India opener Shubman Gill has been ruled out of the five-match Test series against England beginning in August, sources in the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) told NDTV on Wednesday.
Shubman Gill ruled out of England Test Series
A serious injury to his calf or hamstring has all but ruled him out of the entire 5-match Test series against England. While the situation is highly disappointing for Gill, it does give some of the bench players an opportunity to impress.
Abhimanyu Easwaran, who was named as a standby player by the BCCI when the squad was announced, has been earmarked as his replacement in the squad, sources said.
“Shubman is very upset right now. The injury looks bad. BCCI is contacting the best professionals to get Shubman treated in England. While the team management wishes that he recovers in time for the series, it looks unrealistic. It needs to be seen if he needs surgery,” said a source close to the team management.
Gill continues to be in England at the moment before the Indian team management takes a final call based on the seriousness of the injury. The first Test begins on August 4 and the series ends on September 14.
Abhimanyu Easwaran is a reserve opener in England and the team management has other options such as Mayank Agarwal and KL Rahul.
But the plans are to reportedly play Rahul as a middle-order batsman. Another option is to Hanuma Vihari as an opener if Mayank performs below par.
“Rahul’s game against the new ball has not been up to the mark over the last year. He could be a very good option down the order. Vihari has shown he has the ability to play out the new ball,” a source told TOI.
Gill made his debut during the Border-Gavaskar series in Australia in 2020-21, and has played eight Tests so far, scoring 414 runs at an average of 31.84. Gill was part of the WTC final against New Zealand. He failed to perform, scoring 28 and 8 as the Kane Williamson-led side won the marquee clash by eight wickets to be crowned champions.
