Why Shubman Gill might not get replaced with Sarfaraz Khan? Sources claim ‘Trust issues’

Indian Test captain Shubman Gill travelled to Guwahati with the rest of the squad for the second game against South Africa, but the neck injury he sustained does not look like it will fully heal for the match by the time clash begins on Saturday. However, Gill will try his best to claim his fitness during training session on Thursday and Friday.

Though Shubman Gill has travelled with the entire squad, sources in the team indicate that the young captain is far from being 100% fit. It has also been learnt that even though the Gill is constantly facing pain on his neck, the intensity has considerably gone down.

Even though Shubman Gill might be fit by the statements of fitness tests and medical teams, the challenge of a five-day cricket match might give rise to the issue in a longer time period. With the series on line, Gill being present in the game is going to be a massive boost to the lineup.

Shubman Gill has a good game against spin and in a match where opponent spinners will pose a significant threat in Guwahati, a right-handed batter tackling the spinning ball might bring out impressive numbers. However, the current coaching staff and selectors are not having much faith in players like Sarfaraz Khan- who can handle this duty.

The logic of the management and selectors is that apart from Sai Sudharsan and Devdutt Padikkal (both left-handers), bringing in another player from outside the team will show a massive lack of trust in Gill’s ability to handle pressure.

One more thing to be noted is that Shubman Gill is known to train even on optional days, which might also lead to him aiming to try and be fit enough to bat in Guwahati- since a half-fit captain is more effective than either Sudharsan, Devdutt or Sarfaraz. Also, missing a match in his early phase of captaincy will be the last thing in Gill’s list.