BCCI Ask Gill to Return; No Decision on Replacement Yet: Report

Currently, the team have the likes of KL Rahul, Mayank Agarwal and Abhimanyu Easwaran available as opening options.

Dharamsala: Indian player Shubman Gill during a practice session ahead of the first ODI match between India and South Africa in Dharamsala on March 11, 2020.

(Photo: Surjeet Yadav/IANS)

Opener Shubman Gill has been asked to come back to India by the BCCI after a stress injury to his shins ruled him out of the five-match Test series against England.

While there is no update about when Gill will return, the BCCI isn’t looking to fly someone to UK as a replacement soon, Cricbuzz reported.

The situation has put the Indian team management in quite a spot of bother.

Currently in England, the team management have the likes of KL Rahul, Mayank Agarwal and untested Abhimanyu Easwaran available as options to partner veteran Rohit Sharma. The team however is quite sure that Rahul would not be used as an opener.

The team management have reportedly also not asked for a specific player but one as replacement for Gill, citing the long testing conditions of the tour.

Unfortunately for the BCCI, the option of sending Prithvi Shaw or Devdutt Padikkal to UK is also not the easiest route. The two batters are in Sri Lanka, who like India are on the red list territories, which means no one can enter UK unless they’re a citizen.

Meanwhile, the BCCI are also not looking to ask the players to change their plans of holidaying just yet as the England Cricket Board have not asked them to alter their itinerary. England, who are in Bristol for the series against Pakistan, have had their whole squad isolate after 7 COVID-19 tests hit the camp.

The Indian players in UK will also be given their second dose of the COVID-19 vaccine on 7 and 9 July.