Shubman Gill Doubtful For 1st Test vs New Zealand Due To Stiff Neck, Sarfaraz Khan Likely Replacement - Report (Source: AP)
Ace India batter Shubman Gill is doubtful for the first Test between India and New Zealand at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru, starting tomorrow, October 16. As per a report in Hindustan Times, Gill is struggling with a stiff neck and is currently under observation of the physios. If Gill fails to recover in time, Sarfaraz Khan could get a place in the playing XI, with KL Rahul batting at No. 3.
Sarfaraz has been in stunning form recently and scored a double hundred for Mumbai in the Irani Trophy. This comes after an impressive debut for India against England where he scored 200 runs in three Tests, including three fifties.
Update On Mohammed Shami
Meanwhile, Indian captain Rohit Sharma attended a press conference ahead of the first Test and gave an update about Mohammed Shami, who has been out of action due to an injury. Shami was on his way to peak fitness after recovering from ankle surgery, however, he got swelling on his knees which pegged him back. Rohit spoke on Shami's availability for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy and said it's a tough call to make right now, adding that an assessment will be made after the New Zealand Test series.
“I mean, to be honest, right now it’s pretty difficult for us to make a call on him, whether he’ll be fit for this series or Australia series. You know, he recently had a setback, he had swelling in his knee, which was quite unusual. While he was in the process of getting fit, getting close to 100%, he had swelling in his knee.
“That put him back a little bit in his recovery, so he had to start again fresh. Right now he’s at NCA (now Centre of Excellence), he’s working with the physios, the doctors at NCA,” India skipper Rohit Sharma told the media on Tuesday.
“We are keeping our fingers crossed. We want him to be fit, 100% fit, more than anything else. We don’t want to bring an undercooked Shami to Australia, that is not going to be the right decision for us. He’s not played cricket for a year and it is quite tough for a fast bowler to have missed so much of cricket, and then suddenly come out and be at his best. It is not ideal.
“The physios, the trainers, the doctors have set a roadmap for him. He is supposed to play a couple of games before he plays international cricket. So we’ll see where he’s at after this New Zealand series and then take a call, at what stage of Australia he’ll be fit for us.”
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