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India's Test captain Shubman Gill has been discharged from the Kolkata hospital where he was undergoing treatment for the neck spasm he picked up during the first Test against South Africa. However, his availability for the second Test in Guwahati, starting Saturday, remains uncertain, as per ESPNcricinfo.
India have a training session scheduled in Kolkata on Tuesday morning, but Gill is not expected to attend. The team is set to travel to Guwahati on Wednesday, yet with doctors advising against commercial air travel for someone recovering from a neck issue, Gill is unlikely to fly with the squad. At the post-match press conference, head coach Gautam Gambhir said Gill was still being assessed and that the team physio would conduct another round of evaluation soon. Gill's absence in the fourth innings of the Kolkata Test left India one batter short, eventually India lost the match by 30 runs. "It was tough because we always knew we were one down," Gambhir said, as quoted from ESPNcricinfo. "Obviously, Shubman wasn't there, and then losing two before lunch, we were literally three down. But we always felt that if we got those partnerships, a 50-run partnership or two 40-run partnerships, we would've been in the game," he noted. If Gill is ruled out of the Guwahati Test, India may turn to left-handers B Sai Sudharsan or Devdutt Padikkal. Sudharsan impressed with scores of 87 and 39 against the West Indies in Delhi but managed a highest of 32 in four innings for India A versus South Africa A earlier this month. Padikkal, who has played one Test each in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy and the England series at home, registered three single-digit scores and a 24 against South Africa A. Should India make only this one change, they could end up fielding seven left-handed batters. In the Kolkata Test, India had six left-handers in the XI for the first time. South Africa offspinner Simon Harmer dismissed six left-handers in the match, while part-timer Aiden Markram also removed one. Gill was taken to hospital after Day 2 of the Kolkata Test, shortly after retiring hurt in the first innings having faced just three balls. On the morning of Day 3, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) confirmed he would not take any further part in the Test. Gill has dealt with a similar neck spasm before, which kept him out of the Test against New Zealand in October 2024. The latest injury comes at a time when his workload is being closely monitored. He has been playing continuously across formats since Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 and was among the four Test players who flew to Kolkata directly from Australia after the T20I series. (ANI)
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