Why hasn't Shubman Gill opened the batting in the 2nd India vs New Zealand Test?
Indian opener Shubman Gill suffered an elbow injury during New Zealand's first innings in the second Test against India. Hence, the 22-year-old hasn't come out to open India's second innings along with Mayank Agarwal. Instead, Cheteshwar Pujara was promoted up the order to open the innings.
The incident took place in the 19th over of New Zealand's first innings bowled by Jayant Yadav. On the first ball of the over, Kyle Jamieson smashed the ball towards Shubman Gill, who was stationed at short midwicket exactly for that kind of a shot.
Gill not only dropped the catch but also injured his elbow. He was seen grimacing in pain and decided to walk off the field. Suryakumar Yadav then came in as a substitute to replace him.
The BCCI confirmed Shubman's Gill injury and wrote in a tweet that he hasn't taken the field as a precautionary measure. The BCCI tweet read:
"🚨 Update 🚨: Shubman Gill suffered a blow to his right elbow while fielding in the first innings. He has not recovered completely and hence not taken the field as a precautionary measure. #TeamIndia #INDvNZ @Paytm"
🚨 Update 🚨: Shubman Gill suffered a blow to his right elbow while fielding in the first innings. He has not recovered completely and hence not taken the field as a precautionary measure.
#TeamIndia #INDvNZ @Paytm https://t.co/UqSzXYTce2
"No technical issue for Shubman Gill while playing on hard and bouncy tracks" - Sachin Tendulkar
In a recent interaction with PTI, legendary cricketer Sachin Tendulkar gave his opinion about whether Shubman Gill can excel in South African conditions. Sachin said that Gill has an advantage as he has played in similar conditions earlier. He said:
“When it comes to technique, different surfaces will test you differently. I think Shubman has an advantage as he played very crucial innings (91) in Brisbane where we won the Test match.”
Tendulkar added:
“He has had the experience of playing on hard and bouncy tracks and I felt that he looked pretty comfortable. So, I don’t think there is any technical issue as such."
Sachin Tendulkar also said that he'd like to see the young lad from Punjab convert his starts into big scores and said:
“Shubman has started well and shown a lot of promise. The way he builds his innings, he has been good so far. It's just that he needs to go further and convert those 40s into big scores.”
Cricket South Africa (CSA) has earlier confirmed that India's tour to the Rainbow Nation is on. The visitors will be playing three ODIs and three Tests against the hosts.
INDIA TOUR TO SOUTH AFRICA CONFIRMED ✅
CSA can confirm that the #SAvIND Tour will go ahead as originally planned but will be reduced 😁
3️⃣ Tests
3️⃣ ODIs
The 4 T20I matches will be rescheduled in the new year
#BePartOfIt https://t.co/Kq6WY0fyuJ