Shubman Gill hid his injury? Report claims batter played IPL 2024 with finger niggle; surgery possible

Despite being picked as a traveling reserve in the Indian team for the ICC T20 World Cup 2024, Shubman Gill was dealing with a finger injury, as per TOI.

Shubman Gill is among the 4 extra players who have traveled to the USA and West Indies for the showpiece 20-team T20 event, which is in its second round. Team India qualified for the next round - Super 8s even after winning 3 out of the 4 Group stages matches against Ireland, Pakistan, and the USA respectively.

Their fourth group match against Canada could not take place due to the extreme weather conditions in Florida which was supposed to host the fixture. But thanks to their 100% win record from the first 3 matches, Rohit Sharma and co. qualified for the Super 8s with ease.

They will now be facing Afghanistan, Bangladesh, and Australia in the second round of the tournament. Teams must win 2 games at least in the Super 8s to qualify for the semi-finals in Trinidad and Guyana on June 27th. The Indians are currently based in Barbados after the USA leg's conclusion and are preparing hard for the upcoming challenges.

Shubman Gill's contrasting 2023 and 2024 IPL seasons

Amid their preparation, the Indian team has faced a setback with reserve batsman Shubman Gill, whose exclusion from the T20 WC squad created a massive stir. His fans and a handful of cricket experts wanted to see him feature in what would have been his debut World Cup of the shortest format.

Last year, Shubman Gill played in the finals of two major ICC competitions - the World Test Championship and the 50-over Cricket World Cup. On both occasions, the Indians lost and Gill flopped. In the WTC final at the Oval, the right-hander had scores of 13 and 18 across innings, and on the day of the ODI WC final, he was out after scoring just 4 runs.

As far as his non-selection in the T20 World Cup is concerned, Shubman Gill did not display as good form as he did in the IPL 2023 season. Gill was made the captain of the Gujarat Titans ahead of the 2024 season and many feel that the added responsibility of leadership spoiled his entire season.

In IPL 2023 when Hardik Pandya was still Gujarat's captain, Shubman Gill had his best ever season in the competition with the bat. He scored a total of 890 runs from 17 matches at an impressive average of 59.33 and smacked 3 Centuries and 4 half-centuries on the way.

But this season, Shubman Gill did not even score half of the runs he amassed in 2023. The 24-year-old had a 426-run season in what was his first IPL season as full-time captain and despite his poor form therein, he was able to score a Century and two half-centuries.

Aim to recover before Gautam Gambhir's reign begins

Currently, Gill is dealing with a finger injury and is not with the team in Barbados as he along with Avesh Khan have returned home. His absence won't be felt by the Indian team as there are enough options to fill up for him but he will aim to recover soon and before Gautam Gambhir takes over from Rahul Dravid.

"He has had injury on his right index finger all through the IPL. A call on whether he needs a surgery will be taken by the NCA medical team," the source said, as quoted by TOI.