Shubman Gill's wretched luck with coin tosses continued on Friday. The Indian captain lost yet another toss, with South Africa skipper Temba Bavuma calling it right. South Africa opted to bat first in Eden Gardens first Test match since 2019.
Addressing his poor toss record, Gill cheekily told Ravi Shastri on broadcast, "I think the only toss that I'm going to win is hopefully in the WTC finals."
Gill took over as captain earlier this year in Test cricket with the tour of England. In his 11-match captaincy career, Gill has only won a solitary toss. Shubman did not win a single toss in the IND vs AUS ODI series either, meaning his record is not just pertinent to Test cricket.
India's luck with the toss is also not just limited to Shubman Gill. In ODI cricket, India have lost 18 consecutive tosses, with Rohit Sharma and Kl Rahul joining Gill in this run. Suryakumar Yadav did not win a toss in India's Asia Cup victory and celebrated a rare toss win in Australia.
India ring in changes, Axar & Pant return
As expected, Dhruv Jurel features in India's Playing Xi, while Rishabh Pant also makes a comeback. Washington Sundar, Axar Patel and Ravindra Jadeja will take up spin duties alongside Kuldeep Yadav. Sai Sudharsan, who has had a tough start to his career, has also been replaced, with Sundar carded to bat at No.3. Former India captain and coach, Anil Kumble rung the bell to begin proceedings at Eden Gardens.
IND vs SA 1st Test: Playing XIs
India Playing XI: Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Washington Sundar, Shubman Gill, Rishabh Pant, Dhruv Jurel, Ravindra Jadeja, Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj.
South Africa Playing XI: Aiden Markram, Ryan Rickelton, Wiaan Mulder, Tony de Zorzi, Temba Bavuma (c), Tristan Stubbs, Kyle Verreynne, Simon Harmer, Marco Jansen, Keshav Maharaj, Corbin Bosch
