 "Big blow for North Zone as captain Shubman Gill likely to miss Duleep Trophy 2025")
India’s Test captain Shubman Gill is likely to miss the upcoming Duleep Trophy, which is slated to begin on August 28 in Bengaluru. Gill, who was named the captain of North Zone, is reportedly unwell and resting at his home in Chandigarh.
According to Cricbuzz, physios recently checked Gill and submitted a health report to the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI). However, there is still no official confirmation from the North Zone associations about whether he will play or not.
Even if Gill was fit, he would not have been available for the full tournament. The Duleep Trophy will run till September 15, but Gill is set to join the Indian team for the Asia Cup 2025 starting September 9 in the UAE. That means he could have played only in the opening game against the East Zone.
Who will replace Gill?
If Gill misses out, Ankit Kumar will lead the side as he was named the vice-captain of the North Zone team. Shubham Rohilla is likely to replace Gill as a batter. Arshdeep Singh and Harshit Rana are also expected to leave the side after the first game as they too are named in the Asia Cup squad.
Gill recently came back from a memorable Test series in England, where he scored 754 runs in five matches of the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy. He finished as the highest run-scorer in the contest and also earned the Player of the Series award.
His strong performance helped him book a spot in India’s T20I squad for the Asia Cup, where he has also been named vice-captain. This has almost confirmed his spot in the playing XI. However, some reports indicate that being named vice-captain does not necessarily guarantee him a place in the starting lineup.
The Duleep Trophy matches are scheduled to take place at the Centre of Excellence (CoE) ground in Bengaluru.
North Zone squad: Shubman Gill (capt), Shubham Khajuria, Ankit Kumar (vice-capt), Ayush Badoni, Yash Dhull, Ankit Kalsi, Nishant Sindhu, Sahil Lotra, Mayank Dagar, Yudhvir Singh Charak, Arshdeep Singh, Harshit Rana, Anshul Kamboj, Auqib Nabi, Kanhaiya Wadhawan (wk)
Impact Shorts
More ShortsReplacements: Shubham Rohilla to replace Gill, Gurnoor Brar to replace Arshdeep and Anuj Thakral to replace Harshit in case of any India commitments during the tournament.
Stand-bys: Shubham Arora, Jaskaranvir Singh Paul, Ravi Chauhan, Abid Mushtaq, Nishunk Birla, Umar Nazir, Divesh Sharma
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