On Gill’s India captaincy, he said, “This is new to him and he’s improving. With Gujarat Titans, whatever I’ve observed about him, he’s been very assertive. He knows what he wants. He’s very clear with his plans and ideas. I’m sure with the time, you will see very much improvement in his captaincy also.”

Under Gill’s captaincy, India won the second Test at Birmingham and were in a strong position in the third before losing the game by 22 runs.

“I thought he was very good compared to the first Test. He lacks experience leading Test or four-day games, but no one is born a captain.

“It’s good to see that Shubman’s been very good. He doesn’t look confused on the field as a captain, opposed to what he was in first Test match. But it’s good to see that he is on the right path,” said Patel.

Sai Sudharsan, dropped after the opening Test, scored his maiden Test half-century a patient 61 as India posted 264 for four on day one of the fourth Test.

He was replaced by experienced Karun Nair in the second and third Tests before returning to the XI in the fourth.

“Despite good domestic seasons, Nair couldn’t convert starts into big scores. Now India is backing a youngster, which is fine. After eight years away, you don’t usually get many chances. Sai made the most of his opportunity with a fifty. Knowing him, he’d be disappointed not to have converted it into a hundred,” said Patel.

Asked if Sai has the potential to become a regular all-format batter, Parthiv said, “The potential is immense. We’ve seen him bat with conviction in the IPL, winning the Orange Cap and striking at a high rate. He’s shown promise in Test cricket too.” Patel also expressed support for Kuldeep Yadav’s inclusion in the playing XI.

“I personally feel India should play Kuldeep Yadav. The team seems to prefer an extra batter, which is why Kuldeep isn’t finding a place. But I believe India should find room for him to have four attacking bowlers,” he said.