ENG vs IND | Surprised that Gill hid his injury and Mayank should replace him, reckons Saba Karim
Kohli having a word with Gill during one of the home series
|BCCI
Former Indian cricketer Saba Karim has expressed that he was left surprised by the fact that young opener Shubman Gill hid his injury. He also went on to add that Mayank Agarwal, who last played for India Down Under, should come in as a replacement for Gill as he failed in just a few innings.
Things have gone downhill rather fast for the young Indian opener Shubman Gill. After making an impressive debut in Australia, he failed to impress in the home Tests against England, which was followed by an equally lean IPL. His dry patch continued as he failed to turn up with the willow in hand in the World Test Championship final and was later ruled out of the five-match Test series against England, owing to his injury.
Reportedly, he has either sustained a calf muscle injury or a hamstring tear, which is supposed to take a good period of time for recovery and rehabilitation. It hasn't been made public yet as to how he got the injury in the first place. Speaking on the Shubman Gill injury situation, former Indian wicketkeeper-batsman Saba Karim, stated that he was left surprised that Gill has been travelling with the team for a while now and yet he was able to hide his injury.Â
âI was surprised to see Shubman Gill hid his injury. He has been travelling for a long time with the Indian team. Physios and other medical staff are tracking the fitness of the players. Itâs very surprising in the first place, how it happened and why it didnât come up earlier,â he said on the podcast âKhelneetiâ, reported India Today.
With Gill out of the side for the series against England, which starts in August, India will need to make a choice between KL Rahul and Mayank Agarwal. However, Hanuma Vihari can also emerge as a wildcard option given how well had done in his solitary Test as an opener in the MCG Test on the 2018/19 tour. But the Indian cricket expert believes that dropping Mayank was harsh in the first place and he should be picked now.
âMayank should be given preference. We have been harsh towards Mayank. He was sidelined after just 2-3 failed innings,â said Karim.
The first Test between India and England will take place from August 4 in Nottingham. India lost the five-match Test series 1-4 when they last played a series against the Three Lions on English soil. They had even faced defeat at the hands of New Zealand in the WTC final in the country when they locked horns in Southampton.
