Shamik Chakrabarty, Mumbai
Rohit Juglan, New Delhi
Shubman Gill is down with a viral fever, but he intends to play the Duleep Trophy, starting on August 28, RevSportz understands. The Test captain, who will also lead the North Zone side, underwent a blood test in Mumbai earlier this week, more as a precautionary measure. According to sources in the know, however, he doesn’t want to skip the BCCI’s zonal tournament unless it’s absolutely not possible to play. As India captain, he wants to set the right example.
Gill leads a 15-member North Zone squad that includes the likes of Arshdeep Singh, Harshit Rana and Anshul Kamboj as well. The BCCI has made it clear that India players will have to play domestic cricket when they aren’t on national duty. The Duleep Trophy will be played from August 28 to September 15 and Gill can only feature in North Zone’s opening fixture against East Zone before going to the Asia Cup, where he is the vice-captain. But the young skipper wants to hit the right note and play the tournament opener, subject to clearance from the BCCI’s medical team.
Gill assumed India’s Test captaincy before the five-match series in England and returned with a monumental 754 runs. Deep down though, he is a domestic cricket thoroughbred and remains committed to it. The legendary Sunil Gavaskar has praised Gill’s commitment, returning to domestic cricket after a demanding overseas assignment.
“Shubman Gill, captaining the North Zone team, is a massive shot in the arm for this tournament,” the former India captain wrote in his Sportstar column. “By being available, the Indian skipper is sending the right signal to the other members of the team.”
Gavaskar also lauded the BCCI’s decision to prioritise domestic cricket. “It was good, therefore, to see that after the tour to Bangladesh was postponed to next year, the BCCI resisted the pressure to send a team for a white-ball series to Sri Lanka this month,” he wrote. “By doing that, the BCCI have prioritised domestic cricket, as it means that now most, if not all, of the top players will be available to play in the Duleep Trophy.”
For more updates on Indian shooting, follow RevSportz