The Indian men’s cricket team will be led by a new captain in the crucial 2nd Test against South Africa to be played at the Barsapara Cricket Stadium of Guwahati from Saturday. Shubman Gill has been ruled out from the contest, and his deputy, wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant, will lead the hosts.
“Team India captain Shubman Gill, who suffered a neck injury during the first Test against South Africa, has been ruled out of the second Test in Guwahati," stated BCCI on Friday afternoon.
Gill suffered a neck injury while batting on Day 2 of the first Test at Eden Gardens last week. He retired hurt after facing just three balls in India’s first innings and was stretchered off to a Kolkata hospital.
Gill was kept under observation before being discharged the following day. He did travel to Guwahati on November 19 but didn’t take part in the training sessions before being ruled out.
“Unfortunately, he (Gill) was not fully fit to feature in the 2nd Test and will head to Mumbai for further assessment of his injury," read the statement.
Gill’s absence means Pant will be promoted to captaincy and will thus become the 38th different man to lead India in Test cricket. This is not the first time that the wicketkeeper-batter will be captaining India at the international level. In 2022, he captained India in five T20Is with mixed results, winning two and losing as many with one producing no result.
Pant will enter an exclusive club and become the second designated wicketkeeper-batter to lead India in Test cricket after the legendary MS Dhoni.
Pant faces a big task of ensuring India don’t suffer a second series defeat at home in just over a year, having lost the opening match inside three days by 30 runs. It’s a must-win for India as Guwahati is set to become the 30th different venue to host Test cricket in India.
