In what can only be termed a massive setback to Indian cricket, brand-new test Skipper Shubman Gill will not be attending the second warm-up game against England.
The reason for this is, well, of course, IPL duty. Shubman’s GT, eyeing a victory in this season’s IPL final, would mean that if all goes well on IPL fronts, the skipper would be unavailable for the practice test scheduled to be held on 6th June.
While this has been termed as a ‘strategic rest’, this is yet another time when national duties have to be compromised due to the IPL.
The brutality of English swinging conditions is not hidden from anyone, and Gill not having practised during the warm-up game would mean that he would have to get everything right during the 1st test itself.
It will be interesting to see if the skipper folds under the burden of captaincy, or if he comes out stronger than ever to seal his name for leading Indian cricket into its next era.
