BCCI Denies Any Replacement For Shubman Gill Ahead Of England Test Series
Published - 08 Jul 2021, 12:43 PM | Updated - 23 Aug 2024, 12:49 AM
The BCCI has confirmed it would not send any replacement for the potentially injured Shubman Gill ahead of the Test series against England. After their humbling loss in the World Test Championship final against New Zealand in Southampton, the Indian team will hope to bounce back against the Englishmen. While Prithvi Shaw and Devdutt Padikkal had been in the mix to fly to England as a replacement for Gill, the idea stands shut now.
According to a few reports, Prithvi Shaw could have been Shubman Gill’s replacement from Sri Lanka as the latter has an injury. The youngster’s stress-related injury on his left leg could force him to miss the entire series. While Mayank Agarwal remains the frontrunner to replace Gill as Rohit Sharma’s opening partner, Prithvi Shaw’s current form had put him in the mix.
But it already seemed unlikely for him to fly from Sri Lanka to England. Former Indian cricketers, including Kapil Dev, expressed unhappiness about the rumours surrounding Shaw’s comeback to the longest format. Kapil Dev remarked that with two good opening batsmen in KL Rahul and Mayank Agarwal in the squad already, the youngster should not be required and that it would be humiliating to the initial group of players.
BCCI rejects the possibility of flying Prithvi Shaw to England:
BCCI sources confirmed the news saying that since Prithvi Shaw was not in the initial squad, there exists no reason why should be recalled now. The sources also stated that Devdutt Padikkal remains a great talent; however, they don’t want to push him now.
“When Prithvi Shaw was not considered in the pool of 24 players who travelled, why should it be any different now? As for Devdutt Padikkal, he’s a great talent but doesn’t deserve to be pushed to the wall like this. His time will come,” the sources claimed.