In a huge blow to Team India, ODI captain Shubman Gill will be unavailable for the three ODis vs South Africa starting November 30. With Shreyas Iyer already out of action for an extended period, India will be without their captain and vice-captain for the three-match series.Gill, who flew to Mumbai from Guwahati on November 21, has been advised more rest by Dr Dinshaw Pardiwala but is likely to be ready for the five-T20I series against the same opposition from December 9. A fresh assessment will be done next week to check on his progress and chart the road ahead.
“Unfortunately Gill will not be available for selection for the three ODIs vs South Africa. He has been advised more rest by the specialists and continues to be monitored by the BCCI medical team,” says a BCCI official.In the absence of Gill and Iyer, the men’s senior selection committee will have to assemble a stop-gap leadership group for the South Africa series. The likes of KL Rahul, Axar Patel and Rishabh Pant are likely to be in the mix when the selectors meet in Guwahati in the coming days.Pant hasn’t been a regular feature in the ODI XI but the management wants to recalibrate their approach in the format and there will be cautious effort to have some left-handers in the mix. The current ODI batting order is very right-handed dominated and the decision makers want to inject some lefties who can change the tempo of the game. Both Pant and Tilak Varma could be fighting for that No.4 spot in absence of Iyer as Yashasvi Jaiswal walks into the XI in place of Gill.
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India’s top six in Australia had Axar Patel as the only left-hander and the thinktank could explore some left-handed middle-order options. It could well mean a promotion for Washington Sundar too but the idea is to have the left-right going because regular top three – Shubman Gill, Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli – are all right-handers.
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