Shubman Gill's captaincy replacement prepared by BCCI, fun times over
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India's ODI captaincy was passed on from Rohit Sharma to Shubman Gill just a month ago when India travelled to Australia for the three-match ODI series. They will now have to explore new options for captaincy, with Gill likely to miss the upcoming ODI series against South Africa.
Shubman Gill caught up with a major spasm in his neck during the First day of the Eden Gardens Test, which made him unavailable for the remainder of the games. He is absent from the currently ongoing Test against South Africa at Guwahati.
The South Africa tour's ODIs will start on the 30th of November, with three ODIs to be played between the two teams. The three venues for the matches are the JSCA International Stadium, Shaheed Veer Narayan Singh International Stadium and ACA-VDCA Cricket Stadium.
Shubman Gill is not available for selection for the South Africa ODIs
India suffered a huge setback, as Shubman Gill, the newly appointed ODI captain, would be unavailable for selection for the three-match series against South Africa. Shreyas Iyer was already out of action after suffering a major injury in the Australia tour.
Gill, on the other hand, flew back to Mumbai on the 21st of November and then, as advised by Dr Dinshaw Pardiwala, the 26-year-old has likely been ruled out from the ODI series to be ready for the 5-match T20I series starting on the 9th of December.
"Unfortunately, Gill will not be available for selection for the three ODIs vs South Africa. He has been advised to get more rest by the specialists and continues to be monitored by the BCCI medical team," said a BCCI official.
Indian selectors cite new players for the leadership role
In Shubman Gill's absence, the Indian selectors would have to select new players who can take up the role. Usually, when a captain misses out, the vice-captain takes up the captaincy, but in this case, Shreyas Iyer, the vice-captain, has been ruled out already.
This can be assured that Yashasvi Jaiswal, who was awaiting an ODI call-up, will finally get an opportunity, as he is likely to replace Shubman Gill in the opening slot. However, the middle-order position remains vacant, with Rishabh Pant the most likely candidate up for grabs.
The Indian management is reportedly citing the likes of KL Rahul, Axar Patel and Rishabh Pant, as the selectors meet in Guwahati in the coming days. Pant, who previously was a regular in the ODI setup, might be reinstated with the team.
Unlike the Test team, the Indian ODI team is right-handed dominated; Rishabh Pant would call for a change
Unlike the Test XI for India, which is overflown by left-handed batters, the ODI XI contains many right-handed batting stalwarts. Hence, to create a balance, the Indian management has decided to inject some southpaws within the ODI side.
Likely, Yashasvi Jaiswal will be the first to move in, and with Axar Patel being the only left-hander in the middle order, either Rishabh Pant or Tilak Varma might likely be drawn into the side.
Since Hardik Pandya's return has also been delayed, Washington Sundar might also get a promotion in the playing order, as Nitish Kumar Reddy is often sent much further down the order. The South Africa series will pose many challenges to Team India's youngsters.
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India National Cricket Team South Africa National Cricket Team India vs South Africa South Africa vs India Shubman Gill Shreyas Iyer Rishabh Pant KL Rahul Axar Patel
