'I will be accused of backing a Mumbai boy' - Sunil Gavaskar refuses to comment on Ajinkya's Rahane's captaincy

Former Indian cricketing legend Sunil Gavaskar appeared satisfied with Team India's dominating performance on the first day of the Boxing Day Test in Melbourne.

Under the leadership of stand-in skipper Ajinkya Rahane, the visitors ticked all the boxes to remain on the top of the game throughout the course of the day. However, Sunil Gavaskar was cautious in his praise for Ajinkya Rahane.

"Let’s not jump to conclusions too quickly. If I say that his captaincy is outstanding, then I will be accused of backing a Mumbai boy and all kinds of things will happen. So I don’t want to get into that because these are early days," said Sunil Gavaskar.

Sunil Gavaskar heaps praise on Team India's bowling unit

“It’s important for India to look beyond the fact that it’s only Ajinkya Rahane’s captaincy. It’s the way Ashwin bowled, it’s the way Bumrah bowled, it’s the way Siraj made his debut. I mean imagine, being a new-ball bowler, and you don’t get to bowl a single delivery before the second session. Only in the second session, you get to bowl in the 27th over but he showed great spirit in the way he came and bowled.”

“From what I have seen in the last 2 Tests he captained and the one-day matches he captained, he has got a great sense of where the fielders should be kept. Having said that, it’s very important for the bowlers to bowl to their field. If the bowlers bowl to the field, as they did today, then the captain looks very good,” Gavaskar added

Sunil Gavaskar also asserted that the three quick wickets of Joe Burns, Matthew Wade and Steve Smith helped India not lose their grip over the game. Had it been the opposite case, the team's body language might have been very different.

As for the Boxing Day Test, after bowling out Australia for 195 in the first innings, India finshed the Day 1 on 36 for the loss of 1 wicket.