Team India's batter Shubman Gill won't be taking the field on Day 4 of the ongoing second Test against England at Dr Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy Cricket Stadium in Visakhapatnam on Monday, January 5.
Gill has sustained a blow to his right index finger while fielding on Day 2. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) released its statement on X handle (formerly Twitter) regarding youngster's injury.
"Shubman Gill hurt his right index finger while fielding on Day 2. He won't be taking the field today," statement read.
In the absence of Shubman Gill on the field, Sarfaraz Khan came in as substitute on Day 4 of the second Test against England. Sarfaraz received his first maiden call-up for India Test squad after KL Rahul and Ravindra Jadeja were ruled out of the Vizag Test due to respective injuries.
Despite sustaining from finger injury on Day 2, Shubman Gill came to bat and scored a brilliant 104 off 147 balls in India's second innings on Day 3 of the Vizag Test. Gill was under immense pressure after underwhelming performances in the last few matches and his place in the test team was called into question.
However, Punjab cricketer managed to silence his critics by stepping up for the team in crucial situation and scoring his first century while batting at No.3 in Tests. Also, Shubman Gill scored his first Test century since March 2023 and the third overall in the format.
Shubman Gill on his father's reaction after dismissal
Shubman Gill showcased his grit to keep India's scorecard ticking on the board when other batters failed to deliver. He was lone warrior for the hosts in the second innings batting. Nevertheless, Gill threw his wicket away after getting into his rhythm while trying to reverse sweep off Shoaib Bashir's delivery.
Shubman Gill's father was present in the stands when he scored a century in Vizag. However, his way of dismissal would have caught attention of father. When Ravi Shastri asked Punjab cricketer whether his father, Lakhwinder Singh, would scold him in the hotel room over his dismissal, he replied with affirmative.
"I think so. I’ll get to know once I get back to the hotel but I think so. He comes for most of my games, there's no such pressure"
In the ongoing Test series against England, Shubman Gill scored 161 runs at an average of 40.25 in four innings.
