India vice-captain Shubman Gill has been ruled out of the last two T20 Internationals against South Africa due to a toe injury. It is learnt that Gill suffered the injury during a training session and all precautionary measures are being taken for his speedy recovery.
It is said that Shubman Gill again received an injury
“Shubman took part in a long batting session in the nets a day before the fourth T20 International. He injured his toe towards the end of the session. He was in pain and limping. It would have been difficult for him to play on Wednesday, so he did not join the team as there was little chance of him playing in the match,” a source in the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) told PTI on condition of anonymity. He said, “At this point of time it is difficult to say whether he will play in Ahmedabad or not.”
The T20 International series against New Zealand is India’s last series before the T20 World Cup and the team is likely to remain the same for that bilateral series and the World Cup, so the national selection committee and the team management would want to take all necessary precautions regarding one of their top-order specialist batsmen.
Gill was also ruled out of the Test and ODI series against South Africa due to a neck injury sustained on the second day of the first Test in Kolkata, which required a two-day hospitalization. He also missed the Guwahati Test and the subsequent ODI series. He was declared fit by the Centre of Excellence ahead of the T20 International series despite critics questioning his place in the team ahead of Sanju Samson, who had scored three centuries last season.
Gill’s performance in the series has been poor. He scored four and zero runs in the first two matches. He then made a 28-run knock in the third match in Dharamsala, but even there he was not in his element. However, the entire coaching staff led by Gautam Gambhir has strongly backed their star batsman that he will perform well in the T20 World Cup starting from February next year.