Former India cricketer reckons Shubman Gill deliberately hid injury ahead of UK tour

Former India cricketer Saba Karim believes Shubman Gill deliberately hid his injury in order to travel with the squad to play in the World Test Championship final. Karim, while speaking on the YouTube podcast 'Khelneeti', said he was "surprised" to see Shubman Gill hide his injury despite having physios and other medical personnel at his disposal at all times. Karim further added that Karnataka batsman Mayank Agarwal should be given a chance against England in place Gill. Karim said his first preference would be Mayank because he had a "terrific" home series. 

However, a BCCI source, while providing an update on Shubman Gill's injury, had said that the 21-year-old sustained it after the WTC final. The source also confirmed that Gill has been ruled out for at least 8 weeks. It is likely that Gill will miss out on the entire England series given he would require some time to recover fully from a stress fracture on the shin. 

'Mayank should be given a chance'

Meanwhile, another former cricketer Nikhil Chopra said Mayank was dropped from the side after having just one or two bad games, adding "It was a bit harsh". Chopra said it would be absolutely wrong if the management decides to bring a player from India as Shubman Gill's replacement when they already have a player warming the bench. India opener KL Rahul can be another option for the Virat Kohli-led side to have a look at ahead of the upcoming five-match Test series. Rahul has also been warming the bench since August 2019, when he played his last Test match against West Indies. 

Mayank has played 14 Tests for India since his debut in 2018 against Australia. He has scored 1,052 runs at an average of 45.73, including 3 centuries and 4 half-centuries to his name. Meanwhile, KL Rahul has played 36 Test matches since 2014. Rahul has scored 2,006 runs at an average of 34.58, including 5 centuries and 11 half-centuries. Both players have a good chance of making it back into the playing XI with Shubman Gill ruled out from the series. 

(Image Credit: PTI)