I was surprised to see Shubman Gill hide his injury: Saba Karim
Former Indian cricketer Saba Karim recently stated that he was surprised Indian opener Shubman Gill was able to hide an injury ahead of the World Test Championship (WTC) final.
Karim said that despite having so many trainers and physios around in the Indian team, no one managed to spot the injury that might now keep Gill out for about two months.
On the podcast 'Khelneeti', Saba Karim gave his thoughts on the Shubman Gill injury fiasco and said:
"I was surprised to see Shubman Gill hid his injury. He has been travelling for a long time with the Indian team. There are physios and other medical staff tracking the fitness of the players. It's very surprising in the first place, how it happened and why it didn't come up earlier."
Another former Indian cricketer Nikhil Chopra cited the example of the Indian team not taking Rohit Sharma on the Australian tour last year when he was injured. Chopra believes the rules must be the same for all players and that Shubman Gill should have stayed back.
"If you set standards for senior players like Rohit Sharma, then it's applicable to other players also," said Chopra.
We have been harsh towards Mayank Agarwal: Saba Karim
Saba Karim believes Mayank Agarwal has been hard done by the Indian team management. Despite being the third-fastest Indian player to reach 1000 Test runs, a poor innings in Australia saw him being replaced by Shubman Gill.
However, now that the youngster is injured, Karim believes Agarwal should be the first-choice opener alongside Rohit Sharma in the England series.
"Mayank should be given preference. We have been harsh towards Mayank. He was sidelined after just 2-3 failed innings," said Saba Karim.
Nikhil Chopra also agreed with what Karim had to say and felt there was no need to fly in any other player from outside the squad for the series.
"Players who are already in the squad should be given a chance. Mayank had a terrific home series. It would be wrong to bring a player from the back instead of a player who is already present with you. It will set the wrong example," said Chopra.
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