Accidental? Shubman Gill gets 7 out of 10 as captain in Colombo Test toss

Former India batsman Sanjay Manjrekar said it was important to understand the conditions and acknowledge the toughness of the Sri Lankan batsmen when judging Shubman Gill’s captaincy during the last two days of the second Test in Colombo. 2nd test Day 5 Highlights | Scorecard

India clinched the follow-on after securing a 213-run lead in their first innings on Day 4 in the morning, hoping to beat Sri Lanka two full days in hand, despite wet weather in the forecast. However, things did not go according to plan as Sonal Dinusha and Keshara Nuwantha put on a rear guard on day 5 and put on 112 runs for the seventh wicket.

When India followed, bowling out 89.4 overs in the first innings, it looked like a reasonable call. But as Sonal and Nuwantha led a period of resistance, the Indian bowlers looked tired and seemed to have run out of plans. Sonal Dinusha scored his second Test hundred and third hundred of the series as Sri Lanka crossed 400 batting in 150 overs, doing so in the fourth innings of a Test match for only the eighth time.

Sri Lanka showed no signs of declaring as they stretched their lead past 200 in the final session, leaving India frustrated. In the end, Sri Lanka reached 429 for 9, p Sonal Dinusha remained unbeaten on 133 when they declared. The two teams shook hands at that stage and the match ended in a draw, denying India 2-0.

Speaking to Sony Sports, Manjrekar said the pitch was too flat for the Day 5 surface in Sri Lanka and credited the opposition batsmen, especially Sonal, for preventing the Indian bowlers from achieving success on the final day.

“India are batting last because this pitch has fallen asleep and I don’t think they’re going to wake up. So India will be fine with whatever they have to chase. But yes, it was a test of Gill’s captaincy. If I have to give him points out of 10, I’d say 7 or 8. I don’t think we should jump to the conclusion in this match that he was his captain on the specific terms,” he said.

AREN’T SNAPPERS GOOD ENOUGH?

However, former India fast bowler Venkatesh Prasad pointed the finger at Gill’s captaincy and said the skipper was not giving enough long spells to the spinners. Prasad also lamented the inexperience of India’s spin-bowling attack, suggesting that the likes of Anil Kumble or R Ashwin may have found a way to keep the Sri Lankan batsmen calm.

According to SonyLIV, Gill gives his spinners 26 balls per spell, the least among the last four Indian captains.

“I slightly differ from what Sanjay said. In my opinion, the pitch is fantastic for Test cricket and secondly for spinners. It has a lot to offer. I tell you, this is a test for the bowlers in terms of their accuracy, consistency and how long they can question batsmen without trying too many things,” Prasad said.

“I think that’s what the Indian bowlers lack, especially the spinners. They lack the experience of Anil Kumble or Ashwin. We don’t have that experience in the spin department. Both Suthar and (second spinner) have just come into Test cricket, so that experience is not there.

“If they don’t get a wicket in, say, four or five overs, they’ll try to change or do something else. Whereas on this pitch you have to be as accurate and consistent as possible, get batsmen on the front foot and try to get them out to short leg, silly point or slip. That should be the idea,” he said.

AVERAGE BALL PER SPINNER ROUND (IN SUBCONTINENTAL TESTS SINCE 2015)

Ajinkya Rahane – 39
Rohit Sharma – 35
Virat Kohli – 34
Shubman Gill – 29

In the final hour, Gill came into the attack and showed the first signs of India giving up on their frontline bowlers. Yashasvi Jaiswal also overturned his hand but Sonal Dinusha remained unbeaten to complete the series with 420 runs in four innings, including three hundreds and a fifty.

Manjrekar agreed with Prasad’s assessment to some extent, but credited the Sri Lankan batting for making India and their plans look ordinary.

“So I feel Shubman Gill is limited by the quality of batting out there, on a pitch that looks like it has turned. Venkatesh has a good point: we have to imagine sometimes what Anil Kumble, Ashwin and Jadeja would do at their best bowling together. Would they allow them to score that many? We don’t know.”

“But these are the facts Shubman Gill has to deal with.

India won the series 1-0, but after the draw in Colombo, their chances of making the Test World Cup final took a major hit.

– The end

Issued by:

Akshay Ramesh

Published on:

27 Aug 2026 17:02 IST