After Shubman Gill, star South African cricketers hospitalized in Kolkata

Indian captain Shubman Gill faced a serious neck spasm, which ruled him out of the entire first Test at the Eden Gardens and cost the home team the match with one batter down. The hospital he was admitted to in Kolkata has now found South African cricketers taking a stroll to get a health checkup.

Shubman Gill took over as red-ball captain ahead of the England tour, and he remains among the very few all-format cricketers for India.

Gill played the England tour, returned to play the Asia Cup, and followed it with the home series against the West Indies. After the series, he flew to Australia alongside the Indian team and played all 8 matches in the series. He struggled with a neck spasm during the first Test against South Africa and left the field immediately.

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However, it was cited by Morne Morkel that the Indian skipper does not have any workload issues, but claimed that the neck spasm was due to a sleeping posture problem. However, the injury doesn't seem so light for the Indian skipper.

South African players arrive at Woodlands for a health check-up

Due to his neck injury, Shubman Gill was hospitalized in Kolkata and was admitted under Dr. Saptarshi Basu at the Woodlands Hospital. He was, however, released after the game ended on Sunday afternoon.

After the Indian captain, even some South African cricketers, Simon Harmer, Keshav Maharaj, and Marco Jansen, went up to the Woodlands hospital for a regular checkup before they leave Kolkata and advance to Guwahati for the second Test.

South Africa's Simon Harmer, Keshav Maharaj and Marco Jansen went to Woodlands Hospital l in Kolkata last night for a health checkup.

— Subhayan Chakraborty (@CricSubhayan) November 18, 2025

Shubman Gill's injury concern might rule him out of the Guwahati Test

Shubman Gill has been discharged from the hospital, but his recovery is yet to be reported by the BCCI and the physios. The BCCI has called in Nitish Kumar Reddy to replace the skipper for the second Test.

Gill was also not able to take the field on Tuesday in an optional session for Team India in Kolkata, as he had acute neck pain and was forced to wear a neck brace. “He has acute neck pain, and we’re not allowed to go into further details about the injury. He has to continue wearing the neck collar,” the source told news agency PTI. “He has been advised three to four days' rest and not to take flight.

“In this situation, he is not advised to travel to Guwahati. But we are monitoring his progress on a daily basis, and the picture will be clearer by Tuesday,” the sources added.

Why did India call for Nitish Kumar Reddy, despite the presence of additional batters in the squad?

Despite having the likes of Sai Sudharsan and Devdutt Padikkal as the additional batters in the squad, India called in Nitish Kumar Reddy as a potential replacement. The decision seemed awkward; however, one thing can be cited: India does not want to bring in any further left-handers into the XI.

Both the batters in the squad are left-handers, and India already have several left-handers in the batting unit, except for KL Rahul, Shubman Gill, and Dhruv Jurel. Reddy, who is a right-handed batter, might further be brought down the order, and Jurel can instead be sent in early at no. 4, replacing Shubman Gill.

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