Pushing injured Shubman Gill to fly to Guwahati is crazy
How foolish is this, Indian Test skipper Shubman Gill, advised medical rest, flies with the team to Guwahati from Kolkata. He is seen sporting a hard ‘neck brace’ something commonly noticed with patients who are dealing with cervical spondylosis or neck issues which are extremely painful.
As written in this website two days back, after speaking to medical experts, Gill’s MRI showed he had a flare up: “Inter-spinous ligament injury.” The advice from doctors/orthos/experts was rest and recovery. Who asked Gill to travel to Guwahati is a mystery. Mind you, the optics was apparent, if not, how did videos of Gill travelling in a separate car to the Kolkata airport, accompanied by a physio, surface. The next set of videos, Gill is seen inside the airport in Dum Dum airport, walking in a manner where he cannot turn his neck.
Media folks go bonkers and write on Wednesday afternoon he will play the second Test against South Africa. Well, by Wednesday evening, it becomes clear, Gill is a passenger and Rishabh Pant will be the captain. If you had watched the Indian team arrival at the Guwahati airport where the players are trooping out, Gill is seen minus the neck brace. Why was it removed is hard to understand. It is not some decoration item but a support for the neck. He is in pain, no denying it. Forget what the BCCI official press release says, Gill is unfit. There is every reason to believe, he will not play the ODIs as well against SA.
Who in the BCCI is taking the calls? And if Gill himself has said he wants to fly out, it was against medical advice. Neck pain or trauma is not to be taken lightly, especially from takeoff to landing, when there are jerks. Which jerk in the BCCI allowed Gill to fly demands an explanation.
The chatter on fitness of players, workload management et al is serious stuff. Who has been assigned that job, and who charts and monitors how much Gill should play? Is he a super human who will lead Gujarat Titans in the Indian Premier League, captain the Indian Test and ODI sides and also force his way into the T20 team. Have not folks in the BCCI learnt how Jasprit Bumrah now manages his workload. If Shreyas Iyer, who had a spleen laceration and was admitted in an ICU in a Sydney hospital recently has been careful, why is Gill being careless. Is coach Gautam Gambhir and the support staff indulging in some kind of foolish bravado.
Go through Gill’s fitness record, he has dealt with neck spasms in the past as well. No athlete can be fit 365 days in a year. The human body needs rest. Athletes need even more rest. Travel, wear and tear, fatigue, Gill being pushed into all cricket formats is mindless. And for what?
We have had BCCI Presidents in the past, Roger Binny included, who are rubber stamps or stooges. Will current President Mithun Manhas educate folks why Shubman Gill is being treated like the most important cricketer on earth. He is all-format is the prediction. If that is true, then ensure his fitness is a 100 per cent. If not, there will be more problems.
As it appears, Gill may even miss the ODI series, along with Hardik Pandya. Did it no occur to Gautam Gambhir that Shubman Gill would have recovered faster had he been resting. Flying around and to be seen on TV cameras is needless optics. Take care, Shubman.
