India captain Shubman Gill might not be able to play the rest of the first Test after he was taken to an ambulance on a stretcher with his neck strapped on Saturday evening. This happened only a few hours after he retired hurt during India’s first innings on day two at Eden Gardens.
Gill had walked off on four, holding the back of his neck after what looked like a whiplash injury while slog-sweeping Simon Harmer for a boundary. The physio checked him immediately and Gill left the field after facing just three balls. He has now been admitted to Woodlands Hospital and will be kept under observation overnight.
Things looked more serious later in the evening when he was seen being taken away with a cervical collar around his neck, raising worries about how bad the injury might be.
South Africa’s assistant coach Morne Morkel suggested it might simply be due to a poor night’s rest rather than exhaustion. “Yeah, I think we first need to determine how he got the neck stiffness, maybe just a bad night’s sleep. I don’t think it’s, or we can put it down to the load,” he said.
Gill has been playing continuously across formats since he captained India during the tough England Test series. He had almost no break, joining the team straight after the Australia white-ball series that ended in Gabba on Saturday. By Sunday, he was back in Kolkata and the team trained for the first time on Tuesday.
With the Test expected to finish early, possibly by day three on Sunday, India will be hoping for the best when it comes to their captain’s injury.
BCCI issues statement
Earlier, the BCCI said they would decide on his further participation later, stating: “Shubman Gill has a neck spasm and is being monitored by the BCCI medical team. A decision on his participation today will be taken as per his progress.”
Gill got injured in an eventful 35th over right after the drinks break. Just before that, Harmer had dismissed a well-set Washington Sundar for 29 off 82 balls with a classic off-spinner’s delivery – drifting in, turning away, and taking the outside edge for Aiden Markram at slip.