.
According to Ajay Jadeja, Gill is more inclined towards attacking with his pacers, especially through short-pitched bowling, while his field settings for spinners tend to be more defensive.
"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," Jadeja said on Sony Sports.
"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," Ajay Jadeja added.
“He just loves attacking with short-balls for the pacers” - Ajay Jadeja
Ajay Jadeja believes Shubman Gill's tactical approach is still evolving, particularly as he continues to gain experience as India's Test captain. He also stressed that bowlers play an important role in determining the field they want behind them.
"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," Jadeja said.
Also Read: Ravichandran Ashwin says Shubman Gill & Co. took Sri Lanka lightly
