Shubman Gill May Miss ODI Series Due To Unhealed Neck Injury; KL Rahul, Rishabh Pant In Line For ODI Captaincy

Skipper Shubman Gill is all set to miss the upcoming three match ODI series against South Africa as his neck injury is likely to take more time to heal, sources in the BCCI told PTI on Saturday.

The names of wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant and senior player KL Rahul could be considered for stop-gap captaincy although veteran Rohit Sharma is also in the squad.

As per reliable sources in the BCCI, Gill's injury isn't exactly restricted to neck spasm. He would require extensive rest and hence Indian team management wouldn't want to risk rushing him back to action.

Gill, who suffered a whiplash while batting in the opening Test in Kolkata, was forced to miss the Guwahati Test due to the injury.

He is currently in Mumbai where he is undergoing medical tests, including an MRI, to determine the extent of injury.

"All tests are being done to ascertain whether it is a muscular injury or there is a nerve tissue related niggle which would require some more rest. As of now, selectors will be hoping he gets fit for the South Africa T20Is," the source said.

On the captaincy front, Pant is a strong candidate as he is currently leading India in the second Test but in the last one year, the man from Rourkee has played only one 50-over game while Rahul on the other hand is the first choice as keeper.

For a one-off series Rahul looks a better candidate as deputy Shreyas Iyer, after his spleen injury in Australia, will take at least two months more to be back in action. He is more likely to get fit before IPL.

On the team front, Yashasvi Jaiswal may open alongside Rohit Sharma. Abhishek Sharma who is being regularly picked for India A's List A games could be the reserve opener for the series, starting Nov. 30 in Ranchi.

Harshit Rana, Mohammed Siraj and Arshdeep Singh are set to man the pace department with Akash Deep being an outside contender.

Jasprit Bumrah will be given much-needed rest after two-Test series while Hardik Pandya, recovering from quadriceps injury, will only play T20Is till the World Cup next year.

Kuldeep Yadav might take a break for personal reasons and Axar Patel along with Varun Chakravarthy and Washington Sundar will be part of the spin attack.