India’s captain Shubman Gill confirmed that the team management is actively monitoring players recovering from injuries at the BCCI Centre of Excellence. Lead pacer Jasprit Bumrah, who is dealing with a knee injury, and top-order batter Sai Sudharsan, suffering from a toe niggle, were both initially selected for the Sri Lanka tour but have since been ruled out. Gill emphasized the importance of making risk-averse decisions for the well-being of both the team and the individual players. ‘Yes, we are in touch with them. There is constant monitoring on players and where they are (in terms of fitness),’ Gill stated during a pre-match press conference for the first Test.
India skipper Shubman Gill said the team management is keeping track of players who have been recuperating from injuries at the BCCI Centre of Excellence.
Gill then detailed the fitness scenario of Sudharsan. “So, sometimes you have to take a call from the player’s point of view as to whether you want to take that risk. “And hopefully he does that in the series. He’s someone with a great skill with bowling.
“But it didn’t affect the morale of the team that much that they didn’t get the first 11. I feel that whoever is in our 15 or whoever we give a chance in our playing 11 in any condition, they can play well and win the game,” he explained. And he’s got the potential to be able to be a really good number 8 batsman as well,” said Gill. However, the 26-year-old believed that the team had good preparation preceding the Test series.
The decision, Gill said, was arrived at considering the duration of the Test match.
