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India captain Shubman Gill is unlikely to feature in the do-or-die second Test match against South Africa later this week at the Barsapara Stadium, after sources in the Cricket Association of Bengal told news agency PTI that he won’t be travelling with the team to Guwahati on Wednesday.
On the second morning of the opening Test against the Temba Bavuma-led side, Gill had walked out to bat after the dismissal of Washington Sundar. On the third ball he faced, as he slog swept Simon Harmer for a boundary, he injured his neck. The India No. 4 was immediately attended by the team physio, before he walked out of the ground retired hurt and did not take part in the rest of the match owing to neck spasms.
Gill was taken to a hospital in Kolkata for medical scans at the end of Day 2 of the match, and was discharged a day later, shortly after India’s 30-run defeat in the series opener, where the hosts were folded for just 93 runs in the chase of 124.
According to a report in the PTI, Gill has been advised to rest for the next four days and hence is unlikely to travel to Guwahati for the second Test match. However, the sources added that his progress is being monitored on a day-to-day basis, with India likely to take the final call by Tuesday.
“He has acute neck pain, and we’re not allowed to further go to details about the injury. He has to keep continuing wearing the neck collar,” the source told PTI.
“He has been advised three-four days rest and not to take flight. In this situation, he is not advised to travel to Guwahati. But we are monitoring his progress on a daily basis and the picture will be clearer by Tuesday,” the sources added.
The last time Gill had missed a Test match was against New Zealand in October 2024, incidentally also because of a neck spasm. His latest setback comes at a time when the team is closely tracking his workload. The India captain has been playing nonstop across formats since IPL 2025 and was one of four Test regulars who joined the squad barely two days after their final T20I in Brisbane.
Earlier on Sunday, India head coach Gautam Gambhir said at the post-match press conference that Gill was “still being assessed”, with another round of evaluations to be carried out by the physio and medical staff.
The Indian team will hold an optional training session at the Eden Gardens on Tuesday, which Gill will miss, before leaving for Guwahati on the following day.
If Gill is ruled out, India have options in B Sai Sudharsan and Devdutt Padikkal. Sudharsan, who scored 87 against West Indies in Delhi, managed a top score of 32 in four innings for India A recently against South Africa A.
