After getting injured in the opening test at Kolkata (whilst attempting a sweep in the first inning), a contest which recently ended in a debacle for hosts, India, what could have been a further debacle was if Shubman Gill would’ve sustained a serious injury to the neck. Thankfully this wasn’t the case. But it was a blow to the sensitive neck region whilst in action on the 22 yards that kept him out in the second innings, during which time he was found on the ICU table at Kolkata; no iota of joy in that, ever.
Having said that, India, who found their backs to the wall and very much smashed by a spirited total team performance led by Temba Bavuma’s Protea army (who won for the first time ever a Test match in fifteen years), were now wanting to come back before the second Test match further pushed India to a point of humiliation.
For starters, India, who would have wanted to assert themselves in the second and final Test match of the series (that happened in Guwahati), lost to South Africa by 30 runs recently.
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Secondly, what further puts India- actually does- to a point of further concern is the key absences of talents like the outstanding Shreyas Iyer (nearing 3000 ODI runs) and its brilliant and established Punjab-born batter Shubman Gill.
Here’s what is concerning:Gill, who as reported earlier was in doubt- and didn’t play- the second Test in Guwahati is now not going to take part in the ODI series against the touring South Africans.
In a series where India has already made unnecessary news by calling the winning Proteas men’s captain “Bauna”, a hideous expression on the part of such an outstanding cricketer like Jasprit Bumrah, the saving grace could be not just a series win but a victory marked by grace. For not only is graceful conduct still very much free of cost in a world driven by freebies, but must the current team members not forget that they represent a bastion of excellence called Indian Cricket. One to which greats like Sir Gavaskar, maestro Tendulkar, the evergreen Ajit Wadekar and the thorough gents like Dravid and Laxman belong, among the many great names, none of which muttered words needlessly so, placing performance over bigoted verbals.
Lastly, whilst Gill’s amazing talent to score magnificently in one day white ball cricket shall be missed, it’s just what it is. Cricket is a tough game, you see.