India have been handed a huge blow as opening batsman Shubman Gill is all but ruled out for the first three Tests against England in the upcoming series after suffering a shin stress fracture. Gill is reportedly set to miss the action for two months and faces a race against time to be fit for the final two Tests against England.
As per a report in PTI, Gill’s shin injury got aggravated during the recently-concluded World Test Championship final (WTC) final against New Zealand. Gill had scored 28 and 8 runs respectively in the two innings as India lost the final by eight wickets. The right-hander is unlikely to feature in the Test series against England which gets underway next month but can be in contention for the final two Tests, as per a BCCI source.
“Shubman has sustained a shin stress fracture, which will keep him out of action for a minimum of two months, which effectively rules him out of the first three Tests against England in August,” PTI quoted a BCCI source as saying.
“It will be a race against time to get him fit for the final two Test matches in September after completing rehabilitation,” he added.
Gill had cemented his spot as an opener following his good show in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2020-21 where he ended up with 259 runs in three games to help India script history Down Under by registering their second straight Test series win in Australia. He was not at his best in the home Test series against England but was rewarded for his hard work in the WTC final.
Gill opened the batting with Rohit Sharma in the final but failed to do enough to help Virat Kohli & Co. clinch the Test mace. In his absence, India are likely to use the likes of Mayank Agarwal and KL Rahul as Gill’s replacement in the Test series against England. The batsman will remain in the UK and his progress will be monitored by the BCCI’s medical team, as per PTI.
It is still not clear if Gill will be sent back home for rehab or will continue to stay in England for the whole tour. The Indian players are currently on a break post the WTC final with the England Tests scheduled to begin from August 04.
