India Test and ODI vice-captain Shubman Gill, who has been out of action for the last few weeks due to a neck injury, is all set to return for the T20I series vs South Africa, starting December 9. Gill, as first reported by TimesofIndia.com, reached the BCCI Centre of Excellence on December 1 and has been undergoing rehabilitation at the facility in Bengaluru since then. It has been reliably learnt that Gill has already had a couple of batting sessions and his workload will be gradually increased in the coming days. Fielding and catching drills have also been added to his schedule as the medical team at the CoE is in no mood to take any chances with India’s T20I vice-captain. Gill is yet to receive the Return to Play (RTP) clearance from the CoE and it’s likely to happen after he undergoes a match simulation in the next 48 hours. The moment there are no red flags, he will get the clearance to play. As of now, he could link up with the squad in Cuttack on December 6 if there are no last-minute hiccups. TimesofIndia.com has learnt that India’s T20I squad, which is likely to be announced in the next 24 hours, will have Gill’s name, but a rider of “subject to fitness” could follow. The men’s senior selection committee, chaired by Ajit Agarkar, has been communicated about Gill’s current status and there are no roadblocks at the moment. In case the management isn’t comfortable rushing him back to action, he could miss the series opener, but even that is unlikely at this stage. Gill injured his neck during the first innings of the Kolkata Test vs South Africa and missed the next game in Guwahati and was also ruled out of the ongoing three-ODI series vs the same opposition. He was advised rest by a spine specialist in Mumbai and has been away from action since.
