After missing the five-match Test series against England due to a shin injury, the Punjab top-order batsman is fit and ready for the second half of the IPL.
Shubman Gill has had an up and down year so far in 2021. He had a rousing start to his Test career where he amassed 259 runs at an average of 51.80 in Australia and scored a half-century in the first Test against England at home. However, his form dipped post that, and he could muster just 40 runs in five innings in the last three Test matches at home against England. He scored just 36 runs in the World Test Championship final against New Zealand.
Yet, he was backed as India’s first-choice opener and was tipped to open the batting alongside Rohit Sharma in the five-match Test series against England. But a shin injury ruled him out of the tour and he returned home.
Gill has now recovered from the stress reaction he had on his left shin and is fit for the second half of the Indian Premier League 2021.
The Punjab-born batsman is currently at the National Cricket Academy in Bengaluru and has been rehabbing since last week. He is likely to depart for the United Arab Emirates soon.
“Gill is in the National Cricket Academy (NCA) and has recovered from his shin pain. He will be departing for the United Arab Emirates (UAE) soon for the IPL. He has been at the NCA for a week now,”
a source who is aware of the developments was quoted as saying to IANS.
Gill hasn’t had the best of runs in the IPL either. In 2021, he has accumulated just 132 runs at an average of 18.85 and a strike-rate of 117.85. The 21-year-old top-order batsman will be hoping to turn things around in the UAE where he had an excellent run in the 2020 season (440 runs at an average of 33.85).