Shubman Gill has been discharged from hospital in Kolkata after the neck spasm that forced him out of the first South Africa Test, but the opener is still rated doubtful for Saturday’s match in Guwahati.
India have pencilled in a light training session at Eden Gardens on Tuesday morning; Gill is not expected to attend. The squad is due to fly east on Wednesday, though commercial air travel is usually frowned upon for anyone nursing a neck problem, so the likelihood is he sits tight for at least another 24 hours.
Head coach Gautam Gambhir kept things brief after the 30-run defeat, saying Gill was “still being assessed”, with the medical team to run another set of checks before the squad moves on. Gill’s absence left India one batter short in a fourth-innings chase that fizzled out at 93 all out.
“It was tough because we always knew we were one down,” Gambhir admitted. “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.”
If Gill does not pull up in time, the choice appears to be between B Sai Sudharsan and Devdutt Padikkal, both left-handers. Sudharsan impressed with 87 and 39 against West Indies in Delhi, yet managed only 32 in four hits for India A versus South Africa A earlier this month. Padikkal is shorter on recent returns: three single-digit scores and a 24 in that same A series, plus a lone Test appearance each against Australia and England last winter.
Bring in either man and India could field seven left-handers, having already used six in Kolkata – a first for the side. That played neatly into Simon Harmer’s arc; the off-spinner bagged six southpaws in his match haul of eight, while part-timer Aiden Markram removed another.
Gill, 26 next month, left the field on the second evening, having faced only three balls, and spent the night under observation. The BCCI confirmed on day three that he would take no further part in the Test. He suffered a similar spasm in October 2024, missing the first New Zealand Test, and his workload has been closely watched ever since a run of cricket that began with IPL 2025 and carried through to the recent T20Is in Australia.
With the World Test Championship table already tight, India can ill afford another false start. Yet they will also be wary of rushing back a player who has hardly stopped in 18 months.
