India’s Test captain Shubman Gill has been released from the Kolkata hospital where he was being treated for a neck spasm suffered during the first Test against South Africa. However, his participation in the second Test in Guwahati — starting Saturday — remains uncertain.
Although India have a scheduled training session in Kolkata on Tuesday morning, Gill is not expected to join practice. The squad is likely to fly to Guwahati on Wednesday, but medical advice typically discourages commercial air travel for players recovering from neck injuries, making Gill’s availability even less likely.
Head coach Gautam Gambhir said the medical team would continue to assess Gill’s condition over the coming days.
“He’s still being assessed,” Gambhir said. “We always knew we were one down. Shubman wasn’t there, and losing two before lunch put us under pressure. With a couple of strong partnerships, we could’ve been in the game.”
India fell 30 runs short in a chase of 124, bowled out for just 93 — Gill’s absence leaving the batting order vulnerable.
Replacements under consideration
If Gill is ruled out, India may look to left-handers B Sai Sudharsan or Devdutt Padikkal to fill the opening role.
- Sudharsan impressed earlier this year against the West Indies (87 & 39) but managed only 32 as his top score in four innings for India A vs South Africa A.
- Padikkal has played two Tests — one each against Australia and England — and had a difficult outing with India A recently.
Picking either would extend India’s reliance on left-hand batters. India already fielded six in Kolkata — the first such instance — and South Africa’s offspinner Simon Harmer exploited the match-up, dismissing six left-handers among his eight wickets.
Recurring neck injury concern
Gill retired hurt after just three balls in the first innings and was ruled out of the remainder of the Kolkata Test. He had previously missed a Test against New Zealand in October 2024 due to a similar neck spasm.
The injury concern comes amid a packed workload for the captain — Gill has been playing continuously across formats since IPL 2025 and travelled directly from Australia to Kolkata after the T20I series.
The Indian team management is expected to take a cautious approach before deciding on his inclusion for the Guwahati Test.
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