All eyes on Shubman as India’s World Cup countdown begins

Gill making a comeback to the team after neck spasm ruled him out of the two Tests and three ODIs; hosts will play 10 matches before the global event

- TANMAY DAS @Cuttack

India's Shubman Gill during a net session in Cuttack on Monday

(DEBADATTA MALLICK)

AS India take the field in Cuttack on Tuesday in the first T20I against South Africa, all eyes will be on vice-captain Shubman Gill.

The 26-year-old, who walked off the field during the first Test at the Eden Gardens after a neck spasm, missed the remainder of the series and the ODIs before making a comeback for the shortest format.

On the eve of the first match, skipper Suryakumar Yadav confirmed that Gill and the other comeback man Hardik Pandya are ‘healthy and fit’ to play. Pandya, coming back from a left quadriceps injury, has already played a couple of Syed Mushtaq Ali matches while Gill will be playing his first game since the injury occurred. And it showed in the preparation as the vice-captain trained close to two hours on Monday.

The attention that Gill garners is not just about his comeback but also his place in the batting-order. Till the Asia Cup in September, Gill was not a regular in the T20I setup. However, he was made vice-captain to Yadav after a successful Test tour in England as skipper before replacing Rohit Sharma in the ODI leadership. It meant opener Sanju Samson was moved to middle-order with Gill partnering Abhishek Sharma.