“His handling of Yashasvi Jaiswal and Shubman Gill has stood out” – Anil Kumble hails skipper Rohit Sharma

Former Indian leg-spinner Anil Kumble has lauded skipper Rohit Sharma for handling Yashasvi Jaiswal and Shubman Gill in the right way. Jaiswal top-scored in the two-match Test series against Bangladesh with 189 runs in four innings at an average of 47.25. He was also awarded Player of the Match in the second Test at Kanpur for scoring twin fifties.

Meanwhile, Jaiswal was on song throughout the five-match Test series against England earlier in the year. The southpaw scored 712 runs in five matches at an outstanding average of 89 and an impressive strike rate of 79.91. Thus, he was awarded Player of the Series as India won the series by 4-1.

On the other hand, Shubman Gill scored a fine knock of 119 in the second innings of the Chennai Test match against Bangladesh. Gill scored 452 runs in five Test matches against England at an average of 56.50 and finished as the second-highest run-getter of the series after Yashasvi Jaiswal. But the right-hander was ruled out of the opening Test against New Zealand due to a stiff neck.

Speaking on JioCinema, Anil Kumble said, “Tactically, Rohit has been brilliant in terms of being proactive in a Test match with the kind of resources that he has. He has been blessed to have that kind of resources with two world-class spinners and Bumrah.”

“But to marshall all of that and then navigate the younger lot, I think he has been brilliant. Someone like a Yashasvi Jaiswal under Rohit’s captaincy in his role as an opening batter, you see what he has shown with the kind of approach that he has had,” he added.

“Shubman Gill, of course, has had to move from opening to number three, which he has again done comfortably well here. KL Rahul has been moved up and down. That has again sat really well. It is great to have Rishabh Pant back and Virat (Kohli), you know, at number four has done brilliantly under Rohit as well,” the 53-year-old concluded.

Indian skipper Rohit Sharma decided to bat first against New Zealand after the opening day was washed out due to rain.