Shubman Gill is doubtful for the second India-South Africa Test, which will be played at the Barsapara Cricket Stadium in Guwahati from November 22 to 26. The 26-year-old right-handed batter from Punjab, who is also the captain of India’s Test and ODI team, suffered a neck injury on Day 2 of the first Test at Eden Gardens, and due to that, he didn’t come out to bat as well in the second innings. Gill, who was taken to the hospital for treatment, will reportedly travel to Guwahati for the match, but there is no clarity about his participation.
If Gill misses, then Sai Sudharsan or Devdutt Padikkal could get a game in place of him. But according to former India opener Aakash Chopra, who has now donned the hat of an expert and commentator, if Gill is not
there, then Indian selectors should consider including Ruturaj Gaikwad.
According to Chopra, Gaikwad is in red-hot form these days, and it will be wise to bring a right-handed in-form batter in the XI, as there are already six left-handed batters, and Sudharsan and Padikkal also are lefties.
“Should Ruturaj Gaikwad be selected in the Test team? You might be wondering how he can be selected, as the team is already selected, and no one has gone out. There is still no clarity on Shubman Gill’s participation. He has been discharged from the hospital, but there is still a question mark over his participation,” Chopra said on his YouTube channel.
“Just in case he doesn’t become available, you will have to play someone. You have Sai Sudharsan and Devdutt Padikkal sitting outside – two more left-handers. You have six left-handers in the XI at the moment. Do you want to go with seven left-handers? You want to change that, maybe,” he added.
Gaikwad, who is yet to play a Test match for India, has registered scores of 91, 55*, 116 and 36* in four innings of three Ranji Trophy matches for Maharashtra this season, and in the two unofficial ODIs for India A against South Africa A in Rajkot last week, he hammered 117 and 68* to win back-to-back Player Of The Match (POTM) awards.
“He (Gaikwad) is in excellent form. He is scoring runs for India A in white-ball cricket. Don’t know why he is not played in the days’ format when the India A team plays, but wherever he is playing, whether it’s the Ranji Trophy or the Duleep Trophy, he has been scoring the runs,” Chopra said.
“He even bats in the middle order. He looks technically compact. It seems like he has been made to play Tests, and this is the same ground where he struck a T20I century vs Australia. So I am building a case for him that if there is any chance of Shubman Gill not playing, paradrop and bring him in,” he added.
