India opener Shubman Gill has been taken for precautionary scan after copping a blow to his left forearm while fielding on the third day of the ongoing second Test against England in Chennai. As a result, Gill hasn’t taken the field today.
“Shubman Gill sustained a blow on his left forearm while fielding on Day 3 of the 2nd Test. He has been taken for a precautionary scan. The BCCI Medical Team is assessing him. He won’t be fielding today,” BCCI tweeted on Tuesday after the Day 4 of the Test got underway with England in hunt of a massive target of 482 runs.
Gill, 21, has made an impressive start to his Test career since making debut on the Australia tour where his 91 at The Gabba was vital to India registering a historic win. He followed that with an impressive start to the England series where he scored 29 and 50 in first Test but was for a duck and 14 in the second match.
The injury doesn’t seem to be a serious one and there’s still a week before the third Test is scheduled to get underway in Ahmedabad giving the youngster ample time to make recovery. India are already dealing with injuries to several players including the likes of allrounder Ravindra Jadeja, middle-order batsman Hanuma Vihari and the fast bowling duo of Mohammed Shami and Umesh Yadav.
However, should Gill be forced to sit out of the third Test, India have a backup option in Mayank Agarwal and KL Rahul. There are unconfirmed reports that Jadeja, who is recovering from a dislocated thumb injury, may end up missing the entire Test series.
Trailing 0-1 in the four-match series, India are eyeing to draw level to keep their hopes of making the final of the ICC World Test Championship alive. The outcome of the Test series will decide who faces New Zealand at Lord’s in June.
The four Tests will be followed by five T20Is and three ODIs.