KOLKATA: India captain Shubman Gill was “under observation” in hospital on Sunday after suffering neck pain and will no longer feature in the first Test against South Africa.
Top-order batsman Gill felt pain in his neck after scoring a boundary on the second day on Saturday in Kolkata and left the field.
Gill “was taken to hospital for examination after the end of the day’s play”, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) said on Sunday, before the start of the third day.
“He is currently under observation in hospital. He will not participate in the Test match again. He will continue to be monitored by the BCCI medical team.”
The first match of the two-Test series is set to end on Sunday at Eden Gardens, with South Africa recovering to 93-7 in their second innings, a lead of just 63 runs, on a tricky batting wicket.
Gill faces a battle to be fit to lead the team in the second Test in Guwahati, which is scheduled to begin in six days on November 22.
Veteran spinner Ravindra Jadeja took four wickets to put India within sight of victory on a manic second day of a low-scoring opening Test on Saturday.
South Africa were 93-7 at stumps to lead by 63 runs in their second innings on an Eden Gardens pitch that made batting decidedly tricky.
Fifteen wickets fell on day two and KL Rahul’s 39 – off 119 balls – in India’s first innings remains the highest individual score of the match.
Proteas skipper Temba Bavuma tried to replicate the endurance of Rahul, who is unbeaten 29 times. Corbin Bosch, on one, was with him when the game was called off due to poor lighting.
Spinner Simon Harmer had brought the visitors back into the contest with figures of 4-30 that saw India claim 189 runs, with the hosts taking a slim lead of 30 runs.
“Playing in India you know you will be under pressure and I think we responded well today by restricting them,” Harmer told reporters.
“Cricket is a fun game, we could be sitting here tomorrow night with a completely different story. South Africa manages to reach 150 and bowl out India for 80.”
“If there’s one thing this team has shown, it’s that they can fight when their backs are against the wall,” added Harmer.
