Shubman Gill was supposed to get straight back into List-A rhythm on Saturday. Instead, the opener watched from the hotel as Punjab chased 77 in a blink, his comeback to the Vijay Hazare Trophy put on hold by a bout of food poisoning.
Gill reached Jaipur on Friday afternoon and had been pencilled in for the fifth-round match against Sikkim. Overnight nausea changed those plans. After a morning chat with the team doctor, management chose caution. A member of the support staff summed it up: “Gill didn’t feel well at night, and was advised to rest by the doctors.”
The temporary setback should not extend beyond one game. Team officials believe the 24-year-old will be fit for the sixth-round fixture against Goa on 6 January. That outing, if it happens, will be his last before linking up with India’s one-day squad for the New Zealand series starting 11 January in Vadodara – a series he is widely expected to captain.
Punjab coped fine without their marquee batter. Sikkim were bundled out for 75, Arshdeep Singh swinging and seaming his way to 5 for 34 – the left-arm quick’s third five-for in List-A cricket. Prabhsimran Singh then belted an unbeaten 53 from 23 balls, finishing the chase in 6.2 overs. Punjab’s net run-rate, always handy in this competition, received a healthy nudge.
Gill’s recent luck with his body has been mixed at best. Three balls into the first Test in South Africa he jarred his neck and took no further part, Rishabh Pant assuming captaincy duties in Guwahati. A toe injury during last month’s T20I leg of the same tour ruled him out of the T20 World Cup squad. Now food poisoning has added to the interruptions, though this one appears minor.
For Punjab the immediate concern is simply having their premier run-scorer back at the top of the order. For India the view is broader – keeping Gill fresh for New Zealand and the busy white-ball calendar beyond. Either way, everyone expects to see him with bat in hand on Saturday, provided the stomach settles and the doctor nods.
A modest delay, then, rather than a derailment.
