IND vs SL: Mohammad Kaif believes India made wise call to pick Shubman Gill ahead of Ishan Kishan in opening ODI

Former India cricketer Mohammad Kaif opined that the Men in Blue made the wise decision to pick Shubman Gill ahead of Ishan Kishan in the first ODI against Sri Lanka. Rohit Sharma and Co. registered a massive 67-run win against the Islanders to take the 1-0 lead in the three-match series in Guwahati.

It was the top-order that fired in tandem to post a mammoth total of 373 runs which included skipper Rohit Sharma scoring 83, Gill scoring 70, and Virat Kohli carving out a sensational ton (113 runs). Eventually, the Indian bowling unit restricted the Lankan Lions to register a comprehensive win. Following the conclusion of the match, in a discussion on Star Sports, former cricketer Kaif made a bold remark as he agreed with the side backing Gill ahead of Ishan Kishan.

"It was the right decision. They are playing the better player. It is not that a left-hander is being sent at the top of the order so that you get a left-right combination. Shikhar Dhawan was playing because he was a good player and had a good record and not because he was a left-hander,” said Kaif.

Gill will have to be praised: Mohammad Kaif

Ishan played a dominating 210-run knock against Bangladesh recently and yet was not picked as Gill has been in stunning form in the 50-over format. The right-hander has amassed 707 runs at an average of 70.7 with five half-centuries and a century in his last 13 ODI outings. Kaif further added that the batter has showed faith in his game.

"They played Shubman Gill and Shreyas Iyer. Gill will have to be praised because he knows the atmosphere in which he is playing. He knows Shikhar has been dropped and Ishan Kishan is sitting outside after scoring a double century but he showed faith in his game."

Team India plays its second ODI against the Asia Cup 2022 winners at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata and will be on the lookout to clinch the series.