India captain Shubman Gill is headed for a crucial fitness assessment, leaving the question of his availability for the second Test against South Africa to the very last moment. With team management waiting until the last possible moment to determine his availability, the skipper will be deemed fit or unfit for the crucial match on Friday evening.Gill has not trained since developing a neck spasm on the second day of the Kolkata Test, a game in which India struggled without him in both innings. The BCCI’s sports science team is monitoring him closely, though the chances of him featuring remain uncertain.Batting coach Sitanshu Kotak said the final call hinges on how Gill responds over the next 24 hours.“See, he is definitely recovering really well, because I also met him yesterday,” Kotak said before India’s practice session on Thursday, which Gill did not attend.He explained that medical staff must be sure there is no risk of a relapse.“Now, the decision will be taken tomorrow evening, because the physios and doctors have to decide whether, even if he is fully recovered, there’s a chance of the spasm recurring during the match. That is very important,” he said.Kotak added that the team would not want to expose Gill to further injury.“If there is a doubt, then I am sure he will rest for one more game because it won’t help the team otherwise. A player like Shubman, and he’s the captain so any team would miss him,” he said.India, however, are preparing for all scenarios. Kotak stressed that replacements are ready if needed.“But if he is missing out because of injury, we have batters and plenty of good players. They are professionals; they should come and perform for the team,” he said, as quoted by PTI.“We all wish he plays, but if he doesn’t, we will definitely have a good replacement and maybe the guy coming in will score a hundred.”In the first Test, Dhruv Jurel stepped in at No. 4 during the second innings, an option Kotak said remains open but only after clarity on Gill’s status.“Jurel batted at No. 4, so he is one option. But until we know about Shubman, there is no point discussing who will play,” Kotak said. “Once we know, and once we see the wicket tomorrow, we will think about the best combination.”Reflecting on the Kolkata defeat, Kotak underlined how much India missed their captain.
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“In the last game, nobody discussed much about what our chances would have been had Shubman batted in both innings,” he said. “The second innings may not have even mattered. If in the first innings he had batted and we had one partnership, with a 100-run lead, we would have been fine. That’s not an excuse, but a reality that he couldn’t bat in two innings.”The 2nd and final Test of the series will be played in Guwahati at the Barsapara stadium on Saturday, with the match set to commence at 9:00 AM IST.
