Former Indian batter Ajay Jadeja reckons Shubman Gill is more aggressive as a captain while setting field for a fast bowler and he takes the defensive approach with the spinners. Jadeja highlighted that Gill likes to have a deep fine leg fielder for the pacers and asks his fast bowlers to bowl a short-length.

India had to settle for a draw in the second Test match against Sri Lanka at Colombo on Thursday. The home team was under the cosh at the end of the fourth day’s play at 229-6, leading India by only 16 runs. However, India failed to take the final four wickets as Sri Lanka ended the day at 429-9, and thus the match finished in a stalemate.

Ajay Jadeja said on Sony Sports, “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.”

“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.”

Jadeja added that Gill’s captaincy will evolve with more experience under his belt.

“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,” said Jadeja (via the aforementioned source).

India won the series by 1-0 after registering a 165-run win at Galle.