India vs England: Shubman Gill returns home after getting injured; replacement unclear

Indian Test batsman Shubman Gill has returned home after being ruled out of the India vs England five-match Test series due to a shin injury. Gill posted an Instagram story of him arriving home and his family welcoming him back with a cake. It remains to be seen who does BCCI announce as the batsman's replacement; as such, the board hasn't officially informed of his exit and return.

Shubman Gill's Instagram story: Cricketer returns home

Shubman Gill was sidelined for the upcoming India vs England series after suffering a shin injury three weeks ago during the WTC final between India and New Zealand. It is believed that Gill would miss at least eight weeks of action as a result. Sources told ANI, ''He has a shin injury which he has sustained after the WTC final against New Zealand and will need around eight weeks to recover.'' Screenshots of Shubman Gill's Instagram story can be seen below.

India vs England schedule

1st Test: August 4 to August 8, beginning at 3:30 PM IST

2nd Test: August 12 to August 16, beginning at 3:30 PM IST

3rd Test: August 25 to August 29, beginning at 3:30 PM IST

4th Test: September 2 to September 6, beginning at 3:30 PM IST

5th Test: September 10 to September 14, beginning at 3:30 PM IST

Who will BCCI announce as Shubman Gill's replacement?

With just two weeks remaining for the India vs England Test series to begin, BCCI has a major decision to make as to who will be Shubman Gill's replacement. Gill could most likely be replaced by KL Rahul or Mayank Agarwal to partner alongside Rohit Sharma. Both Agarwal and Rahul are currently playing in a warm-up match for the 'Men in Blue' against County Select XI.

Saba Karim's remarks on Shubman Gill's injury slammed by BCCI officials

During a session on the podcast 'Khelneeti,' Saba Karim said he was surprised that Shubman Gill's injury went unnoticed. He seemed to question the medical team about how the opener passed the fitness test with the injury. However, these comments did not go down well with BCCI officials who slammed his remarks. As reported by ANI, a senior BCCI official said, 

In making such a statement, he has questioned the leadership of Ganguly who is very particular about the rules being followed where fitness of players and selection of players is concerned. It is a serious allegation to make because in doing so he is trying to cast aspersions on the integrity of Shubman and the leadership of Ganguly. I  personally think this is a cry for attention from Karim because he was himself a part of the Indian cricket set-up till very recently and he obviously knows that there is a proper process in place wherein a player goes through a fitness test and there is no way in today's day and age that a player can hide his injury. It may have happened when he was a player or a selector, I don't know, but his statement is very unfortunate.