KOLKATA: A Shubman Gill sized problem faces the Indian cricket team as it prepares for the second Test against South Africa in Guwahati from Saturday. Although India’s regular Test captain has not been officially ruled out yet, there are indications he may not be available to play, necessitating some urgent changes in the XI.Go Beyond The Boundary with our YouTube channel. SUBSCRIBE NOW!Six players took part in the optional training at the Eden Gardens here on Tuesday morning, prominent among them being Sai Sudharsan and Devdutt Padikkal, two batters who are already in the squad. These two left-handers are in the mix as obvious options to replace Gill if the captain has to sit out owing to the neck injury he suffered in the first Test. As of now, no new player has been called up, but significantly, Nitish Kumar Reddy rejoined the team on Monday evening.
Reddy, who was part of the squad named for the two-Test series, had been released ahead of the Eden game so that he could play for India ‘A’ in the one-dayers against South Africa ‘A’ in Rajkot.Although he was also expected to play the last of the three games on Wednesday, he has been called back earlier than expected, giving rise to speculation that he may be in India’s scheme of things for the second Test.
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Gill has been incidentally been advised by doctors not to fly out, a standard precautionary measure following a neck injury. Now it is up to the medical panel of the Indian cricket board (BCCI) to decide Gill’s next step and whether he should be allowed to fly out with the team to Guwahati on Wednesday. Even if he makes the flight, though, it is unclear whether Gill will be completely free of discomfort or whether he will be in a position to lead the team out in the field. Gill has, however, been improving steadily.Given that the 26-year-old has a long career ahead of him and is so crucial to India’s plans, the BCCI’s medical team might even want to protect him from potential risks.This is not the first time that Gill has been grounded with a neck issue — even during the series against New Zealand last Oct, he had missed the Bengaluru Test due to this reason. The next few days will also determine whether Gill will be available for the white-ball series that follows the Tests.
It was no surprise that Padikkal and Sudharsan had lengthy nets sessions under the supervision of the coaching staff led by Gautam Gambhir. When it comes to the combination, however, there’s a catch — after playing with six left-handers in the lineup in the Eden Test, the highest-ever number of southpaws in an Indian Test XI, would they want to include yet another one in the playing XI in Guwahati?Both Padikkal and Sudharsan are left-handers. Of South African off-spinner Simon Harmer’s eight victims in the first Test, six were left-handers. Would India want to give Harmer — the hero of the Eden Test — one more reason to rejoice ahead of the Guwahati Test? That said, Sudharsan and Padikkal seem to be the best options currently to replace Gill, if it comes to that, unless Reddy comes into the picture. The right-handed Reddy bats in the middle-order and is also a handy bowler with his medium-pace stuff.India might look at other combinations, depending on the wicket at Barsapara Cricket Stadium, and a spinner could be sacrificed to accommodate Reddy. So, either Kuldeep Yadav or Axar Patel might be replaced by Reddy, with Sudharsan or Padikkal coming in for Gill.Will team management think out of the box?India could call up right-handed replacements from outside too, since it’s a home Test. There are the likes of Karun Nair, who returned to India’s Test side in England after a gap of eight years only to be discarded again. Then there’s Sarfaraz Khan, who was part of the squad in Australia but has been discarded in spite of a century and three fifties in his six Tests. There are the likes of Rajat Patidar and Ruturaj Gaikwad waiting in the wings too, should India be so inclined.As of now, it looks like Washington Sundar is set to remain at No. 3. Sundar, a useful off-spinner, bowled just one over in the Eden Test. At the nets on Tuesday, he bowled quite a bit. That could be an indication that he may be asked to bowl more overs at the Barsapara stadium, allowing India to drop a specialist spinner. Kuldeep Yadav, who bowled 22 overs at the Eden Gardens for his four wickets, could be the likely candidate to sit out in this scenario, since Axar Patel’s ability with the bat could hold him in better stead.Among the pacers, only Akash Deep turned up for Tuesday’s practice, bowling a lot to the batters. He managed to beat Sudharsan a number of times too, but then a different sort of pitch is expected in Guwahati. The batters also honed up their reverse sweep against spin, which the South Africans employed with great effect in the Eden Test.Temba Bavuma had said that the sweep was a deliberate ploy and they had in fact worked on the shot. Ravindra Jadeja and Dhruv Jurel, incidentally, also spent quality time in the Eden nets.
