Shubman Gill's comeback to the Indian team did not have the desired result on Tuesday. The IND vs SA 1st T20 in Cuttack was Gill's first game back since suffering a neck injury during the test series. The 26-year-old struck a boundary off the edge, before throwing it away with a careless slog in the first over of the innings.
Shubman Gill returned to the Indian t20 side for the Asia Cup. The 26-year-old was named vice-captain to Suryakumar Yadav. Gill's return came despite the presence of a successful opening partnership in Abhishek Sharma and Sanju Samson.
Gill was a doubt to feature but made it after successfully recovering from his neck injury. The 26-year-old suffered neck spasms in the Eden Gardens. He missed the Guwahati Test and the 3-match ODI series. Gill underwent rehabilitation at BCCI's CoE to make a successful comeback.
However, that comeback did not last long. Opening the batting with Abhishek Sharma, Gill lasted a total of just two deliveries. He nicked Lungi Ngidi after chasing a drive outside off to pick up a boundary off his first ball. For the second, he stepped out trying to clear the field, only to hit it to mid off.
Where is Sanju Samson?
The IND vs SA 1st t20I marked the 16th consecutive inning that Shubman failed to score a half-century. His continued selection over Sanju Samson has irked many fans online. For context, Sanju smashed two centuries in India's last T20I series against Proteas last year. In the last 12 months, he has 3 T20 centuries.
Shubman will have to turn his form around with only 9 more T20Is to go before the t20 World Cup. With the likes of Sanju Samson, Ruturaj Gaikwad and Yashasvi Jaiswal waiting in the wings, the 26-year-old cannot afford a lot more low scores.
